As the cardinals gather to elect the next Bishop of Rome and Successor of St. Peter, it is time to reflect on what this event means to the world and to us personally as Catholics.
A conclave has always intrigued a waiting world, with its legitimate secrecy, seriousness and drama. Men dressed in red processing prayerfully into the Sistine Chapel, heavy doors locked in their wake, folded ballots placed singularly atop a gold plate before dropping into a large urn, results counted, a specified...
When I picked up my two boys from school last Thursday, they were all abuzz with news. Rather than bellyaching about homework or teasing each other in the backseat, they wanted me to know that they saw the Pope retire on TV in their classrooms that morning.
“It was sad to see him go,” said my second-grader, Justin.
“But he looked kind of happy when he was waving to the crowd at Castel Gandolfo,” noted my seventh-grader, Stephen.
My wife and I had seen the same live footage on EWTN...
Pope Benedict XVI ends his eight-year pontificate on February 28. The decision by the Holy Father to step aside has resulted in a range of responses. Some recollections reflect high admiration for a humble man. As the day has drawn nearer, other reports share in the silly speculation about who is the odds-on favorite cardinal to replace him.
Understandably the decision draws attention. No Holy Father has resigned in some 600 years. But as important as the event assuredly is within the view...
With Pope Benedict XVI’s surprise announcement that he is stepping down, people have been sharing their favorite papal memories. I was privileged to be among the media crew covering his April 2008 apostolic voyage to the United States, when Shepherd One flew into Andrews Air Force Base and he was met by President Bush. Standing in the bleachers by the airstrip, I saw Bush 43 greet the Holy Father on the tarmac and stride proudly beside him toward a secure area, his chest bursting...
Lent begins this week by recalling remembrance of our origin – dust – and earthly outcome – a return to dust. The weeks after Ash Wednesday invite Christians to conduct an inner inventory, to note in silence the words said and left unsaid, and to sense in stillness a world filled with words increasingly in service to worldly concerns alone. As the Year of Faith continues, Lent seems an appropriate season to appreciate how the language of faith reveals some healthy heights and...
Do you seek good examples for yourself, your children or your grandchildren to emulate because you hope they will demonstrate in word and deed what it means to be authentically Catholic? Are you so often let down by those held up as models when they fail to live up to the faith in word and deed?
Perhaps we are looking in the wrong places for heroes. Maybe for too long we have placed the wrong people on pedestals. It is entirely possible that we need look no further than our own...
While our Church moves toward the opportunities and challenges of a new year, I have been caught in something of a time warp. As Vice Postulator for Venerable Father Michael McGivney, I have spent the last few weeks promoting his Sainthood Cause in the Philippines, far away from America’s 24-hour news cycle.
My thoughts have been very much on the unchanging and the eternal, beginning with God and his grace and focusing mainly on the life and legacy of Venerable McGivney, the founder of...
Forty years ago this week, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Roe v. Wade. In terms of demographics, that means almost two generations of Americans have lived their entire life in a country with legalized abortion. It is an anniversary worth noting because it has come to define, devastate, and destroy millions of people – who, in this one college history teacher’s view, we could call the “Roe Generations” – across the United States.
The First Generation, 1973-1993
Lives changed just...
What would your life be like without the Mass, the sacraments, regular prayer, a sense of God’s presence and goodness, the soaring sight of a church steeple, or the beauty of stained glass, not to mention the hope of heaven and life everlasting? Dull, hapless, horizonless, and maybe even a bit scary?
Yet this is how many people live – maybe family members, neighbors and coworkers. If you’re like me, you can remember those days, in my case in my teens and early 20s. Though raised with...
As we begin a new year, have you considered how to bring your Catholic faith with you to work? Putting God first and blending your faith with every aspect of your life will promote balance and peace, and help you forge a deeper relationship with God. Of course, this is a challenge that takes time and effort.
Pursuing integration will help us become better Christians and reduce the negative effects — mental, emotional, moral — of keeping our faith separate from the rest of our lives. The...
