Jeanie Hannaman

By Dr. R. Jared Staudt, Catholic World Report - Despite hardships, I have always felt at home in the Church, and would answer any difficulty along with Peter, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” (John 6:68)... St. Paul certainly could not boast about his conversion. He didn’t read his way into the Church. He wasn’t compelled by the witness of charity. He was knocked off his proverbial horse on the way to lock up Christians in prison. It was grace.

By Joannie Watson, Integrated Catholic Life - Weakness versus power, failure versus victory. The world would tell us a different story than Jesus does. But today we celebrate that God’s ways are not our ways. Where the world sees weakness and suffering and death, we see triumph and victory... Today we celebrate one of John the Baptist’s two feasts. John is one of the few people whose births we celebrate (June 24). We only celebrate those who were born without original sin: Jesus, Our Lady, and John, whom tradition holds was cleansed of original sin at the Visitation. Instead, for most saints, we celebrate the day of their birth into heavenly glory: the day of their death.