The eccentric holy men known as stylites were first made famous by St. Simeon the Stylite, who lived in the fourth century in Syria. Simeon experienced a radical conversion, received the grace to endure extreme mortification and attempted to escape his constant
During Lent, Pope Francis said, Catholics -- and especially Catholic seminarians -- should rediscover the joy of simplicity, pay less attention to their appearance than to their prayer lives and make a special effort to get along with everyone they live with.
Progress
President Joe Biden said Feb. 12 the United States is seeking a six-week pause in the fighting between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip as a step toward a more permanent cessation of hostilities. As Lent began Feb. 14, some Catholics
In an age when even one's most intimate thoughts and feelings can become fodder for social media, Lent is a time to cast aside appearances and to find God at work in the depths of the heart, Pope Francis said.
Without realizing it,
Lent is a time of reparation -- a season of sorrow for sins committed and expressions of a sincere desire to reform our lives. But what does it mean to be sorry? What are the components of real remorse?
Whether we are expressing
This year, Ash Wednesday falls on Valentine's Day. In a strange way, this is extremely beautiful. (When this happened a few years back, one friar joyfully declared "Lent is for lovers"!) Although this somber day of penance -- second only to Good
Pope Francis's concern for migrants and refugees, his focus on ecology, his calls to "go out" to share the good news of salvation, even his support for the controversial possibility of informally blessing LGBTQ+ couples flow from his conviction that people need
It’s easy to feel penitential on Ash Wednesday. Most of us Catholics are quite good at it. We’re happy to forgo a meal or two and eat fish. The church is packed with fellow delinquents, all there to grovel before mercy’s throne.
The Third Last Word: “When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved, he said to his mother, ‘Woman, behold, your son.’ Then he said to the disciple, ‘Behold, your mother.'” (Jn 19:26-27)
When they speak about love, the saints and popes point, first and foremost, to the cross. Love, they agree, means self-sacrifice for the good of another. They echo Jesus Christ’s own words in John: “This is my commandment: love one another as