There is a lot of pressure from mainstream society for the Catholic Church to begin compromising our values. Should we give in to this mounting pressure? Our goal is to evangelize and bring as many souls to Christ as possible,…
Compromising Our Values
Being a Whole Saint
St. Therese, the Little Flower, once said that a person “cannot be half a saint. We must be a whole saint or no saint at all.” Only the most obtuse will deny that most people in this world would be…
Evangelizing Your Spouse
Shortly after we were married, Mike and I invited some old friends to visit. One of them, a former choir mate of Mike’s named Bill, took me aside. ““Tell me,” he said, “how did you get Mike to be so…Catholic?”…
Intimacy in the Virtual Age
Living in the technology age can be enticing at times. As a mother of four young children whose noise levels rise immediately whenever another human body gets within a two-mile vicinity of our home, the idea of conducting my day-to-day…
Mary’s Yes and Mine
I wonder what Mary thought about the gifts the Magi brought, which were odd for a baby, but not so odd for the Savior of the world. Did Mary know what they foretold or did she just accept them graciously…
Give the Gift of Epiphany
The end of the Christmas season is upon us. We first waited and prayed, preparing ourselves for the coming of our Lord at Christmas. We celebrated with friends and family with great joy, attended our favorite Mass, praised our children’s…
I Confess
A friend of mine, a believing Catholic, told me he hasn’t been to Confession in a long time. After all, God forgives sins, so there’s really no need to go to a priest. If people need the emotional crutch of…
The Importance of the Incarnation for the New Evangelization
The great solemn feast of Christ’s Birth, and thus the entrance of God’s Son into human history, coincides with the Winter Solstice. The Epiphany of God’s Revelation to his people, the light to all the nations, coincides with deep dark…
A Reason, a Season, a Lifetime
“People come into our lives for a reason, a season, or a lifetime.” As the Christmas season gives way to Valentine’s Day and Lent approaches, how do we relate to our friends? During this season, new people bump into our…
Reflecting on 2012
As 2012 comes to a close, what will we remember about this year? Before we move onto 2013, let’s take some time reflecting on 2012. Remembering 2012 The HHS Mandate took center stage early in the year, the USCCB held…