In February, the Church marked 166 years since Mary appeared near a stream in Lourdes, France. It's been 165 years since she appeared in Champion, Wisconsin; 493 since Tepeyac Hill; 91 years since Belgium. The list goes on. Though Catholics are not
A reader asks: “Why is everybody, except the Blessed Virgin, conceived with original sin on their souls? If all of us inherit our first parents’ mortal sin, why do we not inherit the personal sins of our own parents or other ancestors?”
Alongside the sounds of life, the digital world provides plenty of sound, noise and input that fills not only our ears but our brains, sometimes to the point where we feel overloaded with visual, audible and intellectual stimuli. These things are not
"See you in the story." This is the promise of literature and liturgy. The familiar tales we tell to children over generations and generations. The living Word we proclaim as a church, pulsing and breathing whenever we speak it aloud and share
On April 8, a total solar eclipse in North America will coincide with the Solemnity of the Annunciation. OSV News editor-in-chief Gretchen R. Crowe points out the connection between the moon’s shadow falling on Earth and Mary being “overshadowed” by the Holy
The Catholic Church’s teaching that in vitro fertilization contradicts God’s design for marriage is controversial. To some couples who are unable to conceive by normal means, IVF seems like an opportunity to get the child they desire. But the Our Sunday Visitor
Father Patrick Briscoe shares an encounter he had with a drunken man on the streets of a foreign neighborhood and how it led to deeper prayer: “I pretended I didn’t hear him. His faint cry drifted over the four lanes of traffic.
Not long ago, Easter was a time for purchasing a new set of clothes, which many would then show off in Easter parades. New clothes publicly stated that, in celebrating Easter after faithfully observing Lent, the wearer truly was a new person.
The Catholic Church says in Unam Sanctum (A.D. 1302), “Furthermore, we declare, we proclaim, we define that it is absolutely necessary for salvation that every human creature be subject to the Roman Pontiff.” But Lumen Gentium (A.D. 1963) says, “Those also can
A reader writes: “Wasn’t Mary a surrogate mother? Did she not bear a son for someone other than her husband, Joseph? Jesus was the Son of God. Was he not conceived by artificial insemination? She didn’t have intercourse with anyone. … I
One of the saddest things for a Catholic is when a friend abandons the Faith because of suffering. We might think they have given up without a fight, and our first instinct may be to rush in and let them know how