“Do this in memory of me.” Jesus first spoke these words to His disciples as they gathered with Him in the Upper Room to eat the Passover meal on the eve of His Passion. He continues to speak these words to us at every Mass, at the end of the …

Many families annually prepare a special May Altar in their homes to honor the Blessed Mother. This space, set aside with an image or statue of Mary and decorated with flowers and candles, is just one example of the various ways in which Catholics show their devotion to the Mother …

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 …

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 …

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” …

The last Sunday in January marks the kickoff of National Catholic Schools Week, a time set aside by dioceses throughout our country to highlight the importance of faithful, integral Catholic formation and education to the salvific mission of the Church. During this week we also celebrate the feast days of …

On Christmas morning, in the opening prayer of the Mass at Dawn, we ask God to allow the light of faith, which radiates from the incarnate Word, to shine through in our deeds. This prayer reminds us of a beautiful truth: the gift of our faith is not something we …

In his encyclical Evangelium Vitae on the value and inviolability of human life, Pope St. John Paul II speaks about God’s call for each person to share in the fullness of life for all eternity with Him. Even during our life in this temporal, physical world, we participate in the …

In the Gospel according to St. John, Jesus emphasizes that He came so we might have fullness of life (cf. Jn. 10:10). Most significantly through His Paschal Mystery, but also through every aspect of His life, Jesus worked for our good so that we might have life in abundance, both …

After His death and resurrection, Jesus appeared to His disciples and sent the Holy Spirit upon them that they might continue His work of preaching the Good News of the Kingdom of God. Through baptism we are incorporated into this mystery. Made partakers in His death and resurrection, we are …