The Church has traditionally grounded Lenten spirituality in almsgiving, fasting and prayer as taught by Jesus in his Evangelical Discourse (Matt. Chap. 6). At the mention of “prayer,” our thoughts may turn first just in the direction of vocal prayer, – “saying” prayers. But we should never restrict the concept of prayer just to “words.” ...read more

Lent is a special time to prepare for the passion, death, and Resurrection of our Lord.  We have a full line-up of programming for Holy Week beginning this weekend on Palm Sunday to help enter into this great mystery. Prior to that, this Thursday, we will be broadcasting a special Sacrament of Penance service presided ...read more

We’re just over half way through Lent. It’s a time when we may be wavering in our resolutions, or perhaps regretting that we haven’t done anything to enter more fully into the passion of our Lord. This weekend on Salt + Light, we offer viewers an opportunity of encouragement, or depending where you are at, ...read more

In a dark period between a hail of shrapnel in 1994 and a papal decree in 2002, not one priest remained in Afghanistan. This statistic may not surprise you, given that the country was ruled by the fanatical Taliban for the majority of those years. But considering Jesus’ great commission to “make disciples of all ...read more

In Humanae Vitae, Pope Paul VI describes marital love as free, total, faithful, and fruitful. I could spend hours typing about each of those four characteristics, but instead on tonight’s episode of Catholic Focus, I would like to take the opportunity to concentrate on the ‘fruitful’ aspect; specifically natural family planning, fertility awareness and contraception. ...read more

Did you miss the first few episodes of the Salt + Light series Mothering, Full of Grace? For the next three Wednesdays we will be airing a previously broadcast episode at 8pm and midnight ET. (note that we do not have the usual Sunday repeat as Salt + Light is airing special Lenten and Easter ...read more

This title may prompt you to say: “Fasting for Lent is hard enough but fasting for Easter is just too much!” Indeed, a better title might be “Fasting because of Easter.” Whatever? Here’s the reason we fast — some people in the Gospel once asked Jesus why they and the Pharisees fast often, but Jesus’ ...read more

“I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father.” (John 15:15) This… this is true, quality friendship. This is our Lord, telling us he calls us friends and sharing with us all the love and grace and knowledge that comes from our Heavenly Father. ...read more

This past Sunday I pressed the reset button and recommenced Lent. Thankfully, 40 days allows time for a few false starts. My problem wasn’t that I chose overly challenging forms of fasting and abstinence—they were modest and achievable. Rather, when something doesn’t go your way in life, as was the case for me last week, ...read more

The history of the Catholic Church is filled with extraordinary personalities who were raised to the altar for their heroic virtues. One of the most fascinating personalities in recent church history is, without a doubt, Padre Pio of Pietrelcina. This year marks the 40th anniversary of his death and it is a good time to ...read more