We live in a culture which increasingly focuses on individuality and the immediacy of the here and now. Rarely do we elevate our gaze to the transcendent. Modern voices proclaim the self-identifying and self-determining individual as important above all else, rather than reserving that distinction for God. Western society is …

Dear Father: I have a question regarding godparents. It seems mandatory that a godparent be a Catholic. I could have a Catholic be a godparent and move three years after the baptism to another state. The child would only rarely see them, possibly only on holidays. I could ask a non-catholic …

I’ve been a Catholic all my life—although the nuns at old St. Mary’s Catholic School in Middletown might contest the statement. I grew up in Middletown as the son of a daily-Mass attending father and devout Methodist mother. Although Dad insisted their four children attend Catholic grade school and Bishop …

Reunido con sus discípulos alrededor de una mesa la noche antes de dar su vida por nuestra salvación, Jesús le dijo a Tomás: “Yo soy el Camino, la Verdad y la Vida. Nadie va al Padre, sino por mí” (Jn. 14:6). Cada diciembre celebramos el nacimiento de Jesucristo, Hijo de …

Gathered with His disciples around a table the evening before He would lay down His life for our salvation, Jesus said to Thomas, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (Jn. 14:6). Each December we celebrate the birth …

As we prepared the 2025 themes for The Catholic Telegraph magazine, I looked at the monthly Jubilee Year celebrations happening in Rome during the coming year. From January 24-26, the Vatican will recognize the Jubilee of the World of Communications. The theme for the 2025 World Day of Communications is …

The Jubilee has always been an event of great spiritual, ecclesial, and social significance in the life of the Church. Ever since 1300, when Boniface VIII instituted the first Holy Year – initially celebrated every hundred years, then, following its biblical precedent, every 50 years, and finally every 25 years …

On the evening of Tuesday, December 24, Pope Francis will preside over the celebration of Holy Mass in St. Peter’s Square to officially open the Holy Jubilee Year of 2025, the theme of which is Pilgrims of Hope. The Holy Father begins his solemn Bull of Indiction of the Ordinary …

On my birthday in October, I learned that my grandfather, Bob, had fallen and had five broken ribs and a brain bleed. His prognosis was grim, and my heart was heavy. There were many ups and downs for over a month while we were left unsure of his life expectancy. …

El martes, 24 de diciembre por la tarde, el Papa Francisco presidirá la celebración de la Santa Misa en la Plaza de San Pedro para abrir oficialmente el Año Santo Jubilar de 2025, cuyo lema es Peregrinos de la Esperanza. El Santo Padre inicia su solemne Bula de convocación del …