This is an inspiration:  For chefs, worldwide renown often leads to lucrative expansion deals: Restaurants in tourism capitals like Tokyo, Hong Kong, Vegas, and Dubai are almost a given. That’s one reason why it’s so surprising that Massimo Bottura, the chef at Modena’s Osteria Francescana — one of the most critically acclaimed restaurants in Italy, and the world — has expanded in a different way, keeping just one full-service restaurant (with all of 12 tables), while focusing his expansion energy on a... Read more

From CNA:  Catholic Olympic gold-medalist Yuna Kim lit the torch at the Opening Ceremony for the 2018 Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea on Feb. 9. The Korean skating sensation has long expressed a desire to use her public role to share the light of Christ by witnessing to her Catholic faith in international competitions and performances. Kim was honored as the final torch bearer to light the Olympic cauldron for this year’s games, after two athletes from the inter-Korean... Read more

Friday, I had the privilege of visiting New York City’s first cathedral, the original St. Patrick’s—now known as the Basilica of St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral. The cathedral is raising funds to restore its historic Henry Erben organ—a true piece of American Catholic history which CBS News dubbed “one of the most important historic instruments in the nation.” [img attachment=”278510″ align=”aligncenter” size=”full” /] I was delighted to receive a tour of the church by Anne Riccitelli and a mini-concert by the... Read more

This weekend our music director at my parish has this pegged for our Entrance Hymn for this last Sunday before Lent. Wikipedia notes: Love Divine, All Loves Excelling is a Christian hymn by Charles Wesley with a theme of “Christian perfection.”[Judging by general repute, it is among Wesley’s finest: “justly famous and beloved, better known than almost any other hymn of Charles Wesley.” Judging by its distribution, it is also among his most successful: by the end of the 19th century, it is found in 15 of... Read more

From The New York Times:  A long battle over where the body of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen should be permanently laid to rest took another turn on Tuesday, when a New York appeals court ruled that his remains should stay in New York, for now. The ruling overturned a lower court decision that would have immediately sent the archbishop’s body to Peoria, Ill., the diocese that is leading a push to have him declared a saint. Archbishop Sheen, who died... Read more

From the folks at Catholic Match: Now that we’re adults, many of us don’t give out Saint Valentine’s day cards, and that’s a shame because it’s so much fun! So that you can enjoy Saint Valentine’s Day, even if you’re single, here are Catholic Valentine’s Day cards that you can share! Like the one above? Here’s another. Check out the site for the full collection to share with someone you love. (Or just someone you want to make smile.) [img... Read more

You may remember the stories about this priest from Peoria that I posted two years ago.  I received word this morning that he has gone home to the Lord. I don’t know any other details beyond that. The most recent account I could find came from a local news report in January: The popular priest — who from 2006 to 2014 served as St. John’s chaplain and director of the Newman Foundation — is on a lot of people’s minds these... Read more

Check out how one priest is answering that question, using social media creatively this year. This comes from The Sun Herald newspaper in Mississippi: Father Joe Tonos of St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church in Oxford has a trendy way of reaching his college-aged congregation. The Greenville native has been getting inundated with questions regarding Ash Wednesday and Valentine’s Day aligning on Feb. 14 this year. So, like any good millennial or teen nowadays, he took to social media Tuesday to get his message across.... Read more

From Aleteia’s J-P Mauro: Catholics of the British Isles are organizing a massive prayer circle which they hope will stretch the length of the British coast. Rosary on the Coast was inspired by similar events which took place in Poland and Ireland and will come to England, Scotland, and Wales in time for the 50th anniversary of the Abortion Act, which came into effect on April 27, 1968. The gathered faithful will pray for Our Lady to arouse a renewal of... Read more

What a beautiful statement: Lucas Warren, an adorable baby with Down syndrome, has been selected as the newest Gerber Spokesbaby. The announcement came this morning on the TODAY Show and, according to the NBC show, “The 1-year-old from Dalton, Georgia, is the first child with Down syndrome to be named a Gerber baby since the contest’s start more than ninety years ago.” Read more. And check out the video of him above. At a time when a shocking number of children with Down syndrome are... Read more