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I am so grateful for the gift of spiritual directors in my life. I have had four in thirty-four years. Here are five things in particular I have benefitted from in that relationship since I began gong to spiritual direction in 1988. Helping me keep prayer at the center of my life. I believe this is the most important role of a spiritual director, as all else in the Christian life hinges on our daily fidelity to personal prayer. And there is so much in life that wars against this commitment, no matter how many years we have prayed. If you stop praying, the rest of Christian life unravels quickly. Allowing me a space for radical transparency. Not holding secrets in life, especially over things that stand as obstacles to me growing in love of God, neighbor and self, is imperative. Maybe even ...

At one time or another, many of us, I argue, can relate to the sinful woman who seeks forgiveness from Jesus for her sins.[1] Where you and I may differ in this biblical example is the woman’s steps to seek and ask for Jesus’ forgiveness of her sins. She recognizes Jesus as Lord and immediately anoints him with her tears. Standing behind our Lord while continuing to cry, she wiped her tears from his feet with her hair and then proceeded to kiss and anoint Jesus’ feet. The woman’s actions reveal a desire for healing through forgiving her sins. Her actions also express a genuine love for Him, affirming Jesus as God’s Son. Unfortunately, Simon the Pharisee who had invited Jesus to his home chose not to embrace Jesus with humility and reverence, and Jesus tells him why this is so due to the ha...

There is something exciting happening in America. Elon Musk taking over Twitter is perhaps the biggest indication that media voices such as Bill Maher and Joe Rogan are not alone. They all agree: the cancel culture and “woke” ideology have gotten out of hand. People are tired of close-minded political correctness. This is an enormous opportunity for Catholics who know that the Truth is a person, the Word made Flesh, and that he wants a relationship with everyone at every point on the ideological spectrum. It’s more important now than ever that Catholics both show that we are appropriately open minded and take advantage of the new open-mindedness around us. Our Lord literally told us as his final instructions on earth that it is our job is to “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nation...

Pope Francis has encouraged French bishops to show special care for Catholics “disoriented” by his decision to severely restrict the celebration of Traditional Latin Masses. His message was delivered to the bishops on Thursday, the first day of their plenary meeting in Lourdes, by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin. “Pope Francis … invites you to the greatest solicitude and paternity for those people ⁠— especially young people, priests, and laity ⁠— who are disoriented by the motu proprio Traditionis custodes, which you will be working to implement,” said the message released Nov. 3 and signed by Cardinal Parolin. “They are often wounded sheep who need to be accompanied, listened to, and given time.” The French bishops are scheduled to discuss Traditionis custodes and “the ...

By Fr. Victor Feltes This image from The Simpson’s provided the avatar (or avi) which Goodtweet_man used for his pseudonymous Twitter account. Goodtweet_man is a Catholic attorney in Kansas who, until recently, had a significant and devoted following on Twitter. There he would crack jokes, post others’ prayer requests, and offer sometimes salty commentary on religion and politics. But on October 27th, the same day that Elon Musk was completing his purchase of Twitter, Goodtweet_man’s account was ‘permanently suspended’ by the company for “violating our rules against abuse and harassment.” Goodtweet_man had tweeted in reference to the Catholic bishops of Germany, whose ongoing “Synodal Way” drew a warning from the Holy See this July. (The Vatican statement clarified that “the ‘Synodal ...

As was her custom in the spring of 1970, Joy Piccolo spent a little time one morning with folded hands at St. Catherine of Siena, the Catholic Church across the street from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York. Afterward, she made her way to see her husband Brian at the hospital, and crossed paths with his doctor on the sidewalk. They exchanged pleasantries, and then Dr. Edward Beattie got to the point. Advertisement “It’s not looking good, Joy,” he said. “We’ll keep him as comfortable as we can. It’s not going to be long.” The words were not unexpected. But they were stunning. Now 76, Joy Piccolo-O’Connell still gets emotional talking about the feeling she had that day. “It was very hard for him,” she says, pausing, then taking a deep breath. “It was hard because he loved th...

Jesus, St. Paul, and the seven martyr brothers of Second Maccabees all have the same message on the 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time: Our situation is hopeless — except for one thing. Family love is ultimately hopeless; it’s great, but temporary. Trusting in our neighbors is hopeless; it’s our job to serve them, but we might get persecution in return. And political victory is hopeless; those who look to politics for salvation end up crushed by their political opponents (or their political friends, for that matter). In fact, there is only one hope, and at first it might seems a far-fetched hope: the resurrection of the body. In the Gospel, the Sadducees try to make the very idea of the resurrection of the dead seem absurd. Jesus answers by pointing out that an earth-bound existence is absurd. I...

This week, astronomers announced the discovery of three previously unknown near-Earth asteroids that had been hiding in the glare of the Sun — and one of them is a giant. At nearly a mile (1.5 kilometers) across, it is big enough to cause planet-wide destruction if it hit the Earth, though it won’t come anywhere close enough to be a threat for a hundred years or so.  The search for potentially hazardous asteroids like this one has ramped up in recent years, with multiple ongoing efforts to identify and catalog large space rocks passing close by. From twilight observations from the ground to space-based telescopes peering into hard-to-see regions of the sky, these programs are focused on identifying potentially dangerous asteroids as early as possible. The goal is to make sure that we ...

In every life, there comes a moment where we find ourselves brought to our knees, a moment when we are immersed in something tragic and personally gutting, and our questions seem unending. It is a “rubber meets the road” moment, when even people of faith will ask themselves whether they truly believe all they proclaim and people who say they have no faith find themselves casting out pleas to heaven. When a popular artist seems to be saying he or she has met such a moment, fans notice. Ever since the Beatles took the then-unprecedented step of printing their lyrics on the back cover of their “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band,” included lyrics have helped a listener to quickly become familiar enough with a new song to embrace its mood and message for one’s own. For some, a close examina...

‘Tis the season. . .for elections.  Again.  American politics has always had a toxic streak.  But once upon a time, before our mass media destroyed the escape hatch to solitude, we could find a way and a place – a mental bomb shelter – to ride out the cycle of partisan hysteria.  Not anymore.  Now the noise is everywhere, nonstop. This year’s campaigns have featured the usual mudslinging, and they proceed in much the same way we bombed the North during the Vietnam War: gradual escalation.  John Fetterman, the Democratic candidate for Pennsylvania senator, looks more and more like a demonic Uncle Fester-man in Republican attack ads.  And Dr. Oz, his Republican opponent, appears as a vivisecting doggy-killer in similar Democratic ads. This year’s Emmy for m...

If every country’s airspace extended up forever, which country would own the largest percentage of the galaxy at any given time? Reuven Lazarus Today’s question is adapted from What If 2: Additional Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions, which contains many more What If answers and is available now! Congratulations to Australia, new rulers of the galaxy. The Australian flag has a number of symbols on it, including five stars that represent the stars of the Southern Cross.[1]Epsilon Crucis has five points, while the others have seven, implying that the view of Epsilon is from a telescope with different lens geometry from the others. Minor symbolic/graphic design choice? Or clue to a secret multiversal alliance between parallel universe Australias? No way to...