As precursor to a film on The Camino, below please find a conversation with four bishops who have walked The Camino many times — Bishop Donald Hying of Madison, Wisconsin, Archbishop Paul Coakley of Oklahoma City, Bishop James Conley of Lincoln, Nebraska, and Bishop James Wall of Gallup, New Mexico. Together, along with moderator Kathryn…
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI delivered these words, as Pope, during a pastoral visit to the Shroud of Turin in 2010— Dear Friends: This is a moment to which I have been looking forward. I have stood before the Holy Shroud on various occasions but this time I am experiencing this Pilgrimage and this moment with…
CNA—Pope Francis highlighted “the beauty of Mary’s heart” in his Angelus address on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. The pope said on Dec. 8 that the Blessed Virgin Mary’s encounter with the Angel Gabriel, described in St. Luke’s Gospel, revealed her deep humility. “Within the domestic walls, a person reveals him or herself better…
Sean Stephenson delivered a talk to inmates at Ironwood State Prison in Blythe, California, several years ago that absollutely inspires, no matter where you are. No matter what circumstances or challenges you face right now. He cuts through all the muck and challenges of life to squarely focus on going forward. Need inspiration? Sean’s talk…
Crisis—Upon entering St. Peter’s Basilica, facing the visitor, like some sunburst, is the Great Altar. It is spaced majestically beneath Bernini’s massive baldachin, held up by four thick, twisted columns, identical to the ones in Solomon’s Temple—clearly a sign that the typological figures of the Old Testament had come to fulfillment in the immolation of…
There is much turmoil in our world today, leading some of the faithful to wonder if our Lord’s return is imminent. In Luke’s Gospel (18:8), Jesus asks, “When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on earth?” This is an important question at our time in history, as many are leaving the Church,…
Today Our Lord Jesus Christ ascended into Heaven. “Let our hearts ascend with Him,” wrote Saint Augustine. Traditionally, and still in many dioceses of the world, the Church celebrates Ascension Thursday this day, 40 days after the Resurrection. For 40 days, our Risen Lord dwelt with Mary and His Apostles in a glorified and mysterious…
CNA, Catholic Catechism—A plenary indulgence is a grace granted by the Catholic Church through the merits of Jesus Christ, Mary and all the saints to remove the temporal punishment due to sin. The indulgence applies to sins already forgiven. A plenary indulgence cleanses the soul as if the person had just been baptized. A plenary…
CNA—Eight hundred years ago, a barefoot St. Dominic carried an icon of the Virgin Mary across Rome to entrust the Marian image to a new community of cloistered nuns, who have safeguarded the icon within the walls of their convent to this day. The icon, known as the “Advocata,” can be found today in a…
As the end of Advent approaches, the Office of Readings features some final admonitions from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah. On the one hand they console; on the other, they challenge us to remain firm. Isaiah addressed a people in exile who still awaited the first coming of the Lord. Today, these texts speak…
The Catholic Thing—Today we begin the liturgical season defined by hope. The preface for Mass says that we dare to hope. Indeed, hope seems a more daring venture than ever. And yet for precisely that reason, it holds more importance than ever. In keeping with Chesterton’s famous aphorism — Hope means hoping when things are…
In light of Alaska’s 2018 earthquake in which the parish co-pastored by Fr. Arthur Roraff was the hardest hit, we reprint the excellent first homily of this same priest, given just 3 years ago. Adaptation for print 2015 by Catholic Anchor— Jesus was in a boat in the Sea of Galilee, which still exists in…
Some thoughts for Labor Day… “… elevated from within by the grace of Christ, let them work vigorously so that by human labor, technical skill and civil culture, created goods may be perfected according to the design of the Creator and the light of his word.” — St. John Paul II “If you are what…
March 26, 2018 Ralph Waldo Emerson had moments more perceptive than his vague religiosity: “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines.” He spoke not of consistency itself, but of a “foolish” consistency. Ralph Waldo Emerson had moments more perceptive than his vague religiosity: “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored…
