Dear Father Joe: I have a friend who has listened to some podcasts and read some websites that are quite angry about how the Church has changed in the past few decades. She says everything was much more reverent before the 1960s and that we
It has become increasingly common today for the lay faithful (and, to a lesser extent, deacons and priests) to openly and publicly criticize bishops, the Apostolic See and even the pope himself. This criticism usually takes place on the internet, and some, having become especially proficient
“Sacred Heart devotion isn’t our devotion. It’s God’s. It’s God’s devotion to us”, writes Fr. James Kubicki, S.J., in his book, A Heart on Fire. He also reminds us that the Sacred Heart devotion didn’t begin in the seventeenth century with revelations to a Visitation nun named
In the Gospel for Monday of the 12th Week in Ordinary Time, there is a Scripture passage that is almost too well known. I say this because the world has wielded it like a club to swing at Christians. The text is quoted almost as if it represented the entirety of
God of power and mercy, you destroy war and put down earthly pride. Banish violence from our midst and wipe away our tears, that we may all deserve to be called your sons and daughters. Keep in your mercy those men and women who have
May 24, 2021 marks six months since the death of former Kresta in the Afternoon producer Nick Thomm after a long battle with a brain tumor. His wife, Jen, shares some thoughts: So many thoughts have been stirring in my heart these past months. Now,
At Pentecost, why do we ask the Holy Spirit to “kindle in us the fire” of God’s love? Because the alternative is to die of cancer—spiritual death from spiritual cancer. God is likened to fire in the Bible and the Liturgy countless times (Hebrews 12:29,
The father of a baby, who died in a semi truck crash in Peru earlier this week, is speaking out for the very first time since the death of his son. Police say six-month old Leo Wallace of South Bend died of his injuries after
A recent survey is measuring the extent of the world pandemic’s impact on U.S. Catholic faith practice. Responses were marked by frustration over continuing church closures and an eagerness to return to Mass. Survey results The survey was conducted by Catholics Come Home (CCH), an international
Following up on Sunday’s Gospel and noting that in the Office of Readings during the sixth week of Easter, we read from the First Letter of John, We return to the connection of the Law and the keeping of the Commandments. The first letter of
