Spirituality
The Liturgical calendar: Growing in Jesus through the years
As one liturgical year ends this Sunday and a new one begins in Advent the following Sunday, Jesuit Father Fran Gillespie shows how the rhythms of a calendar offer opportunities for spiritual growth.
Jesus dispels the fog of worry with the light of his love
Anxieties and concerns can cloud our vision like the morning mist, making it difficult to move forward in life, writes Msgr. Joseph Prior. The Lord shines through the gloom, burning away our fears and restoring our vision of a bright future in him.
Readings of the Holy Mass: Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time
Read or listen to the readings before Mass with these resources from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, using the New American Bible, Revised Edition.
Can you stand at Mass to protest church teaching?
Father Kenneth Doyle advises a reader regarding a demonstration in support of same-sex unions that took place during a liturgy. In response to another question, he counsels a single woman who longs to adopt a child.
The real story we’re all called to write
A faded copy of an old Catholic newspaper reminds a discouraged Gina Christian that the big headline is the eternal love of Christ -- a message the faithful share in often ordinary ways, across generations.
Don’t join devil’s game of jealousy, pope says at Mass
The devil is real and is so jealous of Jesus and the salvation Jesus offers that he tries everything he can to divide people and make them attack each other, Pope Francis said.
Readings of the Holy Mass: Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time
Read or listen to the readings before Mass with these resources from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, using the New American Bible, Revised Edition.
Risen Jesus lights our way to eternal life with him
Like a sea of candles in a dark night, God's faithful people look to the light of Jesus' victory over death and his resurrection as the source of hope on our earthly journey, comments Msgr. Joseph Prior on this Sunday's Scriptures.
Don’t just hang in there — hold on
A coworker's advice reminds Gina Christian that grasping God's hand, especially when our own grip is failing, draws us into a divine embrace that lifts us out of everyday existence.
Catholic marriages in non-church venues?
While the norm is for Catholics to marry in their parish church, some leeway is increasingly given to couples who wish to wed in non-church settings, including outdoors, writes Father Ken Doyle.