Catholic Church

By Msgr. Charles Pope - What is the perfect gift? We tend to answer this question more in terms of what we want, but today’s Gospel teaches us that the perfect gift is what God is offering. One of the goals of the spiritual journey is to come to value, more than our latest desire, more than our perceived need—more than all else—what God offers.

By Jason Scott Jones, The Stream - It is a privilege to be here at CPAC Mexico... When I first met , Eduardo Verastegui almost 20 years ago, I shook his hand, I looked at him, I said, “Wow, you’re handsome.” He said, “In the United States, I’m handsome. In Mexico, I’m just average looking.”... But we share something in common. We share important things in common. And I believe that a genuine conservative is moved by an overpowering passion for piety.

By Dr. Jeff Mirus, Catholic Culture - When St. Teresa of Avila fell down fording a muddy stream on one of her apostolic journeys in the sixteenth century, she is said to have raised her thoughts to God to offer this unusual prayer: “If this is how you treat your friends, no wonder you have so few!” Indeed, there are a variety of legitimate spiritual thoughts that enter into our conversations with Christ, and a wry humor is by no means excluded—as long as we don’t take ourselves too seriously.

By Rev. Peter M.J. Stravinskas, The Catholic Thing - Just beyond the half-way mark during Advent and Lent, the Church encourages us to rejoice. Today is traditionally known as Gaudete Sunday, from the Latin word for “Rejoice,” which opens the Introit or Entrance Antiphon of today’s Mass... What do we mean by joy?  Some people imagine that a perpetual grimace is a sign of holiness.