Catholic to the Core
Did Elijah have special qualities that gave God indication that he should be given the arduous mission of confronting King Ahab so that Israel would return to the Lord? What made God think that Elijah had what it took to prophecy? Read more
Did Elijah have special qualities that gave God indication that he should be given the arduous mission of confronting King Ahab so that Israel would return to the Lord? What made God think that Elijah had what it took to prophecy? Read more
He is the Christ who died for our sins, was buried, and rose again. On the third day, his Body was renewed and transfigured. As I observed the Easter Vigil last night, I easily imagined the sweetness that must have exuded from the tomb as the stone was rolled away and our Lord emerged in his glory. More than anything at that moment, I wanted, not to be standing in St. Peter and St. Paul Melkite Catholic Church in Amman, but at the tomb on Easter morning. I wanted to see the magnificence of the Resurrection and smell its sweetness. Read more
My flight for Jordan was leaving that night from JFK. Getting to New York twelve hours later just wasn't acceptable. And, it's not like I could just catch another flight, because Jordan flights from JFK to Amman happen only every few days. Read more
I fell into darkness. Uncertain and anxious, I went often to Adoration. I cried with Jesus, that having been given this gift as a gardener, and now unable to work the ground, what was I to do? It took some time for me to surrender my emotional and physical pain, and to start listening. And what I heard was dumbfounding. Read more
I'm at #4 right now, as I scurry to pull together the last details before my departure to Jordan as part of the Jordan Tourism Board's Religious Journalist/Blogger Press Tour April 9-19. I'm at the point at which I scream, "What was I thinking!?" and my family is at the point at which they scream, "Would somebody get her outta here already!?" Read more
However, there's another way to consider our Lord's instruction to pick up our cross and follow him. Where was he carrying his cross to, and what happened when he got there? The cross he'd been carrying became the instrument of his agony as those who'd placed it on his shoulders viciously crucified him with it. And during the same time they were killing him, he forgave them. Read more
With just four days left before Easter morning, now is precisely the time to step up our efforts to follow even more fervently the Church's prescription for Lent: fasting, penance, and almsgiving. Read more
The services of the Triduum - the Mass of the Lord's Supper on Holy Thursday, Veneration of the Cross on Good Friday, Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday, and Mass on Easter Sunday - are only part of all that transpired during those days in the life of our Lord. Read more
I can hardly believe it. I've been accepted to the Jordan Tourism Board's Religious Journalist/Blogger Press Tour, scheduled for April 9-19, 2015! I am so shocked, so grateful, and so excited! ...I'll be posting here about the trip so that you'll be able to experience what I experience in the amazing country of Jordan! Won't you come along? Read more
Pilgrimages. They're one of those things everybody would like to do, but nobody thinks they can afford. Well, let me change your thinking on that. Pilgrimages are easier to save for than you think - so easy that even you can do it! It doesn't take independent wealth or a huge inheritance. Read more
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In