Catholics must take discipleship seriously, says Bishop Stowe Hope for the future of the U.S. church depends on embracing our diversity. The Catholic dioceses in the Appalachia region of Kentucky have a tradition of pastoral letters. While the first two letters were written by the bishops of Appalachia in 1975 and 1995, the third letter, […]
To ease social strife, practice social humility Catholic social teaching isn’t just about policies and plans. It is also about virtues. When I entered the office of a dear colleague recently, he had a poster set up on an easel. The school was promoting virtues on homemade posters, rather than the glossy ones sometimes seen […]
Where have you seen Christ today? Encounters with Christ might look different than you think. The game of “If” is popular among children, and not a few adults indulge in it as well. If I had a million dollars—so the most familiar version begins—then I would . . . and onward we launch into the fantasy of […]
A mission to Uganda prompts greater love for the sacraments In Arua, Uganda, a visiting priest has an eye-opening experience. When I got up Sunday morning, December 30, 2018, I wasn’t ready for an adventure. I was staying in the guesthouse of the Arua, Uganda diocesan radio station, and I had not slept well. I […]
Catholic resistance is growing in your church basement Through grassroots efforts, build integralism from the bottom up. Was it an antidemocratic insurrection, a middle-class white riot, or just a uniquely rowdy tour group? That’s apparently a serious question to many in Washington, D.C. and around the United States, even though we all watched in real […]
Blessed are you when you don’t feel #blessed You are beloved, even when there is no reason to believe it. Partially nude bikini shot? #Blessed. Christmas card professional photoshoot where the laughing family wearing matching chambray shirts is piled on a couch in the middle of a wheat field? #Blessed. (Did I recently see a […]
In ‘The Eyes of Tammy Faye,’ the American dream is not what it seems New film “The Eyes of Tammy Faye” juxtaposes humble Christian redemption with American exceptionalism. Water parks, swirling cameras, gospel choirs, mink coats, televangelists, and, at the center of it all, Tammy Faye. When the PTL (short for “Praise the Lord”) television […]
Sometimes the best blessing is just being present You don’t need any special skills to be a blessing to others—you just need to be there. My mom kept a plastic bottle of holy water by the front door of our home and another on the bureau in my parents’ bedroom. Every day she would use […]
Learning to love the saints? Don’t forget the blesseds These five people have made the long journey to heaven. Soon, they’ll be back. The spiritual life is often described as a journey. To be beatified by the Catholic Church, or named “Blessed,” is to receive official recognition that a person has reached an end to […]
Feeling #blessed? You may be muddling the message of God’s grace. Despite the role of blessings in our faith, Catholics struggle with what it means to be blessed. When Justina Hausmann Kopp found out she was pregnant with quadruplets, the joy of conceiving a child now carried with it a daunting new dimension. “I had […]