The Sacrament of the New Evangelization

Can there really be such a thing? In all our endeavors and mission, could one sacrament receive such a label? Cardinal Timothy Dolan suggested that it was Reconciliation in the recent Synod on the New Evangelization, while Cardinal Donald Wuerl…

Training for the Solo Encounter

After we pass thorough Holy Week the Church shares its ultimate triumph and has done so for over two thousand years.  We celebrate Easter with community, family, friends, great joy, communal meals, and tradition.  Some of us attend the Tridiuum…

When Evangelism Fails

Part of being an evangelist is feeling the sting of when evangelism fails.  You have done your best to share the faith with others, but your efforts fall short of their goal. When evangelism fails, you begin to question your…

Passion Sunday

Readings for March 24, 2013: Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion Catholics seem preoccupied with the sufferings of Christ–The Crucifix, the sorrowful Mysteries, the Stations of the Cross.  As if all this were not enough, Catholics must stand at attention…

Random Acts of Kindness

As Christians, we are encouraged to ‘give rather than to receive’. Many of us follow those words of encouragement and give to charity or offer our services to those organizations serving the less privileged in our communities. These are wonderful…

Continuing to Learn our Faith as Adults

I’m sort of a convert to the Catholic faith. I was baptized Catholic, but never raised in the Church. As an adult, I connected with more and more Catholic people and went though private instructions with a priest before going…

A Glimpse of Joy at the Foot of the Cross

Every once and a while I have a tough day, a difficult weekend, or week that leaves me wanting to curl up in a cave and never come out. (Not a “man cave,” more like a nicely decorated cave with…

Enough Already!

It’s time to grow up. Really.  That means having standards.  I don’t just mean the kind of standards that you quietly keep to yourself so as not to offend anyone. No, I mean the kind that everyone knows where you…

Getting Others to Listen to the Gospel

The Gospel is the Good News.  So why does it seem so often like people do not want to hear it? Have you ever tried to teach a class or give a witness or just speak one on one with…

The Spirituality of Invitation

The “New Evangelization” is all around us. Catholics Come Home continues its prime time television campaign to eventually reach viewers in every U.S. diocese. The acclaimed Catholicism documentary series produced by Fr. Robert Barron and Word on Fire ministries has aired on…