Some fascinating conclusions:  Does prayer affect our intimate relationships? Frank Fincham at Florida State University’s Family Institute, along with several collaborators, has conducted a series of empirical studies of how prayer can impact romantic couples. Fincham wanted to learn whether petitionary prayer—a prayer where you request something—for someone’s partner has any objectively measurable effects on couples. After numerous studies that spanned two decades and published in top journals like “Psychological Science,” the answer appears to be yes. Praying daily for... Read more

He could be among the first to receive recognition under new norms issued a few weeks ago. Details:  Brother Richie Fernando was a 26 year-old Jesuit seminarian from the Philippines when in 1996 he died protecting his Cambodian students from a hand grenade. He is now on the road to sainthood, thanks to a norm issued by Pope Francis this summer that opens the door to canonization for those who have “voluntarily and freely offered their lives for others and... Read more

A beautiful vocation story from Denver: It was April 6, 2012—Good Friday—and 26-year-old Andrea Polito was doing what many Catholics do on that sacred day: She was praying at the foot of the cross. The pediatric oncology nurse told Denver Catholic that she had an experience in prayer she can only describe as a “profound moment of grace.” “I was looking at Mary Magdalene,” she recounted, “and I asked the Lord, ‘Why, of all the people that you healed in your ministry,... Read more

Some fascinating news from the Holy Land: Archaeologists think they may have found the lost Roman city of Julias, the home of three apostles of Jesus: Peter, Andrew and Philip (John 1:44; 12:21). A multi-layered site discovered on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee, in the Bethsaida Valley Nature Reserve, is the spot, the team believes. The key discovery is of an advanced Roman-style bathhouse. That in and of itself indicates that there had been a city there,... Read more

A fitting anthem for the Feast of the Transfiguration, don’t you think? This is a traditional hymn from Ireland. Wikipedia tells us: The most well known English version, with some minor variations, was translated by Eleanor Hull and published in 1912. In 1919, the lyrics were set to the tune of the Irish folk tune“Slane”, to which the song is sung to this day, both in English and Irish. The song has often been attributed to the sixth-century IrishChristian poet Saint Dallan, though some scholars cite an... Read more

Check this out:  When the light turned red at the corner of 51st and Center streets, Deacon Kevin Stewart of the Episcopal Diocese of Milwaukee and four other clergymen walked into the street and handed people in cars water bottles. A couple minutes later, one of the cars returned to the intersection and told them they blessed his day and made it better. “We’re just handing out water and praying, but God’s doing the heavy lifting,” Deacon Jim Starke of... Read more

Where were you in the summer of ’77? I had graduated high school and was working as a bus boy at Gifford’s Ice Cream Parlor in Silver Spring, Maryland. I was about to start my freshman year at the University of Maryland. But for a lot of New Yorkers, I know, it was a summer of our discontent, and even fear. Son of Sam was terrifying the city, making headlines week after week, casting a shadow over everything. Then came... Read more

The following appeared on the Facebook page of Bishop Joseph Toal, of the Diocese of Motherwell in Scotland. It seems notable to me because he uses this opportunity to remind his flock of the call to chastity among all unmarried Catholics: STATEMENT FROM BISHOP TOAL: Bishop Toal has shared the following message regarding the pastoral care offered to who experience same-sex attraction. “Some clergy have asked me in recent times about the pastoral care we offer to people who experience... Read more

The trailer here offers a peak at the next installment of the franchise, debuting Sunday night. Among the assorted C-list cameos: Charo as the Queen of England, Gilbert Gottfried as a storm chaser named Ron McDonald, and Fabio playing the pope. Who am I to judge? [img attachment=”222813″ align=”aligncenter” size=”full” /] Read more

It’s this guy, featured on CNN: A small group of nuns and priests met the woman in the chapel of a house one June evening. Though it was warm outside, a palpable chill settled over the room. As the priests began to pray, the woman slipped into a trance — and then snapped to life. She spoke in multiple voices: One was deep, guttural and masculine; another was high-pitched; a third spouted only Latin. When someone secretly sprinkled ordinary water... Read more