By Barbara Curtis
Theirs was a love story like many others – cradle Catholics who’d known each other since parochial school, fell away from their faith in college, married at 22, and finally returned to the church after the birth of their first child 18 months later. But they returned to the church on their own terms, still […]
10/10/12
Reading Time
3
min
By Fr. William P. Saunders
Q: Being elderly, I attend a good number of funerals. I am surprised at the number of cremations. When did the church start allowing cremation? (Alexandria) A: Since the earliest times of the church, Christians traditionally have buried the bodies of the faithful departed, in contrast to pagans who normally cremated. As professed in the […]
10/10/12
Reading Time
4
min
By Thomas Craughwell
The Bible mentions only three archangels by name – St. Michael, the warrior who drove Lucifer and the rebel angels out of heaven and down into hell; St. Raphael, the guide and guardian of Tobias; and St. Gabriel, God’s favorite messenger. St. Luke’s Gospel opens with Gabriel appearing suddenly to Zachary, Elizabeth’s elderly husband, with […]
9/19/12
Reading Time
3
min
By Mary Beth Bonacci
Why do you suppose Blessed John Paul II talked about the “new evangelization” and not the “new catechesis”? Until recently, I was the director of evangelization and catechesis at a large parish here in Denver. And in that time, it became clear to me that (1) there is a significant difference in meaning between those […]
9/12/12
Reading Time
4
min
By Elizabeth Foss
Stephen R. Covey, author of Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, recently died of complications from a bicycle accident. He was 79. The first thing that popped into my mind when I heard the news was that he lived, he loved, he learned, and he left a legacy, just as he encouraged millions to do […]
8/8/12
Reading Time
3
min
By Fr. Jack Peterson
Life can be frantic, frustrating and exhausting. The stress of work, school, family life, maintaining friendships,helping those in need and creating space for God in our lives can be overwhelming and draining. In the Gospel for this week, Jesus’ disciples return from a missionary trip and report all that they had done and taught. Jesus […]
7/17/12
Reading Time
3
min
By Fr. Paul Scalia
Father Raniero Cantalamessa, preacher to the papal household, once noted the important distinction between a personage and a person – especially as regards Jesus Christ. A “personage” (granted, an uncommon word) is an important figure, someone we might call “larger than life.” We have heard about the person, read about him and perhaps even seen […]
6/27/12
Reading Time
3
min
By Fr. Kenneth Doyle
Q. I often witness adults chewing gum during Sunday Mass and then going right up to receive holy Communion. Am I wrong in thinking that chewing gum breaks the one-hour fast that Catholics are required to observe before receiving the precious body and blood? (Galloway, N.J.) A. The governing canon (No. 919 in the church’s […]
6/13/12
Reading Time
2
min
By Thomas Craughwell
St. Expeditus was one of six Armenian Christians, possibly Roman soldiers, who were martyred in Melitene. His fellow martyrs are Sts. Hermogenes, Gaius, Aristonicus, Rufus and Galata. There is documentary evidence that St. Expeditus was venerated in Turin in northern Italy during the Middle Ages. From there, devotion to him spread to Germany and Sicily in the 17th century, but how he became the saint of procrastinators is harder to pin down.
4/11/12
Reading Time
2
min
Metaphors can help us deepen our faith