The words “Church” and “strategy” are not often used together. There are many reasons for this. The Church is a longstanding institution...

By Father Daniel Ciucci Pastor at Most Precious Blood Parish in Denver Growing up, my dad’s job at Rocky Flats made our family move...

By Father Greg Cleveland, OMV Director of the Lanteri Center for Ignatian Spirituality Decisions matter. Life is a matter of choices, and...

By Father Tom Scherer and Alejandra Bravo Did you know that God still speaks today? Have you ever asked yourself that question before?...

Are you convicted of the primacy of the power of the gospel? By Mallory Smyth Catholic Speaker and Writer Start with the Why Why do some organizations inspire great and lasting change worldwide and others don’t? This is the question that Simon Sinek, a well-known business thought leader, posed at the beginning of his world-famous Ted Talk, “Start with the Why.” Why is it that a computer company like Apple can crush competition year after year and innovate at record-shattering

By Edward Sri Senior Vice President for Apostolic Outreach at FOCUS When Jesus cast the vision for what it means to be a disciple, he used the most startling image: “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Mt 16:24). That’s crazy! Of all the symbols for discipleship Jesus could have used, why the Cross? The image would have been utterly abhorrent to his original listeners. Though we today might be accustomed to seeing crosses

(Photo by James Baca) By Deacon Derrick Johnson Permanent Deacon at Assumption Parish in Welby For many years in my life, I believed that happiness was easily figured out. Growing up in poorer parts of Denver, happiness was defined by a nice house, an abundance of material goods and money, physical security and safety. Society has a way of exponentializing these tendencies, inclinations and desires. I dreamt of a day when I could define and achieve happiness on my own terms.

The Descent of the Spirit, Gustave Doré, ca. 1880. Jesus makes a startling statement at the Last Supper: “It is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you” (Jn 16:7). What could be better than Jesus’s presence alongside us? Only his presence within us, made possible by his gift of the Holy Spirit! The Spirit, who Jesus calls the Counselor (advocate or helper), will lead his followers, movi

Ordination, Nicolas Poussin, ca. 1636-1640. Beginning on the Feast of Christ the King and going through the season of Advent, the parishes of the archdiocese will be re-proclaiming the kerygma — the Good News of the Gospel — in what is intended to be an archdiocesan-wide retreat. Over the next four weeks, the Denver Catholic will publish guest reflections penned by priests of the archdiocese on the four main parts of the kerygma:  Created (read  here ), Captured (read  here )

Andrew Mantegna, La Résurrection, 1457-59. Beginning on the Feast of Christ the King and going through the season of Advent, the parishes of the archdiocese will be re-proclaiming the kerygma — the Good News of the Gospel — in what is intended to be an archdiocesan-wide retreat. Over the next four weeks, the Denver Catholic will publish guest reflections penned by priests of the archdiocese on the four main parts of the kerygma:  Created (read  here ), Captured (read here ),

Expulsion from the Garden of Eden, Peter Paul Rubens, 1620 Beginning on the Feast of Christ the King and going through the season of Advent, the parishes of the archdiocese will be re-proclaiming the kerygma — the Good News of the Gospel — in what is intended to be an archdiocesan-wide retreat. Over the next four weeks, the Denver Catholic will publish guest reflections penned by priests of the archdiocese on the four main parts of the kerygma: Created (read here ), Captured,

Beginning on the Feast of Christ the King and going through the season of Advent, the parishes of the archdiocese will be re-proclaiming the kerygma — the Good News of the Gospel — in what is intended to be an archdiocesan-wide retreat. Over the next four weeks, the Denver Catholic will publish guest reflections penned by priests of the archdiocese on the four main parts of the kerygma: Created, Captured, Rescued and Response .* We encourage you to revisit these pieces throu

By Monsignor James P. Shea Msgr. James Shea is President of the University of Mary. Earlier this year, Archbishop Aquila wrote a pastoral letter entitled Our Apostolic Moment . In that letter, he noted that the Church is now living in a post-Christian age. He then explained what he meant: “The successful evangelization of the early Church during the first apostolic age flowered into a culture, referred to as ‘Christendom,’ that was itself built on Christian principles and id

Madonna and Child with the Young St. John the Baptist, Sandro Botticelli, circa 1468 Ugliness is a spiritual problem. If beauty manifests the perfection and splendor of something, ugliness distorts it, corrupting what it is meant to be and blinding us to its true reality. A tree struck by lightning or blighted with disease is ugly. A building sculpted with cement, with little light or elegance, depresses us. The ugliness of most modern art disturbs us and does not uplift our

VIENNA - JULY 27: Holy Trinity. Detail from fresco of scene from apocalypse from 19. cent. in main apse of Altlerchenfelder church on July 27, 2013 Vienna. By Elizabeth Klein Assistant Professor of Theology at the Augustine Institute If you are a lifelong Catholic or if you have taken theology classes at some point in your life, you are probably familiar with what the Church teaches about God: that God is Trinity, one God in three persons. You have likely made the Sign of the

An image of a burning thorn bush christian symbol Even when Thomas Aquinas was young, he was known often to ask, “who is God?” As he grew into one of the Church’s greatest theologians, he realized that it was much easier to explain who God is not. This might be a good place to begin today as well. God is not just a more powerful being within the universe. He is not like Zeus, a human-like being with superpowers, bossing and bullying other creatures around. He is not an old ma

By Dr. Alan Fimister Assistant Professor at St. John Vianney Theological Seminary At the Last Supper, Our Lord told his disciples, “Amen, amen I say to you, he that believeth in me, the works that I do, he also shall do; and greater than these shall he do,” ¹ and this prophecy has been vindicated in the many marvels that have filled the lives of the saints throughout the history of his Church from that day to this. In one respect, however, no member of his mystical body has

“Are you saved?” This is something you might hear after the doorbell rings. “What does that even mean?” you might wonder, as you think of what to say in response. The door-to-door evangelist would tell you that Jesus died to forgive your sins and if you believe the truth of that statement, you will be saved. That is an important part of salvation but by no means the full account. To be saved is not simply to have your sins forgiven or to be given a ticket to heaven, because G

B y Dr. Alan Fimister A ssistant Professor at St. John Vianney Theological Seminary While preaching to the crowds on the day of Pentecost, St. Peter quoted the prophet Joel: “I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.” There is a striking inversion of expectations in this prophecy because, in human experience, it is old men whose hopes for this world

B y Debbie Herbeck Author, Speaker and Founder of the B e Love Revolution One of my favorite things to do with my small grandchildren is to tell them a story. No matter how simplistic or fantastical the plot is, they are always delighted and enthralled. We all love stories because we are made for them. Our individual stories unfold to us daily, yet we are also part of a larger cosmic drama marked by themes of hope and betrayal, danger and courage, love and sacrifice, battle