In a world of shrinking circles, real love expands the table. That’s what Christ’s family, the Church, has always done. (Photo: Lightstock) “Mom, is Tía Gina your sister or Dad’s?” a bright-eyed young André asked his mom. “Well, neither. She’s not actually related to us at all,” came the reply. After all those years, I was confused to say the least — who was “Aunt” Gina, after all? Since when do high school best friends automatically become aunts and uncles?? The first domino

What if our best leadership this Advent came not from achieving more, but from being more present to Christ? (Photo: Unsplash) Advent doesn’t just invite leaders to slow down — it demands something more profound within us. It’s ironic that year-end pressure, crowded calendars and relentless noise also dominate the season of Advent. Advent, a time of repentance, calls leaders to quiet the cultural rush and noise and tend to their interior life. The season challenges us to live

(Photo: Lightstock) When people find out that I homeschool my five children, they usually say something like, “Wow! You must be really busy.” And while it’s true that yes, we are busy, I think we are less busy than if all of them were in traditional schools. In fact, the primary reason we chose to homeschool in the first place was to set the pace of our lives. When I was fresh out of college, I worked in a Denver parish with a school attached. I figured that someday I’d get m

Dome of St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City. (Photo: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA) On December 7, 1965, Pope Paul solemnly promulgated the Second Vatican Council’s Declaration on Religious Freedom, known by its Latin  incipit  (opening words) as  Dignitatis Humanae . The Council thereby turbocharged the Catholic Church’s transformation into the world’s premier institutional defender of basic human rights — which the late Sir Michael Howard, Regius Professor of Modern History at Oxford, o

We’re made in the image of a God who is a communion of love — Father, Son and Holy Spirit — and we can only mirror that image when we live for others. (Photo: Pexels) I just finished reading the excellent book “From Strength to Strength: Finding Success, Happiness and Deep Purpose in the Second Half of Life” by Arthur C. Brooks. One of my favorite parts was his discussion of the importance of relationships to our happiness. Like many other academics who study happiness, he ha

A simple question posed in a quiet chapel led to a 31-day Mass streak, a series of powerful spiritual lessons and a deep peace that only Jesus can give. (Photo: Unsplash) It was a quiet Saturday afternoon. I found myself in my parish’s chapel, yelling at God, angry  at him for calling a dear friend to move away. Between tirades came a reply that echoed in the silence: “What if you loved me this much?” Now, I wish I could say I piously realized the error of my ways, repented,

(Photo: Unsplash) By Deacon Ernest Martinez Director of Deacons Archdiocese of Denver As I reflect on End-of-Life Month  in our Archdiocese, I find myself looking back over two distinct callings in my life: first as a police officer, then later as a deacon. They might seem worlds apart, but both have placed me face-to-face with the mystery of death and the beauty of the human soul’s longing for God. From the Streets to the Sanctuary During my years in law enforcement, I stood

Dante Alighieri with Florence and the Realms of the Divine Comedy (Hell, Purgatory, Paradise), fresco by Domenico di Michelino (1465, after Alesso Baldovinetti), Florence Cathedral. (Photo: Heroldius/Menkin AlRire, Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 3.0)   November, the month of the dead, calls us to remember our own death and to prepare for eternal life. We may be tempted to think of this preparation in minimalist terms — avoiding mortal sin and fulfilling a basic set of obligations

John Unitas with the Baltimore Colts in 1963. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain) In early October, a dinner conversation with an old friend turned to why we both find the National Football League virtually unwatchable these days: the constant penalties (often elongated into absurdly lengthy reviews); incessant injuries to key players; TV ads for in-game betting; and above all, the adolescent, suggestive post-touchdown “celebrations” that remind one why, when Elvis Presl

Icon of Saint John Henry Newman written by Jacques Bihin in 2022. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 4.0) The All Saints Day proclamation of St. John Henry Newman as a Doctor of the Church was entirely welcome, if not without a certain irony. First, the good news. Newman was one of the most creative Christian minds of the nineteenth century, a truth seeker whose lifelong search for the face of Christ took him from evangelicalism through reformist, High Church Anglicanism into

At 17, I felt invisible — until one youth leader’s prayer opened a door for the Holy Spirit that would ripple through generations. (Photo courtesy of Shannon Vall) By Shannon Vall In the summer of 1985, a lonely, sad 17-year-old girl found herself reluctantly heading west on Highway 36 toward a weekend teen retreat along the Colorado Front Range. She hadn’t chosen to go — her well-intentioned but insistent mother had made that decision for her. She arrived uneasy and lost, co

(Photo by Lothar Wolleh / Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 3.0) Sixty years ago, on October 28, 1965, the Second Vatican Council adopted, and Pope Paul VI promulgated, the Declaration on the Relationship of the Church to Non-Christian Religions, known by the first words in the official Latin text as Nostra Aetate  (In Our Age). I chart Nostra Aetate ’s sometimes rocky passage through Vatican II in To Sanctify the World: The Vital Legacy of Vatican II .  Suffice it to note here that

Her two-word theory promises peace through detachment, yet Christ alone brings healing that no self-help formula can provide. (Photo courtesy of Mel Robbins' Facebook page) You know the feeling. One moment, life is great, and the next, you are free-falling into despair. Why? Because you opened Instagram and saw your friends hanging out without you. You start to spiral as you ask incessantly: Why didn’t they invite me? What did I do? What is wrong with me? Seven hours later, y

The stigmata of St. Francis reminds the faithful that holiness is not about perfection, but about love so complete that it bears the marks of Christ. St Francis Receiving the Stigmata by Unknown Artist (The Master of Cross 434), c. 1240-1250. Uffizi Gallery, Florence, Italy. (Photo by Elizabeth Zelasko) We are truly rich in the lives of the saints, yet I would argue that few can rival Francis of Assisi. Called by Christ from a life of comfort and privilege, he became a livin

(Photo: Unsplash) Years ago, my wife and I read the book Parenting with Love and Logic  and applied its principles with our now-grown adult kids. The book quickly became a parenting classic, helping parents raise responsible, independent kids with love and empathy by setting boundaries and allowing natural consequences for their actions. We had to keep the proverbial forest in view and not the trees — it was hard work. We had to remember that, amid all the parental trials, tr

(Photo: Lightstock) The American holiday calendar is surprisingly rich with Catholic traditions — St. Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, All Hallows Eve, Christmas and Easter. All of them, however, have taken on a life of their own, shaped by American consumerism, and often bear little resemblance to their Catholic origins. Halloween, in particular, has drawn elements from the celebration of All Souls Day and various pagan traditions, especially the Celtic festival of Samhai

Faith is not just an idea but a relationship — a lived encounter with the Person of Jesus Christ. (Photo: Lightstock) “Do you know Jesus?” I let the question hang in the air, my go-to whenever I walk with someone in discipleship. A blank stare. “…I mean, I guess?” “You guess ?”  A smile. “Let me ask you a different question. Do you know me ?” “Yes.” “Do you ‘guess’ that you know me?” “No.” “Ok, then why do you guess that you know Jesus?” “Hm. Well, I guess I know about  Jesus

The UK Parliament has debated "assisted dying" for months, the latest affront to life and a clear misunderstanding of compassion. (Photo: Unsplash) The “Mother of Parliaments” — that’s the one in London — has been embroiled for months in a debate over “assisted dying,” which is euphemized elsewhere under other Orwellian monikers: “Medical Assistance in Dying,” “Physician Assisted Suicide,” “Physician Assisted Dying,” and so forth. The bill legalizing this odious practice narr

Pope Leo XIV's first exhortation reminds us that the poor are not a problem to fix, but persons to love — and that every act of service begins with conversion of heart. (Photo courtesy of Christ in the City) By Philip Couture Director of Formation Christ in the City There’s a question that has defined all my years in Denver:   “How do I serve the poor?”   That’s probably not the question that follows most people through the Mile High City, but it marked my very first days her

(Photo: Lightstock) By Alli Kalina In the depths of grieving yet another miscarriage, my husband gently posed a question that shook things up in my spiritual life. After expressing to him that I felt hopeless and like God had abandoned me, he delicately asked me, “What’s your hope in?”  I slumped into our old, sunken couch and thought to myself: “ What was my hope in? What even is hope?”   I’m a convert, and the Lord brought me home to the Church my freshman year of college.