badassery [MASS NOUN] North American informal Behaviour, characteristics, or actions regarded as formidably impressive: few of us can attain her level of badassery The other day I read an article that used the word ‘badassery’. I couldn’t believe it: had the word finally crossed the Rubicon and become a legitimate word? I checked the Oxford dictionary. Yup, there it was. That got me thinking: ...read more

In the Jubilee Year of 2000, John Paul II made a very insightful statement.  He said: “Our Christian witness would be hopelessly inadequate if we ourselves had not first contemplated the face of the Lord.”  The same might be said of our fully entering into the Christmas season. Christmas is a time in which we ...read more

The seasons of Advent and Christmas seem to come so quickly and to be filled with many activities to say the least. In the everyday planning and preparations for family and community celebrations there are inevitably certain individuals who for whatever reason go unnoticed or unrecognized. They make important contributions. They are invaluable in their ...read more

On November 23, 2014, the Feast of Christ the King, Pope Francis will canonize six blesseds and inscribe them in the roll call of Saints. These blesseds consist of two Indians and four Italians, including one layman and one bishop. The blesseds who are to be canonized on Sunday are: Kuriakose Elias Chavara: A priest and the ...read more

On November 16, 2014 Salt + Light will air Messenger of  the Truth, a film based on the life of Blessed Father Jerzy Popieluszko, the courageous chaplain of the Solidarity movement in Poland in the early 1980’s. Narrated by Catholic activist and actor Martin Sheen, Messenger of the Truth chronicles Father Jerzy’s opposition to Poland’s ...read more

I once had a teacher who knew exactly how to keep her students focused during the day. She promised us that if we were very good, she would read us a few pages from J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit. She would only have to give the gentlest reminder that we would not have time for The Hobbit ...read more

Pope John Paul II was in many respects a pope of firsts: the first pope to visit the White House, the first pope to visit Cuba, and the most widely traveled Pope in history. As one of the longest reigning popes in the history of the Church, his influence will be felt for generations. Join ...read more

Read the full text of Pope Francis' homily during the closing mass of the Synod and the beatification of Pope Paul VI on Oct. 19, 2014. ...read more

Pope Paul VI is carried on the “sedia gestatoria,” a ceremonial throne, during the closing liturgy of the Second Vatican Council in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican Dec. 8,1965. Pope Francis will beatify Pope Paul today on Oct. 19 during the closing Mass of the extraordinary Synod of Bishops on the family. The miracle ...read more

Pope Paul VI presides over a meeting of the Second Vatican Council in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican in 1963. (CNS photo/Catholic Press Photo)  To learn more about the Second Vatican Council watch The Church Alive series. ...read more