Part Four: To evangelize well, we must first be good and holy friends. (Photo: Lightstock) 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 Three: Discern Who to Accompany Part Five: Build Zones of Freedom Part Six: Share the Kerygma Part Seven:

From a challenging homily to pilgrimage in France, one local priest reflects on the mission of spiritual fatherhood in an apostolic age. Father Trevor Lontine says Mass at the tomb of St. John Vianney in Ars, France, during a recent pilgrimage. (Photo provided) By Father Trevor Lontine A Priestly Challenge at the Start of My Priesthood On May 15, 2022, Father Dan Barron, OMV, stood at the pulpit in St. Joseph Parish in Denver and asked a simple question. There are so many

Daily service at the archbishop's side offers a glimpse into a life lived in total surrender to Christ. As Archbishop Aquila's retirement drew near, Father David Hall had the privilege of watching Denver's shepherd follow the Lord in complete surrender, even to the end of his formal ministry. (Photo by Daniel Sasala) By Father David Hall Priest Secretary, 2025—2026 Editor's Note: Over the last almost 14 years, many have gotten to know Archbishop Aquila all across Northern Col

In the modern age, abstaining from technology is a noble Lenten practice to enter the desert, quiet the mind and heart and hear the voice of God. (Photo: The Temptation of Christ in the Wilderness by Sebastiano Ricci, Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons. Smartphone digitally added.) Since we are halfway through Lent, it’s a good moment to consider how it’s been going. The purpose of our self-denial is conversion, as we learn to let go of control and to depend more upon God.

Through prayer, evangelization and healing, Archbishop Aquila guided the archdiocese into a new era of mission. From Archbishop Aquila's side, Father Tom Scherer saw the Archdiocese of Denver move to mission, through the Synod on Synodality and into an apostolic age. (Photo by Dan Petty/Denver Catholic) By Father Tom Scherer Parochial Vicar, St. Thomas More Parish, Centennial Priest Secretary, 2021—2025 Editor's Note: Over the last almost 14 years, many have gotten to know Ar

From the abuse crisis to the pandemic, Archbishop Aquila carried the Archdiocese with prayer at the center of his life. Even through serious challenges like the abuse crisis and pandemic, Father Matt Magee witnessed Archbishop Aquila's prayerful spirit. (Photo by Dan Petty/Denver Catholic) By Father Matthew Magee Pastor, St. Stephen Parish, Glenwood Springs Priest Secretary, 2018—2021 Editor's Note: Over the last almost 14 years, many have gotten to know Archbishop Aquila all

From parish drives to 'Super Bowl' liturgies, a priest shares the witness of Archbishop Aquila's priesthood and humanity. From Archbishop Aquila's side, Father Scott Bailey learned profound lessons about the spiritual life. (Denver Catholic archive photo) By Father Scott Bailey Pastor, Risen Christ Parish, Denver Priest Secretary, 2014—2018 Editor's Note: Over the last almost 14 years, many have gotten to know Archbishop Aquila all across Northern Colorado as he ministered an

Archbishop Aquila's first Denver priest-secretary reflects on the shepherd's leadership, rooted in faith and humanity. As Archbishop Aquila's first priest secretary, Father Matt Book (right) got a front-row seat to the new shepherd's ministry. (Denver Catholic archive photo) By Father Matthew Book Vicar for Clergy Priest Secretary, 2014—2024 Archdiocese of Denver Editor's Note: Over the last almost 14 years, many have gotten to know Archbishop Aquila all across Northern Color

(Photo by Dan Petty/Denver Catholic) My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, In this farewell letter to you, I want to share some of the gifts I have received as a priest, bishop, and disciple of Jesus, in serving him and the faithful he has brought into my life throughout the years. The gifts are far too many, undeserved and not earned. They fill my heart with wonder and gratitude to the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit, and to Mary as my mother, as I call them to mind. I a

Mary at the Foot of the Cross by Elizabeth Zelasko. ( Denver Catholic file photo) The Catholic Church is today in the early stages of a nine-year novena , moving towards the 2,000th anniversary of the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ. As we journey toward that anniversary, Denver Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila had the idea of gathering the faithful in prayer around one sacred image , an icon to help lead us, year after year, deeper into the mystery of the Cross. READ MOR

Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila and Archbishop-designate James Golka pray together in Christ the King Chapel at St. John Vianney Seminary in Denver. (Photo by André Escaleira, Jr.) This last year, the world watched as the cardinals gathered in Rome for the election of a new pope, the 267 th bishop of Rome. New York recently received a new archbishop, and Denver is preparing for one as well. We are witnessing apostolic succession in action, extending an unbroken chain of bishops

Part Three: Intentional accompaniment and evangelization must be taken to prayer first. Before he chose his disciples, Jesus went up the mountain to pray intentionally. Like him, we who are evangelizers (hint: every Catholic!) are called to pray about whom he's calling us to accompany. (Photo: Lightstock) 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 in

Pope John Paul II during his 1979 visit to Poland. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 3.0 PL) Cardinal Agostino Casaroli, Vatican Secretary of State from 1979 to 1990 — and before that, the architect and chief diplomatic agent of the Ostpolitik of Pope Paul VI — initially played hard-to-get when I tried to interview him for the first volume of my John Paul II biography, Witness to Hope . The cardinal was not a fan of my 1992 book, The Final Revolution: The Resistance Church a

How one unexpected vision, a tiny chapel and a lot of grace revealed our vocation and deepened our love for Christ. The Portiuncula Chapel at the Franciscan University of Steubenville was key in Meg and Ryan's love story. (Photo courtesy of Franciscan University of Steubenville's Facebook page) By Meg Stout How my husband, Ryan, and I came to meet and marry is like something from the Old Testament: providential encounters, prophetic words and even a dream. At 18, I went off

From nihilism to radical ideologies, many young men are searching for purpose — and not finding it. (Photo: Unsplash, edited) So, what is going on with young men these days? I know, every generation in recent memory has asked the same question. Those young hooligans with their leather jackets. The hippies with their psychedelic vans. The weirdos in the parachute pants. But those young men, for the most part, seemed to grow up to marry and become productive members of society.

(Photo: Lightstock) Opposites attract, like puzzle pieces that fit together. And yet in most marriages I know of (including mine), we discover over the first decade that we couldn’t be more different. Sometimes it becomes hard to remember what brought us together in the first place! The answer is there, but often it must be rediscovered. Along the way, the differences, miscommunications and disappointments can threaten to destroy our marriages. I speak as a woman to one of ou

(Photo: Wikimedia Commons / Fair Use) Those who remember the epic pontificate of St. John Paul II may recall a tall, handsome layman with well combed, iron-grey hair, dressed in a black business suit, white shirt, and black tie, following the clerical members of the papal household into St. Peter’s Square on many great occasions, or carrying an umbrella over the Pope’s head when it rained. That same man is at center stage in photos of the assassination attempt of May 13, 1981

Why the Great Commission still applies to married couples. Mission brought Alli and Tanner to the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis, IN, in July 2024. (Photo provided) Leaving staff as a campus missionary with FOCUS was a difficult transition. I absolutely loved evangelizing students at the University of Colorado Boulder, and I didn’t want my zeal for souls to fizzle out. I was determined to continue living on mission, even if it would look different. My fiancée w

(Photo provided) In his letter to the Ephesians, St. Paul describes the ideal of a Christian husband, writing, “For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the Church, his body, and is himself its savior […] Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the Church and gave himself up for her” (Ephesians 5:23, 25). This image of Christ as the head of the Church is often evoked to properly explain his relationship to her — and of a husband to his wife. But

Ecce Homo (Behold the Man) by Caravaggio, c. 1605. (Photo: Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons) It’s easy to take things that we’re used to doing for granted. Lent’s just one of those Catholic customs that come around every year as the liturgical year moves through its cycles. But if we actually think about why we practice it, it may help us to get more out of it. I’d like to explore the “why” behind it to help us be more intentional in how we enter into Lenten practices thi