For those entrusted with caring for God’s children (regardless of the child’s age), worry, anxiety, and doubt are not unique to a time of pandemic. Who hasn’t second guessed a decision, been concerned that a child does not seem to be learning the lesson (whether academic, life-related, or religious), or prayed anxiously for a child’s well-being? As we accompany our children through EVERYTHING, who accompanies us?

Doubt is a part of faith. It happens that we come up against something that doesn’t seem to mesh with our faith, or with something that might appear to contradict what our church teaches.

Going on a St. Patrick's Day scavenger hunt outside, when nature has turned green, can be a way for kids to search for real gold, learning about God's love for them, while having fun along the way. Children may know about St. Patrick's Day shamrocks and rainbows, but they may not know much about the real saint and his own journeys.

by Sr. Orianne DyckWhen you were a kid, did you ever imagine you were someone else’s child?  Maybe you imagined your parents were the king and queen of some foreign land.  Maybe you imagined you were the long-lost daughter of an infamous outlaw who needed to be saved from prison.  Maybe you imagined you were switched at birth and were actually the child of enemy spies!Or maybe you didn’t, and I just had a really overactive imagination.Be that as it may, I did sometimes...

We celebrated the feast of Saint Juan Diego on December 9. With just two days in between, we celebrated the event of Mary's appearances on Tepyac Hill in Mexico. The heavenly visitor came to her people on December 9, 1531. Juan was a fifty-five-year-old Catholic convert. He was going to Mass when Our Lady intercepted him as he was making his way down Tepyac Hill. Mary asked him to go to the bishop. She wanted a great church built on the very spot where she was standing. The Indian was o...

This feast day is one of the most loving celebrations in all the Church's liturgy. It is the day that we especially remember all the faithful departed—our dear ones and all those who have passed from this life into the next.We don't know how long a particular individual who dies spends in purgatory. However, we do know that purgatory is real. Today we stop to remember all who have died. We especially pray for those who were related to us. We pray for those who taught us good things...

Saint Theresa, often called the Little Flower, was born in Normandy, France, in 1873. She was the youngest of the five daughters born to Louis and Zelie Martin. Theresa was a very lively, lovable little girl. Her father called her his "little queen." Yet she could be too sensitive and irritable. In the story she wrote of her life, she tells how the Infant Jesus helped her overcome this weakness.It was Theresa's great desire to enter the Carmelite convent where two of her siste...

When we celebrate the feast days of the saints, we usually celebrate the date on which they died because that is the day they were born into the joys of heaven.But the birthday of Mary, our Blessed Mother, is an exception. We celebrate her birthday because she came into this world full of grace and because she was to be the Mother of Jesus.The birth of Our Lady was like a dawn. When the sky starts to turn a rosy pink early in the morning, we know the sun will soon come up. In the same way, ...

Alphonsus was born near Naples, Italy, in 1732. He was a hard working student. He received his degree in law and became a famous lawyer. A mistake he made in court convinced Alphonsus of what he had already thought: he should give up his law practice and become a priest. His father tried to persuade him not to do it. However, Alphonsus had made up his mind. He became a priest. His life was filled with activity. He preached and wrote books. He started a religious congregation called “Redemp...

Between the years 1642 and 1649, Saint Isaac Jogues and the North American martyrs came from France. They were killed while evangelizing the Indians. Ten years after the death of Saint Isaac Jogues, Kateri Tekakwitha was born in the same village where he had died. (We celebrate the feast of Saint Isaac and the North American Martyrs on October 19.)Kateri means Katherine. Kateri was born in Auriesville, New York, in 1656. Her mother was a Christian Algonquin. Her father was a non-C...