On Mission

(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, helping support...

Darren Walsh, president and CEO of Catholic Charities of Denver, and Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila at the Beacon of Hope gala in 2022. (Photo courtesy of Catholic Charities of Denver) By Darren Walsh President & CEO Catholic Charities of Denver As we welcome our new archbishop, I have been reflecting on the leadership of Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila and, just as importantly, on the friendship and steady support he has offered Catholic Charities of Denver over so many years. Archbishop Aquila was...

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...

In a formal letter of commendation, the sisters recognized the Denver archbishop’s “steadfast fidelity” to preaching the Gospel of Life. Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila invited the Sisters of Life to the Archdiocese of Denver early in his ministry, and was pleased to welcome them at a Mass in September 2015. (Photo by Andrew Wright/Denver Catholic) It’s no secret that the dignity of life faces profound challenges in the apostolic age in which we live. Unlike the eras of the past, the world does...

(Photo: Adobe Stock) By Micah Ellalasingham, MFT-C St. Raphael Counseling Communication Breakdown As a Marriage and Family Therapist, the most common concern couples bring into the therapy room is some variation of “We can’t communicate.” Spouses, feeling unheard, are seeking the “tools” to fix it. However, within the session, a deeper pattern usually emerges. When couples say, “We need to work on communication,” what they often mean is, “I want you to listen to me and fulfill my needs.” Many...

(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 who — or what —...

From diaconate formation to the wedding Mass, God was at work every step of the way. (Photo by Mo, emmkayyphotos.com Katie and Victor Villa prove that God can turn small things, like a delivery of raffle tickets and a night at a taco bar, into something beautiful, even a sacramental union. Of course, it helps to have dads who are Denver-area deacons and who became close friends during their formation, which they began together in 2019. “Steve Boselli and the Boselli Family have always been...

(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...

(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...

By Neil McDonough and André Escaleira, Jr. On Saturday, February 7, the Vatican announced that Pope Leo had accepted Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila's request to retire and had named Most Reverend James R. Golka , currently Bishop of Colorado Springs, as the sixth Archbishop of Denver. Later that morning, the archbishop-designate was introduced to the faithful of Northern Colorado in a press conference held at the Cardinal Stafford Library at St. John Vianney Seminary in Denver. Following the...

The importance of the Church and Christian friendship in healing and strengthening married life. Lumen, a community of Catholic married couples. (Photo provided) Loneliness is a phenomenon that does not arise only in the lives of people who lack strong friendships; it often extends to marriages as well. Just as it is not good for a person to be alone, the isolation of a couple can lead to countless problems, and even to failure. By contrast, God’s plan for marriage and the family entails...

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...