“Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full” (Jn. 16:24). How can you describe a saint’s smile? He was...

“Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth. My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, a...

Hope carries us. Hope transforms us. Hope is at the heart of life in the Resurrection. This has been a season of hope. There have been a lot of losses. Our c...

“The loving-kindness of the Lord filleth the whole world, alleluia: by the word of the Lord the heavens were established, alleluia, alleluia. Rejoice in the ...

This holy day is a closure and a beginning. Today, we conclude the Octave of Pascha, known as Bright Week, and we enter into a new phase of this Feast of Fea...

Insanity spread through his mind. The once proud king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar suffered the worse form of a mental breakdown. Psychologists today call it B...

“He was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil” (Mt. 4:1). Why would God lead someone into temptation? Indeed, that is exactly w...

“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily” (Luke 9:23). In the 18th century, Russia underwent a spiritual revival c...

Every moment of the day, God sows his seeds of grace and spiritual vitality. Just as the winds carry hundreds of seeds throughout the day, so heaven showers ...

“The springtime of the Fast has dawned, the flower of repentance has begun to open.” There are few seasons so sweet and refreshing as Lent. It is a bright sp...

“While everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat” (Mat. 13:24). Few men have boasted strength and masculinity as Samson. He was God...

“Rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed” (Mark 1:35). God woke in the e...

“There is a specter haunting our secular age, ‘the specter of meaninglessness’.” A philosopher has said this about society. Specter is a good word for it. It...

No story better describes parish life than the Wedding of Cana. Everything in the Mass is there. Our worship, parish life, the intercessions of the saints, a...

The Church is a battleship, not a cruise ship. Disputes and friction marked the life of the Church from day one. As soon as the Holy Spirit fell on the Churc...

“Unite my heart to fear your name” ~ Psalm 86:11 Bernadine of Siena moved the world with three letters. It was a time of political rivalry and warring factio...

“The child’s father and mother marveled at what was being said” (Lk. 2:33). There is an old story of a little prince and a rose. The prince lived on an aster...

Thick, creamy soup, tender, marbled steak, crusty loaves of bread, and pudding finished in chocolate. This is a sample of the sumptuous meal shared in Babett...

“Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.” Christmas is just around the corner, but we are distracted. A gift is prepared in Bethlehem, but w...

“Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one falls short of the grace o...