December 8 Feast of the Immaculate Conception
“Have you been saved?” Maybe you have been asked that by one of our Protestant brothers or sisters. If our Blessed Mother had been asked, she could have given the loudest ”Yes!” the world had…

I truly believe that we were (and are) all good-intentioned when we pray; but I have to come to realize that we often take liberties as well. Liberties that may not be in our best interest or in the best interest of those for whom we are praying.

Those of us who seek spiritual direction today have it much easier than the ancients: no desert experience required.

The path to Hell is paved with good intentions.
 I don’t get that.
 It seems to me that good intentions ought to be worth more than a ticket to Hell.
 Having said that, I definitely get that the good intentions…

Like all teachers — well at least like many teachers — I entered the classroom ready to change the world. Sure, I was a bit older than most when I took my first steps into the parochial middle school milieu;…

“No one will touch it with a 10-foot pole,” best-selling Catholic author, speaker and convert Elizabeth Ficocelli said to me when presenting the manuscript for the children’s book Where Do Priests Come From? “At one point a New York publisher…

I always laugh when I think of the time that I picked up my youngest son from the sitter’s and was told by the incredulous young woman that he didn’t know a particular song they had sung that day.  I…

Since I don’t want to exaggerate, I’ve purposely counted all the large plastic totes that occupy a walk-in closet in our basement. There are 27 in all. This doesn’t include the ones stashed away in bedroom closets nor does it…

“You can’t handle the truth!” Jack Nicholson growls at Tom Cruise in one of the most well-known movie scenes from A Few Good Men.
I don’t remember much about the movie but do remember that particular line. There was something…

The title alone intrigued me: Fatherless.
From a Catholic perspective “Father” becomes a multi-dimensional word that can encompass the role of pastor, biological father, care-giving father and Heavenly Father — at the very least. Then to imagine any of these…