Women think that they are making ideals of men. What they are making of us are false idols merely. You made your false idol of me, and I had not the courage to come down, show you my wounds, tell you my weaknesses. I was afraid that I might lose your love, as I have ... Read more

God has left us from Paradise three things: the stars, the flowers and the eyes of a child… That is a quote from a 1908 book titled The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass by Nicholas Guir. The author wrote that flowers have a place entirely their own in God’s creation: In the splendor of their ... Read more

When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. (Jn. 11:17) The first time we are introduced to the character Martha in the Gospels, Scripture paints a rather ugly portrait of a woman disgruntled by her sister Mary’s failure to help in the kitchen, seemingly envious of the ... Read more

Blaise Pascal was one of the most remarkable minds of the seventeenth century. A mathematician, physicist, philosopher, and writer, he devoted his life to exploring both the mysteries of nature and the deepest questions of human existence. Born in Clermont-Ferrand, France, in 1623, Pascal displayed extraordinary talent from an early age. At sixteen, he had ... Read more

Even while on earth, Jesus’ apostolic mission appeared to bear much fruit, evident in the large crowd that followed Him: “Such large crowds gathered around Him (Jesus) that He got into a boat and sat down.” But Jesus does not seem impressed by the size of the crowd. He goes on to tell them a ... Read more

There’s a phrase that changed the way I pray, the way I give, and honestly, the way I look at a map. Mission ad gentes. It’s Latin for “mission to the nations,” or “mission to the peoples.” This little phrase carries the heartbeat of the Church, the last words Jesus spoke before He ascended into ... Read more

Have you noticed that in a garden it is easier to experience God than nearly anywhere else? Praying while sitting in, looking at, or working in a garden is a direct connection to our Creator. Why is that? I suspect it’s because it’s a return to the Garden of Eden. The close relationship that God ... Read more

If we seek to learn more about the mother of Jesus, then perhaps the place to begin is by taking a closer look at the family from which she came. Unfortunately, we have almost no information about the parents of our Blessed Mother Mary. In fact, any “historical” information we have comes from a non-canonical ... Read more

On December 1, 2025, Pope Leo XIV knelt in Annaya, Lebanon, under an arch of stone, facing the carved cedar tomb of St. Charbel Makhlouf. Pope Leo gazed at the image of the saint displayed above the tomb—a quiet, white-bearded religious priest and hermit robed in black. Charbel (Sharbel) Makhlouf was declared a saint in ... Read more

From Image to Icon, Escaping the Temptation of the Idol A recent Sunday Collect beautifully summarizes one of the deepest challenges of the Christian life: “Listen, O God, to our prayers, and grant that, by imitating the Passion of your Son, we may bear our daily cross with serene courage. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.” ... Read more