Shock and Awe

Very few serial murderers or suicide bombers are devoted to frequent confession. Confession, to be sure, is not the stuff of shock and awe. Indeed, most priests will tell you that hearing confessions is hard work. It requires attentiveness as… Read More

“You’re Only Human”

Clichés can be useful. Their original meanings, however, are often long forgotten. When we feel a little depressed, we say we have “the blues.” The phrase softly suggests that the depression felt is not clinical, perhaps just a passing condition… Read More

The Devil’s Tabernacle

The pious Lutheran pastor may have had a point. He said the television set was “the devil’s tabernacle.” Some would say he was prescient when he made the observation in the early 1950s. Others would say that “Howdy Doody” and… Read More

Paradox Sublime

A few decades ago a wise bishop in the Midwest frequently would instruct his priests to look in the mirror in the morning and practice saying “no.” The good bishop knew that every priest suffers a propensity for vainglory. He… Read More

The Holy Spirit and Middlemen

Some businesses boast they have “cut out the middlemen” to bring savings to customers. Strictly speaking, however, “cutting out the middlemen” really means reducing costs by rearranging the locations of warehouses and hiring new middlemen to take phone calls or… Read More

He is Risen (Like it or Not)

Whether we like it or not, Jesus Christ is risen from the dead. Perhaps it is odd or objectionable to suggest, in this most holy of seasons, that we may not “like” that Jesus is risen. After all, in the… Read More

The Truth of Each Man

In a perfect storm of a decline in morals coupled with the Internet information superhighway, we have an imperfect foretaste of the Last Judgment, where all that is hidden will come to light. Every adolescent indiscretion on Facebook, every inappropriate… Read More

Divine Threats

Acts 10:25-26, 34-35, 44-48 / 1 Jn 4:7-10 / Jn 15:9-17
When all else fails, threaten. “Just wait until your father gets home!” is a mother’s familiar threat. It’s a threat that a child properly formed in filial piety finds… Read More

Gospel Commentary: Pictures

A picture is worth a thousand words. A teacher knows how to engage the imagination of students in the classroom. When the multiplication of words becomes wearisome, a good teacher draws a picture. An adolescent knows that he is reaching… Read More

Common Ground

It is usually worth the effort to establish “common ground” with neighbors. In politics, the search for common ground is the stuff of coalitions to win elections. In negotiations among nations, the search for common ground establishes mutual interest and… Read More

Page 1 of 3123

Newsletter

Subscribe to the Catholic Exchange Ezine and Newsletter.

The Church Today

Today's Mass Readings

Readings for May 21

Liturgy of the Hours

Daily Divine Office

Words of Encouragement

“Teach me to pray, Lord. Teach me to pray in your name, to pray with faith, to pray unceasingly. Teach me to pray for the people you have entrusted to my care. You want to shower your graces down upon…

Pope Benedict's Day

 
May 27th – Pentecost Sunday
Vatican Basilica, at 9:30
PAPAL MASS
Holy Mass
Saint Peter’s Square, at 12:00
Regina Caeli…

Quote of the Day

“There is nothing more beautiful than to be surprised by the gospel, by the encounter with Christ. There is nothing more beautiful than to know Him and to speak to others of our friendship with him.” ~Pope Benedict XVI…

Homily of the Day

Be brave

Saint of the Day

St. Godric of Finchale

Ask a Monk

Spiritual advice from a Benedictine monastery by Brother Sebastian

Online via live chat
M – F: 6:00-6:30 PM EST
Saturday & Sunday: 3:00 – 5:00 PM EST

Offline via Email 24/7/365

Click on the button at any time and Brother Sebastian will respond


Support