We tend to forget about Joseph after the Christmas season, but his feast day provides the opportunity for us to contemplate the influential role he played in the life of Jesus. ...read more

By Patricia Zapor Catholic News Service HAVANA (CNS) — The Catholic Church that Pope Benedict XVI will visit March 26-28 is, to put it simply, more. Since Pope John Paul II’s visit in 1998, the church is more unified, more public, more likely to work with the government in accomplishing specific goals, more involved in ...read more

For Christians the season of Lent is a time for reflecting on and confronting the reality of trials. These are periods in our lives filled with anxiety, doubt, anger, helplessness, and even despair; they are a part of our human experience. And it is not surprising that the Scriptures shed enormous light on the matter, ...read more

I have many fond memories of the years I spent studying with the Benedictines in Collegeville, Minnesota. That Abbey-University combination is quite unique, and it fosters a really vibrant academic (and especially theological) atmosphere. Such a place tends to draw influential people to it, and so on more than one occasion – and often to ...read more

Last week I attended a Theology on Tap at the Ryerson University pub, hosted by the Catholic Chaplaincy operating out of the Archdiocese of Toronto. The discussion was led by a Ryerson professor of radio and television arts, and a practicing Catholic, on “Faith in a Secular World.” The assembly of about forty young people, ...read more

January 24th was the feast day of St. Francis de Sales – patron of journalists and communicators – and the occasion Pope Benedict chose to announce the Church’s message for World Communications Day 2012.  The message is an interesting one, highlighting the importance of silence as a crucial variable in effective and meaningful communication.  “In ...read more

In recent months I’ve had many conversations about what it means to be a “religious” person. Not in the sense of a religious vocation or the priestly life, but as one of the majority of those who profess the Creed from the pews on Sunday – the laity. These conversations have come from across the ...read more

Last week I blogged about the importance of the Second Vatican Council in the life of the Church, and the responsibility of all Catholics to be proactive with the graces entrusted to them.  The fruits of that Council, namely the documents themselves and the broader shift in ecclesial mentality, are perhaps the greatest and most ...read more

Recall the parable of the talents (Matt 25:14-30).  A man is preparing for a journey and entrusts his possessions to his servants.  To one he gives five talents; to another he gives two talents; and to another he gives one talent.  The first two servants are proactive and trade with the talents; each doubling what ...read more

If we were to step back for a moment and look at the extent to which traditionally Christian societies have become secular in recent history, we might conclude (quite reasonably) that by all appearances the Faith is dying, if not dead already.  So dangerous is the perception of this cultural shift away from God, that ...read more