St. Irenaeus (130?-202) was one of the most important theologians in the early Church. He was born in the city of Smyrna (in modern-day Turkey) and, as a youth, became a disciple of St. Polycarp. He went to Gaul (modern-day France) and, during the persecution of the Church by the Emperor Marcus Aurelius, became a priest in the city of Lyons.
After becoming Bishop of Lyons, Irenaeus was …

Most of us are familiar with the story of the Annunciation as told in Chapter 1 of Luke’s gospel. The angel Gabriel appeared to the Virgin Mary and informed her that she had been chosen to be the Mother of the Savior. Mary agreed, Jesus was born and the entire human race was redeemed. Sounds simple, right? Did you ever consider what would have happened if Mary said, “no”?
Sometimes …

… tangle of mesh,
knitted by arrogance and dread.
Would that these ties which bind my will
and stifle my beating heart,
be straightened with a patient hand
and be mercifully drawn apart!
Why, oh why, did Catholics ever give up the many and diverse devotions which for centuries have provided people with a personal connection with heaven? As individual as our personalities, the breadth of traditional devotions to Jesus, Mary, the Holy Spirit, the angels and archangels, and the saints …

… after a busy day at work. Dave Bottoms, a Walter Reed chaplain, was on his way home from his first day on the job. Both men were riding a Washington D.C. Metro transit train—Car 1079, part of the Red Line.
Three minutes later, their lives were shattered by the worst accident in Metro history. Nine people were killed, 76 were injured. Both Bottoms and Baker survived. But instead of running to safety, they demonstrated an heroic commitment to their fellow passengers.
The Washington …

" Greed is good " —Gordon Gekko, the name of an unscrupulous Wall Street financier who is the main character in the film Wall Street , 1987.
" When those at the helm are motivated by purely selfish ends, instruments that are good in themselves can be transformed into harmful ones. But it is man’s darkened reason that produces these consequences… " — Pope Benedict XVI, Caritas in Veritate (" Love in Truth "), 2007.
A New …

Tags: Catholic social teaching, Christian Humanism, Pope Benedict XVI, Populorum Progressio, social justice

St. Thomas, Apostle and Martyr, is best known as “Doubting Thomas,” but his faith and personality were much deeper than his doubts.
In John’s Gospel, we learn more about Thomas’ character than we do about most of the other Twelve Apostles. Through Thomas’ outspoken nature, much is revealed about him, and about Our Lord. First, when Jesus announced His intention of returning to Judea …

… became friends through the love of God they shared. Alexander was Grecian by birth. Both young men studied together in the same school, and encouraged each other in their acts of spirituality. Neither married, deciding to live their lives devoted to God. It was during this time, in the prime of their lives, that the persecution of Christians began under reign of Marcus Aurelius.
They were aware of the Savior’s words that when the tribulations come to flee to the hills, so they endeavored …

The Romans discredited it, the Jews denied it and the Gnostics couldn’t stomach it.  For more than 20 centuries the Church has been fighting off the throngs of heretics who deny much or all of the Symbol of Faith, but there are few truths that exasperate the world more than the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ.
On the third day He rose again according to the Scripture s
The eyewitness accounts relayed in the New Testament are clear: Jesus …

… Address to Catholic University of America
November 13, 2008 Address by Cardinal James Francis Stafford, Major Penitentiary of the Apostolic Penitentiary, Cardinal-Priest of S. Pietro in Montorio, Rome, Italy.
Pope Paul VI and Pope John Paul II: “Being True with Body and Soul” [1]
For 51 years of priestly ministry I have been attentive to res sacra in temporalibus in American culture, i.e., “to the elements of the sacred in the temporal life of man” or, in a more …

Author: Cardinal James Francis Stafford

Last year, Oprah Winfrey recommended to her world-wide audience a book written by the German-born spiritual teacher Eckhart Tolle entitled A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose. As expected, the book became a runaway bestseller, and an Internet program featuring Oprah and Tolle has attracted millions of participants. But then something happened that wasn’t expected: Oprah’s …