This article is part of an ongoing series on Pope St. John Paul II’s Theology of the Body (TOB). All of creation is a gift held in being at every moment by God, whose inner life is an eternal giving and receiving of love. Since the very meaning of our …

The Eucharist makes the Church. This simple statement of belief is at the heart of what it means to be a Catholic Christian. The Church is the community of the baptized who gather each Sunday to do as Jesus commanded: to participate in His sacrifice on the cross and share …

Medallion of the Trinity, by Blanck Studio of Art, above the sanctuary in the nave. Mural by Blanck Studio of Art, featuring two angels and waters symbolizing the Sacraments Wooden triptychs in the style of Fra Angelico painted by Carl Fuchs, a liturgical artist, for Peter and Paul Church (Norwood), …

Andrew and I are blessed with six children, but a quick head count adds up to just five. Our youngest child, Meg, was born into heaven in 2018—every day our family asks her to pray for us. When I miscarried, friends rushed to my side like Mary to Elizabeth. They …

I hate asking for help. In my pride I want to keep the appearance of having it all together; asking for help shatters that carefully crafted illusion. It requires me to admit I cannot solve all my problems on my own. It requires that I face my own weaknesses and …

Are godparents necessary for baptism? If so, what are the requirements for godparents, and what does the Church expect of them? During the COVID-19 pandemic, when person-to-person interactions were limited, many infant baptisms were held in private—some with only the parents, the child and the minister. Though preferred, baptismal sponsors …

Sometimes we get so caught up wishing things were perfect that we fail to move forward. The Church’s pro-life ministries seek to serve women who are unexpectedly pregnant, in crisis pregnancies, or struggling to make ends meet after giving birth, and to serve post-abortive women and men. With that in …

On May 2, 2022, Politico, an online magazine, published a leaked draft majority opinion for the U.S. Supreme Court case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which tests Mississippi’s 15-week abortion ban. Written by Associate Justice Samuel Alito, the Dobbs opinion holds that Roe v. Wade “was egregiously wrong …

This article is the sixth in a series covering each of the six foundational principles of Beacons of Light, the pastoral planning process of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son” (Jn.3:16). During His ministry on Earth, Jesus revealed this love …

“Pro-life” is not just a slogan or even a philosophy; it is the Christian way of life that respects, defends and promotes what Pope St. John Paul II called “the dignity of every human person, at every moment and in every condition of that person’s life” (Evangelium vitae 81). This issue …