Faith & Spirituality

God’s Plan for a Broken World: Denver Priest Reflects on Fatherhood and the Curé of Ars 

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 bad and abusive...

A New Lenten Pillar: Abstaining from Technology

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. The essence of...

Redemptor Hominis: more important than ever

Pope John Paul II during a visit to the Baltimore Basilica in the 1990s. Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo: Carol M. Highsmith via Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain) Forty-seven years ago, Pope John Paul II issued his first encyclical, Redemptor Hominis (The Redeemer of Man). The first letter in the centuries-old encyclical tradition devoted to the Christian idea of the human person, Redemptor Hominis was also what Cardinal James Hickey once called the “program notes” for John Paul’s entire...

Where Do Bishops Come From? The Divinely Appointed Overseer

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 back to the...

Making Disciples: Discern Who to Accompany

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 intentional...

Until Death Do Us Part: Marriage and the Death to Self

(Photo: Adobe Stock) By Dr. Elizabeth Klein Associate Professor of Theology Augustine Institute In the fourth century, a young woman named Macrina (venerated today as St. Macrina the Younger) unexpectedly lost her fiancé prior to her wedding. She took this turn of events as a divine sign never to marry, explaining to her parents that her intended spouse was still alive in Christ. 1 This decision characterized the saint’s outlook on life: to live life as preparation for death, viewing all...

Encounter Jesus: Listening with the Heart

(Photo: Lightstock) As the Lenten season begins, Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila has issued his final pastoral note, entitled "Encounter Jesus: Listening with the Heart." In it, he encourages the faithful to encounter the Lord Jesus, especially in Scripture, discern his voice and allow his will to be carried out through each of us. The pastoral note and its exhortation come following the announcement that Pope Leo XIV had accepted Archbishop Aquila's request to retire on February 7, appointing...

Missionary Disciples, Even After 'I Do'

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 was on the same...

Is Ash Wednesday a Holy Day of Obligation? and other Lenten Questions, Answered

(Photo by Rocio Madera) Everyone’s favorite season of sacrifice is just around the corner! The penitential period of the Church year seems to sneak up on us year after year, and brings with it lots of questions. While wonder is a gift of the Holy Spirit, there’s no need to sit in uncertainty any longer! Is Ash Wednesday a Holy Day of Obligation? According to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) 1991 general decree, there are six Holy Days of Obligation in the United...

YOU'RE INVITED: Join us for Ash Wednesday!

(Photo by André Escaleira, Jr.) No, those strange folks with dirt on their head aren’t actually all that strange! Ash Wednesday is just around the corner, and with it, the beginning of Lent, a time of spiritual preparation, reflection and introspection. During this holy time, Christians around the world will consider ways to live more simply, to act more generously and to get to know God better. The ashes rubbed on the foreheads of millions each year remind us of our weakness — from dust we...

Why Lent? A Guide to Its Core Practices

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 this year. Why Do...

When Self-Gift Becomes Impossible: Why Self-Hatred is a Poison to Marriage

A confessor's perspective on love, dignity and the gift of self. (Photo: Lightstock) By Father Daniel Ciucci Pastor, Most Precious Blood Parish, Denver There are few better opportunities for a societal pulse check than the confessional. The Fifth Commandment, in particular, manifold in its application, covers everything from drunkenness, reckless driving, gossip and physical violence, to the withholding of forgiveness, the clutching onto bitterness and the like. Recently, however, I have...