One of my spiritual practices on Good Friday, or sometime during Holy Week, is to watch the classic 1977 British-Italian television miniseries directed by Franco Zeffirelli, Jesus of Nazareth—my favorite “Jesus film” of all time. Watching especially the passion, death, and resurrection scenes allow me to connect deeply and concretely with the reality that we celebrate during the Holy Triduum. Robert Powell’s powerful blue eyes and stoic demeanor captivate me, though his l...

There’s a story about Louis-Marie de Montfort embracing a dying leper in the street. He carried the man to a religious house, where he called out, “Open the door for Jesus Christ!”Seeing Christ in the poor, the disenfranchised, had always been part of his spirituality. In 1693, at the age of 20, Louis chose to begin seminary in Paris. He adopted the life of a mendicant, deciding to walk the entire 230 miles to Paris. He arrived with the tattered outward appearance of a poor beg...

In my many years of life as a Daughter of St. Paul, the Lord has led me not only on my own journey of healing and transformation, but has also allowed me to accompany many others on their journeys as companion, spiritual guide, sister, and friend. This has been a wonderful gift, and I continue to marvel and give thanks as I watch how even today—just as in Gospel times—anyone who draws near to the Lord and touches him experiences healing. There is power in his presence and in his name...

As we journey through Lent, our thoughts and hearts turn most frequently—and appropriately—to acts of penance and remembrance, daily reminders of the great mystery of faith: that Christ died, has risen, and will come again in glory.But have you ever thought about Lent as a time for thanksgiving?Neither had I, frankly. But I have the great privilege of working with Sr. Kathryn Hermes, who has introduced me to the works and thoughts of the Fathers of the Eastern Orthodox churches, and ...

I don’t mean that question in the colloquial sense—as in, how are you today? This is a rather deeper question: as we move through the journey of Lent, how are you doing? Have you determined a Lenten practice—and kept practicing it?It’s a good idea to pause and take stock of where we are as we travel through Lent. Too often it’s tempting to simply put aside a practice or discipline that we haven’t been following consistently. “Oh, gosh, I didn’t do ...

Today Pauline Books and Media is releasing Catholic Funny Fill-ins, written by Karen and Tommy Tighe. Karen and Tommy are the proud parents of five boys. Tommy Tighe is co-host of the video program Repent & Submit airing on CatholicTV. (You can see past episodes here.)If you're looking for some fun for family road trips, get-togethers, youth group parties, or just a great evening at home, then Catholic Funny Fill-ins is for you! It helps you bring together both humor ...

To many people, the Mass seems very repetitive. Going to Mass every week (or every day, as I do), it can seem like the same thing every time, with only minor variations in the readings from Scripture and some of the prayers and hymns.But while it is true that the things we do and say are the same, the graces of each Mass are unique and unrepeatable because they are for us at that particular moment. There are “never before, never again” graces available at every Eucharistic celebratio...

40 days. 40 years. These numbers appear often in the sacred text, and they remind us immediately, of course, of Lent—which starts tomorrow!At the beginning of Lent we think of Israel’s 40-year journey in the desert and Jesus’ 40-day fast in the desert. In both of these desert treks, there were temptations.The Israelites often asked Moses why he had brought them out to the desert to die. Why couldn’t they go back to their slavery under the Egyptians, they asked, where at l...

God is infinitely good, and God knows what we need to feel safe and loved and happy. One of the ways people feel safe is through the establishment of habits, or rituals, activities that through time and repetition become a touchstone. We’ve all experienced rituals in our ordinary day-to-day lives. When my stepchildren were young, I wanted to expose them to a wide range of reading material, to challenge them. They, on the other hand, wanted the same book read to them night af...

January 18 is, believe it or not, National Thesaurus Day! And for someone like me who loves words, it’s a great holiday to celebrate. But it also got me to thinking about the many different ways we refer to God—the thesaurus of the Bible, if you will.Here at the Pauline Books & Media publishing house, there is a poster we pass many times a day, as it hangs in a busy corridor. It lists the many ways Scripture refers to Jesus:And thou shalt call his name Jesus, Prince of Peace, Mig...