Dear Friends,Have you ever been really, really, sick? Was there someone there to take care of you? Didn’t it feel good to know that someone cared? Didn’t it make you feel as though you weren’t alone?Maybe you’ve had the chance to take care of someone who’s sick. Even if you can’t be with that person, you can always pray for comfort and healing.When I saw the man who was ill with leprosy, I wanted to help him. During my ministry, I was able to help many people ...

Yes, we’re still in February, but it’s time to start looking ahead to spring cleaning. And while getting your home aired out and scrubbed is satisfying, it’s also useful to think about clearing out some of the bad habits you might have picked up over the long winter! Here are a few tips to get you started: While building a habit is good, doing the same thing over and over again eventually feels rote. So clear out your prayer life with something new. There are a number of beauti...

These days, many people feel as if the world were spinning out of control. We’re assaulted by news that isn’t just bad, but is particularly horrible, every time we turn on the radio or consult the internet. Some days it feels completely overwhelming. How can God allow things to get so far out of hand?When you’re feeling like nothing is making sense anymore, here are three things you can try: Pray about it. Prayer changes things. Prayer changes us. God has arranged his world so ...

If you’re like a lot of Catholics, you probably don’t go to confession regularly—or often. But Lent is coming, and starting the season with confession is a good way to begin; if you don’t know what to “work on” this Lent, confession might help you zero in on something in your life you’d like to see changed.Still, if you haven’t been to confession for a long time, it’s easy to feel intimidated by the whole process. Here are a few tips to get y...

Set between Epiphany and Lent, on February 2, there’s a holiday that’s easy to overlook. It’s the Feast of the Presentation of Our Lord Jesus and the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, but it’s also known as Candlemas, a Christian holiday adopted from a pagan one, marking the halfway point between the shortest day of the year and the beginning of spring, when traditionally candles were brought into churches to be blessed. Candle...

These two brothers were from Thessalonica, Greece. Methodius was born in 815 and Cyril in 827. Both became priests and shared the same holy desires to spread the faith. They became missionaries to the Slav nations of Moravia, Bohemia and Bulgaria. This is how it happened: in 862, just seven years before Cyril’s death, the prince of Moravia asked for missionaries. They would bring the Good News of Jesus and the Church to his country. The prince added one more request: that the missionaries ...

This year, Ash Wednesday falls on February 14th. There are three special things Catholics do for Lent: prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.PrayerOf course we pray all year long, but during Lent we try to pray a little extra. Maybe your family can pray the rosary together or go to the parish Penance Service. On your own, spend a quiet moment each day telling Jesus how things are going or read about the life of Jesus from your bible each day.Fasting“Fasting” means not eating...

What is life all about?Why do relationships, sex, and members of the opposite sex leave me feeling hurt or confused?These are questions teens and young people are asking whenever they look in the mirror. David Hadjuk has a message of hope for them. He says to young people: Don't give up hope on the deepest desire of the human heart--authentic love!Dare to imagine what it means to be created in the image of God. Discover God’s amazing plan for you!  In...

January 28 is the feast of this great saint and doctor of the Church, the patron of students and Catholic schools. Thomas is one of the most brilliant philosophers and theologians the Catholic Church has ever had. Perhaps because of his reputation as an intellectual heavyweight, he might seem a bit intimidating to us. Can I really relate to a medieval saint who spent his life immersed in books and teaching? Yes!Thomas was a very human saint, one who can be a great model for us in many ways. Phys...

Paul lived at the time of Jesus but as far as we know they never met. Paul was first called Saul. As a young man, he was a very bright student of the Hebrew religion. When he grew older, he persecuted the followers of Jesus. In the Bible’s Acts of the Apostles, we read about Saul’s amazing conversion (chapters 9, 22, 26). What happened? One day, Paul was on his way to the city of Damascus to hunt down more Christians. Suddenly, a great light shone all around him. As he fell to t...