In the 2004 movie The Passion of the Christ, there is a poignant scene after the brutal scourging at the pillar. Jesus’ bloody Body is dragged away from the pillar, and the ground is covered with His Blood. The Blessed Mother enters the courtyard with Saints John and Mary Magdalene, she kneels down, and with maternal love and devotion, she carefully begins cleaning up His Blood from the ground. This scene depicts the type of reverence all of us should have for the Precious Blood of Jesus, which was poured out for our redemption. One way to cultivate such devotion is by taking part in July ..read more

In the early 1980s, Pope Saint John Paul II recognized rising problems within marriage and family life. He appointed Cardinal Carlo Caffarra to head a new Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family. Because the institute was under the patronage of Our Lady of Fatima, Cardinal Caffara wrote to Sister Lucia dos Santos, a Carmelite nun who was one of the three children to whom the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared in Fatima, Portugal, in 1917. Not expecting a response, he was surprised when he received her reply, which included these words: “Father, a time will come when the decisive battle between ..read more

“And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit . . . ” (Acts 2:2-4) Pentecost is the culmination of the 50-day liturgical season of Easter. On this day, we commemorate the day in which the promised Holy Spirit descended upon Mary and the Apostles. Prior to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the Apostles were uncertain and afraid of what was to come. Even on the day of Pentecos ..read more

Early one morning, I woke up to the increasingly familiar sense of worry. My six children were growing up fast, and I felt thrust into a new season called midlife that I had no idea how to navigate. How were they no longer little? How, after 20 years, did parenting feel new and foreign again? That morning, I worried about my children as they moved into young adulthood. However, I was also worried that my husband’s demanding job was taking a toll on him. My own health issues were flaring up again, too, which added another layer of worry to my weary heart. Worry Leaves Little Room for Worship&nb ..read more

Have you been waiting for God to answer questions about your vocation or career? Have you applied for a big college scholarship and are trying hard to entrust the unknown outcome to the Lord? Are you waiting to meet your future husband? Are you waiting for clarity on a health issue—yours or a loved one’s? Throughout life, there are many seasons of waiting. These seasons are an invitation from the Lord to trust His will, His timing, and His promise of faithfulness to flourish in our lives. Settling Into a Season of Waiting Some years ago, already well into my vocation as wife and mother, I year ..read more

Recently, I had the joyful opportunity of attending the wedding Mass of my son’s teacher and her (now) husband. It had been a long time since I attended a Nuptial Mass, because I have been out of the wedding season for a while. You know, the season where everyone you know seems to be getting married? Typically, the wedding season is followed by the baby shower season. After being married for more than twenty years, I am now in the high school graduation season. But that’s a story for another day. At this beautiful wedding, which occurred in the midst of the Christmas Octave, my thoughts natura ..read more

It was eight o’clock in the morning. My day was in full swing. I had already driven my children to school and was back home again. I had unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher. As I was heading to my weekly Holy Hour, I checked my calendar and email. And I noticed a message from a publisher I was waiting for, hoping for. So I opened it. Immediately, my heart sank. The good news I anticipated—the acceptance of a book proposal which I had been invited to submit—turned out to be crushing. It was not the congratulatory email I was hoping for. It was a rejection. Instead of “yes,” it was “no.” I star ..read more

The decorations are still up. And the carols are still playing in the background. It’s still Christmas, after all. But the explosion of wrapping paper and empty boxes has been cleared away, and only a few Christmas cookies remain in the freezer, almost forgotten. As I continue to liturgically celebrate the Christmas season, I breathe deep relief. The frenzy of the past month has slowed way down. My to-do list has returned to a normal length. And as I look upon the first month of a new calendar year, I see open and empty spaces, inviting me to keep them just as they are. Welcome, Simplicity Jan ..read more

November tends to be an undervalued month, easily neglected by a society that quickly moves from one thing to the next. The minute the glorious fall colors turn brown and the fun activities of apple picking and pumpkin carving are checked off the list, our culture leaps over the entire month of November and moves into the Christmas season. It’s easy to get caught up in it all, too. Christmas movies start playing on cable stations. Peppermint mochas are available at the local coffee shop. And it’s exciting to anticipate “the most wonderful time of the year.” In Saint Paul’s Letter to the Ephesi ..read more

“Have you ever considered that the devil is active in your prayer life? In the parish church where you attend Mass? In the lives and actions of people of goodwill all around you?” So begins the inspiring and compelling book by Dan Burke, The Devil in the Castle: St. Teresa of Avila, Spiritual Warfare, and the Progress of the Soul. This series of questions is startling, isn’t it? And it certainly jolts the reader to consider an aspect of prayer she has never considered: the devil’s undetected activity. The Invisible Battle When we think about the demonic, more often than not, obvious evil ..read more