From his vantage point as universal Shepherd, and gifted with all the graces of his office, Pope Benedict XVI sees what his flock is facing at this point in history. He knows the problems and the pains of the Church…

Brothers and sisters, what have you come out to see, a reed shaken by the wind, or the rock? Our Catholic faith is solid like a rock, built on the rock of Peter. But one would never know it by listening to the voices of despair around us. So many people are making the case for despair. We hear all the time about the scandals in the Church. We hear about the crisis in Catholic education. We hear that young people are leaving the Church in droves. And we hear not only about the Church. A state governor just resigned from office, and the mayor of a major city is on trial. Moral relativism seems pervasive and books pushing atheism are more popular than ever. To top it off, today [April 16] is the one year anniversary of the massacre at Virginia Tech. Sometimes, the case for despair seems unanswerable.

The Gospel of John tells us that one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water (Jn. 19: 34). In the very next verse, the evangelist tells that he who…

 The Bridegroom Whispers

To what shall we compare the Fourth Sunday of Advent? It is like a bridegroom whispering in the ear of his bride a promise of things delightful and near. In the liturgy of the Fourth Sunday, Christ whispers…

The deficiencies in Catholic catechesis of recent years are so many and so disheartening that even to think of the matter is painful. And so I will focus instead on one little remedy.

One book in particular could go a…

St. Luke's account of Pentecost has a subtle way of making a powerful point.

In his Gospel, St. Luke almost always marks the end of individual events in the life of Christ with some clear signal to the reader. The first…

Devotion to St. Joseph is growing. And there are good reasons for it. Here is but one reason to love the man.

In God's plan to save the world, God wanted to be with us in the flesh. He wanted…

What does a trip to the Sacrament of Penance hold in store? Let me tell what I have seen and heard.

One time, I was in church keeping company with the Lord during an hour of Eucharistic Adoration. I was alone…

The Fathers of the Church said a great deal about the Beatitudes. Fortunately, St. Thomas Aquinas has already sifted through much of what they said. In a work entitled the Catena Aurea (i.e. “golden chain”), he collected in a chain of…

Lent is an especially good season for Confession. It is also a good time to review the reasons why Catholics go to Confession.

The Divine Mercy

On the evening of Easter, Jesus appeared to His Apostles and said, “‘Peace be with you. As…