Welcome Home: Your Family, The Catholic Church

We come from all types of families, loud, crazy, large, small, broken. Maybe you don’t feel like you have much of a family at home, maybe you feel like your family doesn’t understand you, or maybe you are the only practicing their faith at home.

The Catholic Church is also a family; in fact the Catholic Church is one big family. We are all adopted sons and daughters of God, we all have the same God as Father (Galatians 4:6-7). Which means we are all brothers and sisters in Christ!

Heaven is Enough for Me: The Truth About Priestly Celibacy

When I was in high school, we had the greatest thing ever: open lunch. If your school hasn’t blessed you with this gift, open lunch means that all of the students who wanted to could leave the campus for lunch. We could head to the local mall food court, run home to grab homework we […]

Epic Pope Francis Quotes: World Youth Day Rio 2013

Jesus, with His Cross, walks with us and takes upon Himself our fears, our problems, and our sufferings, even those which are deepest and most painful. With the Cross, Jesus unites Himself to the silence of the victims of violence, those who can no longer cry out, especially the innocent and the defenseless.

The Cross of Christ bears the suffering and the sin of mankind, including our own. Jesus accepts all this with open arms, bearing on His shoulders our crosses and saying to us: 'Have courage! You do not carry your cross alone! I carry it with you. I have overcome death and I have come to give you hope, to give you life' (John 3:16).

One of Us

Sometimes even in the Christian realm, we're segregated in a similar fashion. I recently went to a conference with 25,000 Christians who were on fire for God. It was amazing and one of the most powerful worship experiences I've ever had. However, I think my four friends and I were the only Catholics there.

God's not exclusive. He wants all groups, ethnic circles, social classes, to be brought together as one people, unified in love and faith.

Last week, a non-denominational church launched a campaign called: 'Jesus loves you and your tattoo.' They handed out koozies on the gang-filled streets of Detroit with this message. I love that because it is proclaiming the truth that our God didn't come for the cookie-cutter Christians. He came for everyone . . .

Why I’m Catholic

I had grown up a Presbyterian Christian who believed that as long as you were a Christian who believed in Jesus, you belonged to the 'church.' It didn't matter which church you belonged to or where you went to worship on Sundays, it just mattered if you believed in Jesus. If you believed in Jesus, you were doing just fine.

Jesus’ House Keys: Interesting Facts about the Papacy

There are so many things worthy of mention, but one of the coolest parts about being Catholic has to be the Tradition. We're a Church built on a 2,000 year old foundation, y'all – with Christ, Himself, as our Founder and 'cornerstone' (Ephesians 2:20, 1 Peter 2:6).

There are a lot of opinions and conspiracy 'theories' floating around about the next pope and the papacy, in general, these days. No doubt there is an author somewhere preparing to rewrite history, once again, in a best-seller telling us all about 'what's really happening” behind the closed doors of this papal election.

Still Standing: Church Teaching vs. Changing Trends

Saint Peter died defending a faith that wouldn't submit to any empire. The witness of millions of martyrs over the past 2,000 years gives testimony to faith that is unflinching and love that is stronger than death.

Today when you walk toward St. Peter's Square, you can't help but notice the obelisk that was once a sign of Rome's power. In the past two millennia, empires and kingdoms, presidents and dictators have risen and fallen . . . but the Church remains standing.

Commence the Conclave: How a Pope is Chosen

Now it is time to have all of the cardinals gather for the conclave. The conclave is a secret meeting of all of the College of Cardinals, in which they are locked in a part of the Vatican palace, where all access is walled off except for one door only (which once the cardinals enter is locked from both the outside and inside).

D.I.Y. Religion: Do We Need the Catholic Church?

You know religion comes from the word 'religare' meaning 'to bind' – something we may not like. But you know sin? The word sin comes from a German word 'SÌÄ®ÕÌâ_nde' that means 'to sunder' . . . to tear apart . . . to be divided.

And I don't know about you but I have a sundered heart. I have a divided heart. I have a heart with sin and so I need religion because I have division and I need to be bound back together. I need some binding of my own. And I think God's people – we've been sundered – we need religion, we need religare – we need to be bound.

The Spirit and The Cardinals

Looking back now, I am thankful for the great gift Pope Benedict XVI has been for the Church over the last 8 years. God knows what we need, when we need it, and always provides!

I'm sure many of you are also curious about how this whole conclave process works. All over the news there are stories covering the physical steps to the conclave process.

There are a couple things that the process is NOT:

Why Do Catholics Believe the Pope is Infallible?

The word 'infallible' does not mean that the pope is perfect. It also does not mean that the pope knows everything. Instead, infallibility only applies when the pope speaks about solemn, official teachings on faith and morals, and he can’t ever change, add, or subtract Christian doctrine.

He only helps define or explain what we already believe, and he doesn’t do it on his own. The infallible teachings of the Pope are the result of many years – sometimes hundreds of years – of consultation with the other bishops and theologians of the Church. He is, in effect, voicing the belief of the whole Church.

Why Do We Have a Pope? Is it Biblical?

Each of the three was given a special role in the Church. Peter was the “rock” on which Jesus would build His Church (Matthew 16:18-19). As every group needs a leader, someone to cast the deciding vote, so did the apostles and the bishops. Simon Peter, the fisherman, rose to the occasion. In his line are popes who become saints and popes who were less than saintly; yet every pope was given special authority by God to guide the Church for a time.

Long Island Medium: Ghosts, God, and the Church

The show takes a look at Theresa's life as she tries to balance family relationships with her daytime job as a medium, someone who can communicate with the spirit world. She believes that she can communicate with people who have died, so clients come to her looking for closure and answers as they hope to hear from those who have passed away.

It sounds harmless enough. After all, she's just offering help and consolation to people who are still mourning the loss of loved ones, right? What does the Catholic Church say about channeling spirits or communicating with the dead?

Long Island Medium: Ghosts, God, and the Church

The show takes a look at Theresa's life as she tries to balance family relationships with her daytime job as a medium, someone who can communicate with the spirit world. She believes that she can communicate with people who have died, so clients come to her looking for closure and answers as they hope to hear from those who have passed away.

It sounds harmless enough. After all, she's just offering help and consolation to people who are still mourning the loss of loved ones, right? What does the Catholic Church say about channeling spirits or communicating with the dead?

Why Should I Care?: The HHS Mandate and Religious Freedom

What is the HHS Mandate and what does the Catholic Church have say about it? Is this big debate only about contraception? Find out the answers to those questions as well as what you can do about it as a teen. Fr. Mike Schmitz explains the mandate it in a way that’s thorough but easy to understand.