HOLY GUARDIAN ANGEL
I was sitting in the hospital room with my infant son in my arms, not believing what I was hearing from the pediatrician. My little boy had a serious heart defect. We would have to stay in the hospital for…
Category Feast Day
THE LITTLE WAY: FINDING THE ESSENTIAL WITH ST. THERESE OF THE CHILD JESUS
I recently finished reading St. Thérèse’s book The Story of a Soul for the second time, and I was once again struck by the very simple yet inspiring writing of this young woman. She doesn’t write like a learned theologian.…
ST. MONICA AND ST. AUGUSTINE
The feast of St. Monica and St. Augustine may be one of the most relatable mother‑and‑son stories in Christian history. Monica was a devoted Christian mother known for her patience, perseverance and legendary life of prayer. Augustine, her son, was…
IT IS GOOD FOR US TO BE HERE
All three Synoptic Gospels tell us of the Transfiguration of Jesus (Matthew 17:1–8, Mark 9:2–13, Luke 9:28–36). Jesus is on the Mount of Olives with his friends. They witness him start to glow with beams of light. Moses (the giver of the Law)…
LEARNING TO SEE WITH ST. IGNATIUS: DISCOVERING GOD’S PRESENCE IN THE ORDINARY
We celebrate the feast of St. Ignatius of Loyola on July 31. This soldier-turned-saint has had a profound influence on the Catholic Church since his death in 1556, during the Catholic response to the Reformation, through his founding of the…
ST. MARTHA, MARY AND LAZARUS, PATRON SAINTS OF SIBLINGS
“Will you have a Martha or a Mary Christmas?” This was the title of an article I wrote a few years ago about two of the siblings we remember on this day. In the article, I was questioning all the…
ST. MARY MAGDALENE
We live in a world of information overload. Data flies at us from every direction at an exponential rate. At Christmas dinner, when Uncle You-Know-Who makes a statement, Auntie I-Have-a-Smart-Phone can correct his mistakes with confidence and launch a quick…
ST. PETER AND ST. PAUL
“Compare and contrast.…” Recalling essay assignments and exam questions from our student days, we might remember these words. The process of comparing and contrasting two different persons, events or circumstances invited us to think, to reflect and often to draw…
DEVOTION TO THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS
As a convert to Catholicism, I first found the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus off-putting. It felt grisly and even tacky. It took years for this devotion to become beloved. My curiosity led me to explore the origins…
TRINITY: RELATIONSHIP AT THE HEART OF CREATION
Many years ago, I listened to academic paper on the Trinity. The presenter was clearly brilliant but I’m pretty sure I only grasped about 2% of what he was saying. As he discussed the relation of the Father to the…