As the wonder of Christmas fast approaches, the Fourth Sunday of Advent presents us with the Gospel scene of the Visitation — Mary immediately making haste to share the joyful news of the Incarnation of God in her womb with her beloved cousin Elizabeth who herself is pregnant with John the Baptist.
If you practice the Catholic faith and have a loving and living relationship with Jesus, various people in your life have prayed for you to be where you spiritually are.
In the annual autumn meeting of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) this month, we bishops voted to set the national priorities for 2025-2028, as guideposts for our pastoral work.
Gratitude is a fundamental aspect of the Christian life. God has most generously and lovingly shared everything with us, culminating in the precious gift of salvation, offered to us through Jesus Christ.
This month, on November 2, All Souls’ Day, the bishops of Wisconsin issued the fourth edition of Now and at the Hour of our Death, a pastoral letter concerning Catholic teaching on death and dying, end-of-life issues, and the importance of funeral planning.
Autumn is my favorite season of the year. The frosty temperatures, the blazing color of the trees, the smell of wood smoke, and the crunch of leaves underfoot are all expressions of beauty and peace.
November is the traditional month we as Catholics ponder the Four Last Things: Death, Judgment, Heaven, and Hell. As we celebrate All Saints’ Day on November 1 and pray for all the souls in Purgatory on November 2, God draws our hearts to ponder the brevity of this life, the urgency of conversion, the beauty of eternity with God, and the possibility of losing our salvation through habitual mortal sin without repentance.
The United States Constitution guarantees religious freedom in the First Amendment.
This fundamental right propelled many persecuted religious groups in Europe (including the Catholics who settled Maryland) to come to America in pursuit of religious liberty — the ability to practice their own faith as their conscience led them.
The feast day of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque is celebrated on October 16. On December 27, 1673, after another day of prayer and work was finished in the convent, St. Margaret Mary was praying alone in the chapel when the Sacred Heart appeared to her. Jesus’ body was filled with light and His Heart was on fire, bleeding and crowned with thorns.
