By Katie Prejean McGrady Wife, Mother, Author, Speaker Nearly every morning, on the way to school, my three-year-old daughter shouts from the backseat, “Wook at the sky, mom!” The orange-pink glow of the sky is uniquely beautiful, a view that captivates us as we take the exit for Enterprise Boulevard and turn onto a pothole riddled street lined with gorgeous hundred-year-old oak trees. Mesmerized by the sunrise, Rose will often tell me how much she loves looking at the sky.

By John Sehorn Assistant Professor of Theology at the Augustine Institute Catholics and non-Catholics alike are often confused or offended by the Church’s “rules” about receiving Holy Communion. Why might I need to go to Confession before receiving? Why can’t Protestant Christians receive the Eucharist? Why are public figures sometimes denied Communion? These restrictions can seem judgmental, discourteous, or inappropriately “political.” Such measures in fact all stem from t

Decorative metal lantern lit by a glowing candle in night By Ashley Crane We expect Christmas to be a happy and joyous time—a time of merry-making, gift-giving, and extravagant jollification. And it is right and good that it be so. We are, after all, celebrating the most important birthday ever. This feast is second in importance only to Easter in the Church’s calendar, and, like Easter, the Church celebrates it with an octave (an eight-day long celebration of the feast) fol

Christmas is more than a birthday party; it is the manifestation of the newborn king of heaven and earth. In the early Church, the Epiphany of Christ, the manifestation of his divinity to the world, unveiled the meaning of Christmas. In fact, the 12th Night of Christmas, Epiphany Eve, culminated the celebration, with the largest gatherings, feasts, and dances happening that night. The birth of Christ was not complete without the Wise Men, representatives of all the nations, p

This is a very difficult time for all of us. The polarization of our political parties seems to be echoed in deep divisions right across our culture. Acts of hatred and violence committed by extremists and opportunists shock us daily. Many of us are suffering rifts within our own families that feel unbridgeable. Sometimes that is because we disagree politically. Sometimes it is because someone thinks that our failure to affirm their choices means we don’t love them. What i

Creative team meeting hands together in line. Young business people are holding hands. Unity and teamwork concept. Let’s talk about racism. A caveat to this article is that I am a white, straight, Christian male, and as such I have not had a lived experience of my opportunities, relationships, and whole life being limited simply because of the color of my skin. However, I can’t call myself a Catholic and avoid speaking up. Jesus’ second greatest commandment to love our neighb

Every Sunday, we pray a dangerous prayer: “Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.” It’s dangerous because we’re asking God to judge us as we judge others, creating our own measuring stick for God to use: “The measure you give will be the measure you get” (Mt 7:2). There is good news here as well. If we need forgiveness from God, he promises it to us so long as we ourselves show mercy. We are not judged, however, by how we treat our friends, bu

By Father Greg Cleveland, O.M.V. G.K. Chesterton and several other literary figures were asked one evening what book they would prefer to have with them if stranded on a desert isle. One writer said without hesitation: “The complete works of Shakespeare.” Another said, “I’d choose the Bible.” They turned to Chesterton. “How about you?” And Chesterton replied, “I would choose Thomas’s Guide to Practical Ship Building .”  Like Chesterton, we might be looking to escape our conf

“Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but only one thing is necessary” (Lk 10:41-42). It would be easy to imagine Christ saying this to us now, calling us away from our anxieties to sit at his feet, like Martha’s sister Mary. Jesus wants to give us the peace that we need in the midst of our anxiety about “many things.” By calling us into communion with him, Jesus shows us that He is the one thing that is necessary, the most essential thing in our li

By Anthony St. Louis-Sanchez During this time of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Christian faithful of the Archdiocese of Denver have received a dispensation from their Sunday obligation of participating in Mass. This dispensation was given in a decree of the Archbishop of Denver. One might wonder whether the Archbishop of Denver has the authority to issue such a dispensation. Let’s consider closely what a dispensation is and is not. A dispensation is a relaxation of an ecclesia

In a letter to the world’s bishops dated August 15, the Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary, and approved for publication by Pope Francis on Sept. 3, Robert Cardinal Sarah, who is the Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments in the Vatican, invited the Catholic world to return to Mass. The sentence you have just read would have seemed ridiculous just nine months ago. The Sunday Mass “obligation” is a unique facet of Catholic culture

Saint Joseph was given the mission to protect, guide and provide for two people conceived without sin, Mary and Jesus, which means that...