Spiritual Experience & Disciplines

On a Sunday evening during the summer of 2008 I was walking north on Broadway, toward First Baptist Church. A crowd was circling a scene where a street fair had been taking place. I stopped to see what was going on. A man was lying face down and unconscious on the street. The lenses of his... Read more

It is well known that on December 12, 1999, Pope St. John Paul II proclaimed Our Lady of Guadalupe to be Patroness of the Americas. Less well known is the fact that our Lord’s holy mother Mary, under the title of the Immaculate Conception, had been recognized as Patroness of the... Read more

Downtown Washington D.C., capital of the greatest nation on earth – arguably, the greatest in human history – is already boarded up, expecting what the media will doubtless call “mostly peaceful” demonstrations after tomorrow’s elections. In more than thirty years living here, I’ve... Read more

Bring them home to holy ground for All Souls Day. That is the message and the simple goal of “Lay Them to Rest,” a new program at two Diocese of Madison cemeteries. Bring the cremated remains of your loved ones home to the consecrated ground of a Catholic cemetery for interment, at no... Read more

I have blogged before on Purgatory. Here is a link to one of those blogs: Purgatory – Biblical and Reasonable. I have also written more extensively on its biblical roots here: PDF Document on Purgatory. On this Feast of All Souls, I want to reflect on Purgatory as the necessary... Read more

For Catholics, November is the month of the Holy Souls in Purgatory. The Catechism teaches: “All who die in God’s grace and friendship but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death, they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness... Read more

Today is the Feast of All Saints. Some saints of the Church have a particular day on the calendar associated with them and are commonly recognized by name. Many more, though not as familiar to us, are still known by God and have been caught up with Him to glory. Today is their day, the day of... Read more

Saint Augustine has referred to the Sermon on the Mount as the “charter of the whole Christian life.” The first part of the Sermon, the Beatitudes, is proclaimed at Mass on the Solemnity of All Saints. Pope Benedict XVI teaches that the Beatitudes, taken together like so many... Read more

When I knelt in the monastery chapel after entering through the enclosure door to begin my postulancy, Mother read the traditional prayer for this moment: “O Mary, my good Mother, behold at your feet this child whom the charms of your Holy Rosary have drawn into this dear solitude . .... Read more

The following article is part of the Popcaks' ongoing series on the Liturgy of Domestic Church Life.  To learn more, join their Facebook discussion group:  CatholicHŌM (Households on Mission)–Family Discipleship In the Liturgy of Domestic Church Life, the practices associated with... Read more