Today, Jan. 1, the octave of Christmas ends with the celebration of the Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God. It is a holy day of obligation, except the […]
Mary, Mother of God
How to talk about the Feast of the Guardian Angels
Kids love angels. When I worked in a parish, I found that no Catholic teaching was more reassuring to parents and children than our belief in angels. What the Church […]
Feast of the Holy Family
The feast of the Holy Family, which is situated appropriately between Christmas and New Year’s Day, serves as a context for the events it bridges: the birth of Christ and the octave of Mary. Living in a loving manner sometimes can be most difficult within the family (the domestic Church), where intimate conflicts yield deep wounds, and where routine and familiarity can breed contempt and complacency. So we look to the Holy Family as models of fraternal love in a world of fractured family life and institutions. You’ll find the entire reflection online.
Celebrate Mary’s birthday
September 8th is when the Church celebrates the feast of the nativity of the Virgin Mary. Why not tap into this as a great reason to have a party with your family, too?
From persecutor to Christian: The conversion of St. Paul
One feast day that often slips by without notice is the feast of the Conversion of St. Paul. This miraculous event, which has been part of the Church calendar for more than 1,500 years, is an unmovable feast — that is, it is always on the same calendar date, Jan. 25. (Some years, the feast day falls on a Sunday, and because only a Solemnity or a feast of Our Lord can trump the Sunday liturgy, the feast of the Conversion of St. Paul is not always widely commemorated then.) But these calendar circumstances in no way diminish the importance of Paul’s conversion, as he was among the greatest of the missionaries spreading the words of Jesus Christ. Further, he is an example that anyone, even the most hardened unbeliever or the vilest heretic, can be created anew by our loving Savior. Find out more about St. Paul online.
