My husband, Mark, and I sat in the dark room at the doctor’s office, excitedly waiting for the ultrasound technician to show us a glimpse of our first unborn child. The tech grabbed the wand, reached for the bottle of gel, asked me to roll up my shirt, and secured …

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 …

Jesus was not afraid to be controversial. Declaring sins forgiven, speaking of His relationship with God the Father, and teaching the necessity to love our enemies all created a stir in Jesus’ day. Various aspects of His teachings remain controversial to this day. For example, Jesus said, “If you remain …

Jesús no tuvo miedo de ser controversial. Declarar los pecados perdonados, hablar de Su relación con Dios Padre y enseñar la necesidad de amar a nuestros enemigos provocaron bastante agitación en el tiempo de Jesús. Varios aspectos de Sus enseñanzas siguen siendo controvertidos hasta el día de hoy. Por ejemplo, …

As I write this article, I’m surrounded by children with the flu. Coughing, fever, body aches and calls for more Tylenol and water have been part of our hourly routine for the past five days. Even now, I’m fighting off the inevitable congestion and body aches and know my time …

Catholics mark the beginning of the holy season of Lent with the reception of blessed ashes, acknowledging our sinfulness and the reality that one day we ourselves will return to dust. Over the course of these 40 days, the Church encourages us to refocus our lives on the things of …

Los católicos marcamos el comienzo del sagrado tiempo de Cuaresma con la recepción de las cenizas benditas, reconociendo nuestra pecaminosidad y la realidad de que un día nosotros mismos volveremos al polvo. A lo largo de estos 40 días, la Iglesia nos anima a volver a centrar nuestras vidas en …

In his homily for the opening of the 13th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, Pope Benedict XVI said, “The Church exists to evangelize. Faithful to the Lord Jesus Christ’s command, his disciples went out to the whole world to announce the Good News, spreading Christian communities everywhere” …

As most Catholics are well aware, Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the liturgical season of Lent. And, of course, almost everyone associates Lent with giving something up, even if they do not understand the penitential importance of the season. “I gave that up for Lent” is a common refrain, …

Can you remember moments in your life where others helped guide you in your faith? I was on a Confirmation retreat in eighth grade. We were staying at a church camp in Minden, Louisiana. It was hot, and there were just a handful of us there: one girls’ cabin and …