Week 1 of the weekly guide to the "Pray To Your Father in Secret" Lenten Book Club: Preface.

When you think of Good King Wenceslas, you probably think of the song we sing at Christmas. Here are some amazing things about the real Saint Wenceslas: Wenceslas’ grandfather, Borivoj I of Bohemia, was converted by Saints Cyril and Methodius, who began the Christianization of Bohemia during Borivoj's reign. His grandmother Ludmila of Bohemia is also a Czech saint and martyr. She was canonized shortly after her death. Her feast is September 16. Wenceslas' father died when...

Growing up, I loved the idea of love, thanks to a steady diet of Disney magic and, later, romantic comedies. Fast-forward to college, and I realized my younger self’s concept of romance was little more than infatuation when compared to what it could really be.St. Pope John Paul II introduced me to another view, and I fell in love with love for real.My college boyfriend and I decided to attend a summer retreat in Allenspark, Colorado, where the pope stayed when he came to Denver for World Y...

This past month we celebrated a number of the Church’s great people of prayer: Saint Teresa of Avila, Saint Francis of Assisi, Saint Therese of Lisieux, and Blessed Timothy Giaccardo. They were all masters not only of liturgical prayer, but of personal prayer. What does that mean? Very simply put, it means they prayed from within their own lives. They prayed who they were, so to speak. Would we put ourselves in that category? Do you and I pray, as St Therese did, “our own little way?”  Let’s...

Zélie Martin sat upright in the chair of the doctor’s office on that never-to-be-forgotten day in October 1876. She waited patiently for his verdict. Without raising his eyes, the doctor cleared his throat and began writing out a prescription. He said, “Madame, what you have is a tumor.”“Please be direct with me, doctor. What is the use of the prescription?”“Really, no use at all,” admitted the doctor.“Will an operation help me?”“I’m afraid not, Madame. We have diagnosed you too late....