America’s unofficial religion offers a God who asks little and promises happiness. But the God revealed in Scripture calls us to something far greater. (Photo: Lightstock) By Mary Beth Bonacci Does America have an official religion? Not “officially,” of course. But, at least according to one expert, we definitely have an American religion. And it is very widely practiced. Sociologist Christian Smith, some 20 years ago, conducted a study on the religious beliefs and habits of

Part Eleven: You’ve made it this far in Intentional Accompaniment. Now it’s time to invite the person you’re walking with to turn and accompany someone else towards Jesus. (Photo by Grant Whitty) Editor's Note: This column is part of a yearlong series on evangelization, breaking down what often feels like a tall order into real, practical, actionable steps towards intentional accompaniment. Part One: A Practical Guide for Everyday Catholics Part Two: Be A Disciple First Part

The dome of St. Peter's Basilica appears against a clear sky. (Photo by André Escaleira, Jr./Denver Catholic) Toward the end of the recent Roman meeting to discuss the Church’s 21st-century mission to marriage and the family, Pope Leo XIV asked the participating bishops to share their reflections on that experience. Bishop Erik Varden, OCSO, of Trondheim, did so in a post on his indispensable blog, Coram Fratribus [Among Brethren]. Please take a moment to read it here. Even i

(Photo by André Escaleira, Jr./Denver Catholic) It's not just the rights of Catholics on the line at the United States Supreme Court next week, Archbishop Golka wrote in an op-ed in The Denver Post on Sunday. It's the freedom of all Americans to practice their beliefs. As the Archdiocese of Denver, St. Mary Catholic Virtue School and local Catholic families prepare to head to Washington, DC, for a Supreme Court hearing in St. Mary v. Roy, the Denver archbishop shared on the b

A Catholic high school student reflects on how personal testimonies challenged her to listen more deeply, speak with compassion and put her pro-life beliefs into action. Sr. Mary Grace, SV, speaks during the 2025 Pro-Life High School Symposium hosted by Respect Life Denver, a ministry of Catholic Charities. (Photo by Ryan Brady, courtesy of Respect Life Denver) By Jane Chatterton Going to the Pro-Life symposium last year, I was really excited and interested to hear from peopl

Eight hundred years after his death, St. Francis' remarkable peace — captured in the Franciscan Transitus tradition and reflected in a painting by Peter Paul Rubens — invites us to confront our own mortality with courage, faith and hope. St. Francis by Peter Paul Rubens, c. 1615. (Photo: Public Domain via Art Institute of Chicago) I have recently learned that on October 3, Franciscans commemorate the Transitus of St. Francis, his passing from earthly life into eternal life, w

What does it take to make someone a Catholic? The waters of Baptism bring new birth, yet when we look around, we find many baptized pagans in the world today. In response, it’s easy to say that it’d be different if only they were better educated. In the late 1960s, catechesis collapsed by focusing more on subjective experiences than on doctrine. With the release of the new Catechism in 1992, a wave of more theologically sound textbooks was produced, yet the crisis of attritio

(Photo: Lightstock, created with AI) During a Gaudium et Spes 22 podcast on the encyclical Magnifica Humanitas this past June, I said to my friend Larry Chapp, perhaps more flippantly than the subject warranted, that the folks leading the AI revolution “don’t know the difference between metaphysics and Metamucil.” That is, they seem oblivious to the truth that there are deep truths inscribed into the human condition: truths that we can know by reason (and, Christians would i

(Photo courtesy of Becket) By Father James de Cendra, DCJM Principal St. Mary Catholic Virtue School, Littleton Should your Colorado tax dollars be used to discourage families from enrolling their children in Catholic schools? None but the most hostile opponents of the faith would say yes. Yet this is precisely the situation Lisa Sheley has seen — as a parent and enrollment administrator at St. Mary Catholic Virtue School in Littleton — since the state excluded Catholic s

(Photo: Lightstock) For many thousands of years, humanity has marveled at the bird’s ability to fly. From the Greek myth of Icarus flying too close to the sun to the Wright brothers’ first twelve-second flight, who could have ever imagined the hundreds of thousands of pounds of metal we send up in the skies every day? That everyday miracle is made possible by an unseen force called lift, working with the curve of the wing. In fact, unseen forces are all around us. Who could h

In this reflection, Deacon Abram León shares his vocational journey and invites us to listen for God’s call and respond generously. Deacon Abram Leon bows during the election of candidates to the diaconate during a permanent deacon ordination at the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception on June 14, 2025. (Photo by Daniel Petty/Denver Catholic) By Deacon Abram León This past Deacon Sunday offered us a beautiful opportunity to reflect on the diaconal ministry and to g

Candace Owens speaking with attendees at the 2022 AmericaFest at the Phoenix Convention Center in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Gage Skidmore via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0) According to the online Encyclopedia Britannica, Sir Moses Montefiore (1784-1885) was “an Italian-born businessman who was noted for his philanthropy and support of Jewish rights.” In the England to which he was brought as a child, he became an investor of such genius that he retired from the investmen

Pope Leo XIV greets people as he rides in the popemobile before celebrating Mass in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican June 1, 2025, as part of the Jubilee of Families, Children, Grandparents and the Elderly. (Photo: CNS/Lola Gomez) The Church has always taught that the Gospel bears social implications, shaping how Christians live in the world. Catholic Social Teaching (CST), however, developed only when the fabric of Christendom — the legacy of Christian culture — had worn th

Front page of the Baltimore Sun on October 10, 1966, after the Baltimore Orioles won the 1966 World Series. (Photo: Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons) I am not usually given to apocalypticism, but I think I got the imagery exactly right when, in 2001, I called my brother and described the ruins left by the demolition of Baltimore’s Memorial Stadium as akin to “the abomination of desolation” (cf. Daniel 9:27, 11:31, 12:11). What had once been our youthful field of dreams, wh

From school boards and city councils to advocacy and public service, Catholics have opportunities to bring their faith into civic life and work for the common good. (Photo: Adobe Stock) By Nathan Fisher Associate Director Colorado Catholic Conference Faith and politics share a relationship that is deeply interconnected yet distinctly separate. As Catholics, every facet of our lives must be informed by our faith, including our political outlook and engagement. I learned this

(Photo: Pexels) The now-ubiquitous terms “reproductive health” and “reproductive freedom” have contributed mightily to a slaughter of the innocents in these United States. The death toll from that massacre is now greater than the estimated 60 million civilian lives erased by area bombing, genocide, starvation, and disease during World War II. If the victor of D-Day, Dwight D. Eisenhower, could write of that bloodletting that “the loss of lives that could have been creatively

True unity begins in Jesus Christ and comes alive through sacrificial love, service and a willingness to bring the Gospel beyond the walls of our churches into a world in need. (Photo: Lightstock) Two brothers inherit the family farm and split it in half. One is married with eight children, the other, a bachelor. At harvest time, the married brother realizes his family will support him, but his brother is alone. He decides to secretly put some of his grain in his brother’s ba

An Angel by Abbott Handerson Thayer, c. 1893, Milwaukee Art Museum. (Photo by Elizabeth Zelasko) The absolute awe I felt as a kid watching Archbishop Fulton Sheen’s chalkboard get wiped clean by his Guardian Angel, just off-camera, was Disney-level entertainment. On his incredibly popular television show, Life Is Worth Living, Archbishop Sheen would use a chalkboard to write out or diagram the theological gold he was dishing out on screen. Naturally, the board would eventuall

(Photo: Lightstock) In the modern world, we take our food for granted. God made it clear to the Israelites, however, that the fruit of the harvest would serve as a sign of his blessing. He wanted to lead his people and bless them abundantly, if only they would let him: “If you live in accordance with my statutes and are careful to observe my commandments, I will give you your rains in due season, so that the land will yield its crops, and the trees their fruit; your thresh

Part Ten: Once the person you're intentionally accompanying has encountered Jesus and experienced conversion, even incomplete conversion, it's time to help them to become a leader in faith. The next step in making disciples is to hand off the evangelizing baton, even while you still continue running the race of the Christian life and evangelization. (Photo: Lightstock) Editor's Note: This column is part of a yearlong series on evangelization, breaking down what often feels li