Meaningful Ways to Celebrate Your Baby’s Baptism
It was October 22, 2016, the feast of our family patron Saint, Pope John Paul II. Two-and-a-half years earlier, in the same stone cathedral, our beloved Passionist priest looked at...
Tips for Watching Mass from Home with Kids
We went to Mass as a family the first Sunday in March. We sat in our usual first-row pew, sweated through toddler misbehavior, extremely loud requests for donuts, and whining...
Keeping Holy the Sabbath: Why It Matters + How We Can Do It
Far too many times, I’ve let Sundays be my catch-all days. My “I didn’t have time to get this done yet, so I’ll just do it today” days. Sundays, in...
Quo Vadis?: On the Humanity of St. Peter
The humanity of St. Peter has always captivated me—from his declaration at the Transfiguration that building tents is the best idea, to his fearless (albeit short-lived) walk across the sea,...
What are Mass Cards?
On our baptismal days, my husband, my kids, and I know what to expect from my mother- and father-in-law: a card-sized white envelope, our names written on the outside in...
St. Gertrude + the Souls in Purgatory
A handful of Saints within Catholicism have been given the title “Great.” Most recently canonized is Pope St. John Paul the Great, but there’s also St. Albert the Great, St....
On the Dedication of the Basilica of St. John Lateran
Today is the feast of the Dedication of the Basilica of St. John Lateran! So why do we care so much about a building in Rome that we dedicate an...
More Precious Than Gold
At some point, we’ve probably all faced the accusation that Catholics can't claim to serve the poor while building expansive (not to mention expensive!) cathedrals. While our bishops are dressed...
Ways to Share Your Faith Through Your Wedding
When my husband and I were engaged, one of the first things we did was sit down to figure out which state to get married in. We finally made the...
How Parishes Can Support New Female Converts
At the parish I work at, one of my new responsibilities is overseeing the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (RCIA). While there were a few learning curves, the experience...
The Magnitude of Eight: Why the Church Celebrates in Octaves
Most people are familiar with the creation story found in the first chapter of Genesis. God creates the world in an ordered fashion over the course of seven, poetically-flowing days....
Welcome Home! Why I'm Becoming Catholic
This Saturday, at the Easter Vigil, men, women, and children across the world will be brought into the Catholic Church. People will be baptized and confirmed, they'll receive Jesus in...
