Pope Francis did a little more than raise eyebrows in his recent interview with atheist journalist Eugenio Scalfari. Sr. Anne Flanagan, the “nunblogger,” and a fellow Daughter of St. Paul, in an effort to calm nerves, aptly pointed out that the translation of the interview that was done in English was a bit sloppy. Nevertheless, Pope Francis’ quote about proselytism being “solemn nonsense” startled more than a few horses in the Catholic blogging corral. Pope Francis has not said anything that runs contrary to... Read more

As if our pope could not get any cooler, it is becoming clear that he is greatly inspired by the example of St. Thérèse of Lisieux. Of course, why am I surprised? Pope Francis has a humble simplicity about him just like the little St. Theresita who promoted a simple way to holiness. Pope Francis has talked about St. Thérèse in his homilies since becoming pope and just a few days ago he revealed that he believes Saint Thérèse sent him a surprise... Read more

In our media world children will almost certainly be exposed to images and material that can have a negative impact on their moral and psychological development. Exposure to pornography is one such concern that should be on every parent’s radar. First, some statistics about children and exposure to online pornography: 1. One study in the US found that…. Read more at Ignitum Today: CLICK HERE Note: I will not be blogging as regularly in the next months because I am on my... Read more

Hello Everyone, I will be going on my yearly week-long retreat shortly. I will be praying for all of you, for your loved ones and your special intentions. If you have a specific prayer request, please leave it in the comments. I will copy them all down and bring them with me on retreat. Your prayer intentions will come with me before Jesus in the Eucharist every day. Please pray for me too! Many blessings. In Jesus, Sr. Theresa Read more

Pope Francis just released his new encyclical The Light of Faith, (Lumen Fidei), with the writing collaboration of Benedict XVI. In the encyclical he does not treat faith as if it is a magical solution to the difficulties of human existence. Life with faith is still dark and difficult at times, and often mysterious. But this encyclical teaches us that faith is nevertheless powerful and “capable of illuminating every aspect of human existence” (4).  Everyone should read this encyclical; it is... Read more

In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus tells us to “learn from the way the wildflowers grow” (6:28). They do not “work and spin,” they just sway in the wind of their God, accepting whatever comes their way: rain or sun. So what can we learn from wildflowers? Here are some ideas: 1. Embrace Your Uniqueness: Wildflowers have an untamed beauty, they are not cultivated in temperature controlled greenhouses. As Christians we are called to be fiercely unique, nonconformists (to the world), and... Read more

We all have things in our past that haunt us – friends we’ve lost, cruel things we have said, inexcusable things we have done. St. Paul knew this feeling, the feeling of having squandered something that could not be restored, of having done something that could not be taken back.In the Book of Acts, Stephen is “full of grace and power,” and does “great wonders and signs among the people” (Acts 6:8). But the people believe that Stephen is blaspheming... Read more

The Great Gatsby has been getting very mixed reviews. Most of the negative reviews have been a bit snobby and nit-picky in my opinion. It’s to be expected. Whenever anyone tries to adapt a classic piece of literature to film, reviewers often feel (or feign?) strong attachments to it and review cautiously. But I will be honest and say that I liked the movie and I think you will too. Here’s a run down on some of the aspects of the... Read more

Dear Discerning Young Catholic, Underachieving in the realm of morality has become so commonplace in our world that we have begun to pretend that sin is transcendent behavior just to make ourselves feel better. There is nothing transcendent about sleeping with someone on the first date, but these days an astounding number of romance movies begin “romance” ….. Read more at Ignitum Today…. click here! Read more

There are different ways to approach the pursuit of truth. One way is to start from what we believe to be true, or what we think may be true and then work backwards from there. We all do this; it is neither good nor bad. However, when we start with something that is fundamentally uncharitable (e.g., Pope Francis is a bad man or a misogynist), then I would suggest a different approach. Would it not make sense, make the world... Read more