Going to First Confession As an Evangelical Convert

Last updated on: May 1, 2018 at 6:36 am By K. Albert Little

I’m utterly convinced that confession is the single greatest gift God gave to our weary world. Forgiveness of our sins, yes, but through confession. It’s the mechanism that makes sense of the salvation story in a way that I couldn’t have possibly imagined before becoming Catholic. Confession is an incredible gift. A gift that, as an Evangelical convert to the Catholic faith, has completely blown me away. Reconciliation with God To understand the Sacrament of Reconciliation requires a little bit of legwork up... Read more

The Real St. Nicholas Would Slap You in the Face

Last updated on: December 6, 2016 at 2:01 pm By K. Albert Little

While the association of Santa Claus with the birth of Christ—and the roots of the Christmas season—is tenuous at best there is a real figure behind the red-suited fat fellow and his name is St. Nicholas. You’ve heard of him. Santa Claus, Father Christmas, and St. Nick are often pseudonyms for the same guy this time of the year but while two are purely fiction the fact of St. Nicholas, as a real honest-to-goodness saint, is firmly grounded in history. And... Read more

What the Screaming Kid at Mass Taught Me About the Eucharist

Last updated on: December 1, 2016 at 2:33 pm By K. Albert Little

It’s just after 5 o’clock on Saturday and I hustle, as quiet as I can, into the church. I sit in the new section, a 1,500sqft addition that squeezed the last bit of space out of our church’s tiny footprint–making space for our ever-expanding community of parishioners. At more than two thousand registered families we’re the physically smallest parish in our area, but also, by most metrics, the most vibrant. And that’s why I’m here, to speak after Mass about... Read more

So You Want an Incredible Parish?

Last updated on: November 12, 2016 at 1:42 pm By K. Albert Little

The sometimes torrential flow of Catholics leaving the Church for Evangelical traditions can be baffling for the uninitiated. What would possess someone to leave the Catholic Church? With access to the ancient sacraments and a Church which traces its lineage and authority structure back to the Apostles would could possibly be more enriching? More attractive? It might confound those in love with their Catholic faith but I’ve had just these conversations and, likely, you have too. Likely you know someone—or several people—who... Read more

Of All This Ugliness, I Repent

Last updated on: November 11, 2016 at 1:01 am By K. Albert Little

My gosh, this election. It’s been long, difficult, and ugly. I was hoping that the ugliness would finally abate now that all the votes are counted and the presidency is cast; I was hoping we’d struggle a little bit, maybe, and then get on with things. We’d be civil again. We’d find our way back together in spite of the dark, but… This ugliness. Throughout the election my social media feeds became something of a sad and sorry caricature of what... Read more

So You Want to Move to Canada: A Field Guide for American Catholics

Last updated on: November 9, 2016 at 8:06 am By K. Albert Little

Hello, America. So, for whatever reason you’ve suddenly got your heart set on making the move to Canada. Your northern neighbour. The one you didn’t even really notice was there until you suddenly needed somewhere to flee for your life. Ah, it’s OK. One of the many things you’ll learn about Canada—and Canadians—is just how gosh darn forgiving and tolerant we are, as a rule. But, hang on, before you stuff your ever-depreciating American dollars into a nondescript duffel bag and hightail it... Read more

The Thing I Love About Padre Pio

Last updated on: November 3, 2016 at 1:46 pm By K. Albert Little

I’ve written before about the laudable Catholic practice of praying for the dead—and that the dead can pray for us, too. I’ve written as well about the incredible gift that the saints are; to know that there are holy Christians, in Heaven, praying for us right now is incredible. What I haven’t written about, and what I feel compelled to share now, is the incredible story of Padre Pio—and his incredible commitment to praying for us. First, a primer. That deceased Christians... Read more

Five Things You Need to Know About the Protestant Reformation

Last updated on: October 26, 2016 at 1:47 pm By K. Albert Little

The Lutheran church down the street from our house has a sign that proudly proclaims, Reformation Sunday Celebrating 499 years of the Protestant Church It makes me feel a bit nauseous every time I pass because there’s one thing we shouldn’t be doing as we consider the 499th anniversary of the Reformation it’s celebrating. Now I know there are those—scores of them—that see the Reformation as the virtuous Christians ripping the true Christian Church out of the clutches of the evil and... Read more

Why Does the Catholic Church Have So Many Rules?

Last updated on: October 25, 2016 at 12:42 pm By K. Albert Little

Easily one of the most frequent objections to Catholicism that I hear is that it’s a miserable religion made up of equally miserable rules. (And miserable people!) It’s the stuff of the Pharisees. The stuff that Jesus railed against. It’s all about following the rules. I hear this objection most often from those I meet that were raised Catholic but, for whatever reason, left the faith. There are a lot of those kinds of people, so I hear the objection a lot. But the... Read more

Did Jesus Rise From the Dead (and Does It Matter)?

Last updated on: March 20, 2018 at 7:07 am By K. Albert Little

I am the world’s greatest teacher. I have a mug that says so. In fact so far I’ve garnered about half a dozen similar mugs over a nearly decade’s long career. So it must be true. I recently lent a friend my copy of The Case for Jesus by Brant Pitre. It’s far and away the best case for a real, historical Jesus. He does a great job of laying out, in a fulsome and scholarly way, the argument’s for Jesus... Read more