A few years ago, an inspirational young woman who had been called to religious life shared with me one of her more humorous moments from the summer prior to leaving her life as a layperson. She explained that she had…
40 Ways to Get the Most out of Lent
This is not an exhaustive list of Lenten ideas. But it’s a start! Many of the resources mention here are available on our website at www.crossroadsinitiative.com or can be found by visiting our links page. Take 30 minutes to pray,…
A View of Paradise
As I write this, I am sitting on a beach in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, with a beautiful view of paradise – the ocean in front of me, and sand at my feet. By the time this is published, though, I…
Adventure or Cautious Mediocrity?
Readings for February 10, 2013: 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time Peter. Paul. Isaiah. Frodo Baggins. They have more in common than meets the eye. Of course there are differences, too. Peter is a small business man, trying to wring a…
They Can Make It Legal But They Can’t Make It Right
On January 25, 2013, I walked with a half a million other people through the streets of Washington, D.C. As wave after wave after wave of marchers descended on the site for the beginning of the March, I realized what…
The Pope Wrote Us a Letter!
The Pope wrote me a letter. Yes, you read that correctly. I received a personal, emotional, instructive and wise missive from my Holy Father. It came in the form of this year’s message for the 47th World Communications Day. His…
Conviction and Compromise
Chad Torgerson recently wrote a wonderful article here at NewEvangelizers.com about never compromising our values. There are certain fundamentals in our world that have become political footballs, but they should never be treated as such by the faithful. From the…
We Don’t Live in Athens—But the Holy Spirit Still Works
Today we welcome Colleen Vermeulen to the New Evangelizers blogging team! Reflection on Acts 17:16-34 At first glance, what we find in Acts 17 seems pretty standard. A Christian guy sees that the people around him aren’t worshipping the true…
Valentines, not Resolutions
How are your New Year’s resolutions going? Feeling guilty yet? The excesses of the holidays make clear the need to evaluate many aspects of our lives and resolve to change them. In February we realize how idealistic we were on…
A Seven Sacraments Lesson
Every few months we have all our families involved in religious education classes come together for Family Faith and Fun. This is an activity for that group which can be modified for your group, class or family; the group I work with…