The paradox of Ordinary TimeLucia A. Silecchia
Every year, as Advent and Christmas approach, I seem to have the exact same conversation with one of my students. When I ask how the semester is wrapping up, invariably one of my students will tell me ...
What's the scriptural basis for praying for the dead and venerating relics?Jenna Marie Cooper
Q: What scriptural basis is there for praying for the dead, for their repose, or for praying to the dead, for their intercessions? And in a related way, what scriptural basis is there for the Catholic ...
Holy daysFather Robert M. O'Grady
The article about the Immaculate Conception generated several comments and questions beyond that specific holy day to holy days in general. Sunday is the primary holy day for all Roman Catholics. The ...
We need YOU on #GivingTuesday!Maureen Crowley Heil
The year was 1943. French Bishop Charles Forbin Janson had just returned from a trip to what was then one of the largest mission lands -- the United States. Bishop Charles was eager to do something to ...
Hope in tribulationScott Hahn
In this, the second-to-last week of the Church year, Jesus has finally made it to Jerusalem. Near to His passion and death, He gives us a teaching of hope -- telling us how it will be when He returns ...
Modeling a 'post-truth' faithDeacon Nathan Gunn
''What do you want?" "Rabbi -- where are you staying?" "Come and you will see." So they went and saw where he was staying, and they spent that day with him. It was about four in the afternoon. ...
Scripture Reflection for Nov. 17, 2024, Thirty-Third Sunday in Ordinary TimeFather Joshua J. Whitfield
Dn 12:1-3 Ps 16:5, 8, 9-10, 11 Heb 10:11-14, 18 Mk 13:24-32 Jesus is on the "Mount of Olives opposite the temple area" talking about the end of the world (Mk 13:3). That's significant because, ...
What is an indulgence?Jenna Marie Cooper
Q: Please explain what an indulgence is and how it can reduce or eliminate the time a soul must spend in purgatory. A: Indulgences are perhaps one of the more misunderstood parts of Catholic practice. ...
Always building, always being builtJaymie Stuart Wolfe
There aren't many feasts on the Church's liturgical calendar that highlight a place rather than a person. In fact, there are only three, and all of them are linked to the four major basilicas ...
Thanking God for media technologiesSister Hosea Rupprecht, FSP
As the temperature outside drops and the leaves turn brilliant colors, our thoughts turn toward the annual celebration of Thanksgiving. What a wonderful tradition we have as Americans to not only gather ...
