Jesus utilized the Passover Seder to not only institute a new ritual that we now refer to as the Mass, but also to bring to fruition His New and Eternal Covenant. To understand how Christ accomplished this, one needs to understand the ritual that God instituted as a perpetual ordinance upon His chosen people in the Mosaic Covenant. The Israelites were to observe this ritual, the Passover Seder, on each anniversary of the first Passover. This was to be done in remembrance of “the Passover sacrifice of the Lord, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt; when he struck down the firs ..read more

On Ascension Day, Jesus gives His apostles—a group of men singularly lacking in influence—a worldwide mission.  How would they be able to pull this off? Gospel (Read Mk 16:15-20) As Jesus prepares to depart from the apostles, He gives them a lofty charge: “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature.”  They were to preach the Good News of Jesus and to offer the Sacrament of Baptism.  Theirs was to be a kind of life-and-death work.  Baptism would grant salvation from the condemnation all men have been under since Adam and Eve:  death. &n ..read more

In the book of Numbers, Moses sends twelve men to explore the Promised Land before the Israelites enter it. Ten men return discouraged, exaggerating the difficulties and stirring fear among the people. Only Joshua and Caleb encourage the Israelites, saying, “The land, which we passed through to spy it out, is an exceedingly good land” (Numbers 14:7). In his commentary on this passage, the Italian priest Don Dolindo Ruotolo (1882-1970) explains that the two faithful explorers, Joshua and Caleb, represent the few who still trust in God. Don Dolindo writes, “The Saints, especially those elevated ..read more

The wonderful thing about the art of film is its potential to convey aspects of universal truth in almost any of its diverse array of genres. While this can certainly be said of most art forms, nowhere do those differences in genre feel more acute than in film. This article will examine an unlikely gem of somewhat recent years that may have received little fanfare upon release but, upon re-examination, has more to offer than initially meets the eye. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty began its journey to the big screen with a lengthy stint in a mire of production red tape, waiting almost 20 ..read more

The Scarlet Letter is Nathaniel Hawthorne’s best-known novel, and it must be placed very near the top of the canon of American literature, the list of works that any student of American culture ought to read. A masterpiece of the Romantic literary movement, it can be read as a historical-fictional account of the Puritan culture woven into the fabric of our nation. Within it, Hawthorne uses his characters to depict moral grappling with questions of freedom, integrity, and virtue; and to illustrate the tenuous balance between facing our sins, accepting God’s grace, and undertaking the actions o ..read more

In her wisdom the Church has given us not just one great feast, or even one great octave of feasts, to celebrate the Resurrection of our Lord. Instead, we are invited to an entire fifty-day season of alleluias! One way we can help our human selves enter this joy of all joys is by meditating on the readings for daily Mass. Often we hear people say that they would have an easier time believing, or have a deeper faith, if only they had been there with the Apostles and touched Jesus and His wounds, like St. Thomas did. While we cannot time travel back to the first century Holy Land, we can contem ..read more

Catholic Exchange is happy to announce that Angie Allen is taking over as Editor-in-Chief. Angie has been working behind the scenes editing articles, reaching out to authors, and finding creative ways to improve Catholic Exchange and expand our reach. Angie is dedicated to revitalizing Catholic education in schools, parish RCIA programs, and through published media. She is a parish catechist and RCIA mentor in Dallas who served as a Seton Teaching Fellow in the Bronx, NY. She studied English, Theology, and Business at the University of Dallas and trained as an editor under Soph ..read more

It is well known that the Catholic definition of love is to “will the good of the other” (CCC 1766).  This is how love is not selfish because it is about the other person and helping them to be good, about giving good things to them (1 Cor 13).  Clearly, we must love God above all things, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.  This is the great and first commandment” (Mt 22:37-38).  But this should make us stop and wonder.  How are we supposed to love God?  Meaning, how can we will the good of God t ..read more

There is no quicker way to becoming a saint and to advancing in humility than by frequently kneeling at the feet of our Eucharistic Master, Teacher, and Lover. St. Peter Julian Eymard and his friend St. John Vianney are proof that the Eucharist was the food of the saints, the medicine of immortality, and the source of all virtue. This article dives deeper into why Jesus humbles Himself so profoundly in the Eucharist as related by St. Peter Julian Eymard: Why is He so humiliated? In order to show us that He loves us, to glorify His Father, and to atone for human pride. Well then, you must als ..read more

Most people born in the late nineties and into the two-thousands have lived their childhoods and adolescent years deeply immersed in the secularist, technocratic culture of our age. In fact, whether we realize it or not, many of us have received more of our human formation from television screens, Apple products, social media feeds, and YouTube subscriptions than any other influences in our lives. Most of our parents sent us off to spend seven-hour days in schools where we were influenced even further by the tendencies and ideologies of the modern culture. However, more and more young Catholi ..read more