Editor’s Note: Today we welcome Marianna Bartholomew for a special guest post. Marianna is a wife and mom from the Chicago area who also homeschools, teaches, and writes. She’s award-winning journalist and contributor to the Catholic Vitamins podcast. She blogs at…
Missionary Friendship Changes Everything
Turning Obstacles into Opportunities
I hate traffic! The other night as I was wedged in like a sardine on Interstate 94, I noticed the license plate in front of me was my brother-in-law’s initials, CPW. So, I thought, “I should say a little prayer…
On Emperors and Beanie Babies
Almost everyone knows of the fabled emperor that paraded the streets in his undergarments, believing he was adorned in the finest of cloth that only the foolish could not see. Lest he admit being a fool, he feigned witnessing the…
A Lifestyle of Thanksgiving
Readings for October 13, 2013: Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time Leprosy is a dreadful thing anywhere, anytime. But in the ancient Near East, it was a particularly heavy burden to bear since it meant complete social isolation. You could, of…
Scabby People and That Grim-Faced Nun
One night decades ago I was watching TV; that nun, Mother Teresa, was on the Tonight Show. I knew she’d won a Nobel prize, took care of scabby people all day, and looked grim as cancer. What could they possibly…
The Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary
Once known as the Feast of Our Lady of Victory, the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary honors a 16th century victory that prevented Europe from being overrun by a Turkish invasion. In today’s world, many of us in…
Mustard Seed Faith
Readings for October 6, 2013: Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time We all admire the heroes of faith like St. Francis (feast day, October 4). Absolutely nothing stopped him in his pursuit of God’s glory. When, during the Crusades, he was…
Tapping into Divine Mercy
Today is the feast of St Faustina Kowalska, the young Polish sister who received revelations from Jesus about the depth of His love and His mercy. We should never be afraid to approach Him in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Even…
6 Ways to Encounter Jesus in the Mass
Then he took the bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which will be given for you; do this in memory of me. (Luke 22:19) Although God’s presence is everywhere, Mass…
The New Parish Bulletin Is Online
For the last ten years, I’ve been designing what I think is a pretty nice parish bulletin. It’s been part of my evolving job on our parish staff, and it’s something I really enjoy. And it involves more than just…