We aim for heaven, prepare for death, anticipate judgment, pray for Mary’s intercession, and dread the prospect of hell...
Fr. Jerry Pokorsky
The Church is the universal sacrament of salvation. Yet Jesus warns us that the way to destruction is wide and the way to life is narrow. How can an all-good God condemn us to hell? It is better to ask, if we have no desire for heaven, why would God violate our freedom to choose evil? We dare not presume upon God’s mercy or take our salvation for granted...

Instead of Truth, It’s All Contextuality...
George Weigel
After watching “White Christmas” with the family for the umpteenth time last December, I was moved, perhaps by a demon, to scribble a spoof of the song, “Choreography.” There, Danny Kaye laments “the theater, the theater, what’s happened to the theater/especially where dancing is concerned” — dancing having been replaced by choreography. With deepest apologies to Irving Berlin...

Hunting: The Critical Importance of Such Arts...
John Cuddeback
Intentionality today implies choosing things outside our comfort zone—such as developing certain arts—precisely because they address real problems we face. In Shop Class as Soulcraft, Matthew Crawford points to a significant problem: “We have a generation of students that can answer questions on standardized tests, know factoids, but they can’t do anything.” Slight exaggeration, perhaps, but only slight...

What Killed Off Newspapers Is Killing Your Parish...
Marcel LeJeune
If you lived in the age of newspapers, then you probably have memories of reading them regularly, even if it was just the Sunday comics. Flash forward to today and we have had a sharp decline in the number of newspapers that still operate. In fact, nearly 40% of all U.S. newspapers have closed in the past 20 years. Some may say the internet killed newspapers...

Leo XIV Celebrates Mass in Buenos Aires After Warm Welcome in Argentina...

Pope Leo XIV Encourages Uruguay to Be ‘a Community of Prayer’...

This Sunday: It Is Dark, and the Lord Is Long Delayed — But Don’t Give Up Hope...
Tom Hoopes
Jesus reminds us in the Gospel reading at Mass this Sunday that we are like bridesmaids waiting out in the darkness with no light — and that he is the light of the world. Here are six takeaways from the Thirty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time taken from Sunday Readings columns at this site and The Extraordinary Story podcast. First: The 10 wise and foolish virgins seem to be doing everything right, at first...

Patrick Lencioni: Why You Feel Drained Even When You Love Your Work...

Young Men Need Helpful Church Ladies...
Terry Mattingly
No partisan politics today, please. I have been a third-party voter for several years, in large part because of my conviction that, for a decade or so, the leaders of both major parties have hated the First Amendment for different reasons. I remain a moral, cultural conservative and, thus, an old-school First Amendment liberal. That’s a unicorn stance today, in a radically divided nation.

Feminists Seek Grievances; Christians Seek Grace...
Carrie Gress
The 1954 classic movie, White Christmas, features the relationship between media moguls Bob Wallace and Phil Davis. As soldiers during World War II, Davis (played by Danny Kaye), heroically saved the life of his future business partner, Wallace (Bing Crosby). Much of the story’s plot revolves around Davis’ pointing to his old war-injured arm as a reminder to Wallace that he saved his life...

Pope Leo Receives Bob Dylan at the Vatican...

5 Ways to Make Sure You Get Prayers and Masses After Your Death...

Kite Parades, Born Again Again, and Staying Outside...

In 1963, He Said Mass for JFK. The Communists Sentenced Him to Death...

Getting Low, Rorsach Report, and Virtually Prolife...

7 Ways Every Mother Can Learn to Say Yes Like Mary...

Pope Leo’s Sunday Angelus for All Saints Day: ‘Holiness Is Not a Privilege Reserved for a Few’...