“Maria Goretti, now a Saint, was my good Angel, sent to me through Providence to guide and save me. I still have impressed upon my heart her words of rebuke and pardon. She prayed for me, she interceded for her murderer.” – Alessandro Serenelli Many people are familiar with the story of Saint Maria Goretti and her grisly murder at the age of eleven. On her deathbed, she said of her killer, “I forgive him, and I want him to be with me in heaven. ...
Welcome to the Catholic Church! Now that you're officially a Catholic, you are probably wondering, «Now what?» Shaun McAfee has been where you are. As a convert, he worried that he might not be a «good Catholic.» He wanted to take part in the sacraments, really prepare for Mass, learn how to defend and even share his faith, and understand certain Catholic devotions. Yet he wasn't sure how to do any of this, or where to look for answe ...
“God has created me to do him some definite service; he has committed some work to me which he has not committed to another. I have my mission.” – Blessed John Henry Newman The statistics are heartbreaking. In 2007, 24 percent of Americans identified as Catholic. By 2014, that had dropped to 21 percent. The number of people who claim no religious affiliation has surpassed Catholics and evangelicals, making “nones” the largest religious group in ...
"Where are you?" God called out to the first couple in the Garden of Eden. He never stops asking us the same question. The divine search for us continues in the person of Jesus Christ, the Word of God made flesh. When Jesus himself asks questions in the New Testament, he asks not because he needs an answer, but to draw us out of the shadows and into his presence. And he asks a lot of questions: "Do you want to be healed?" "Who ...
Through his prolific writing, Cardinal John Henry Newman guided Catholics to a deeper understanding and love of the Faith, and his writings continue to move and inspire us today. He combined his profound intellect with the loving heart of a pastor, using both to help Christians enter into a relationship with God, opening their hearts to the love and mercy of the Father’s heart. Through this curated collection of essays, sermons, poems, hymns, a ...
“As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax office; and he said to him, ‘Follow me.’ And he rose and followed him.” – Matthew 9:9 Conversion . The word is often associated with a one-time event, such as the call of Saint Matthew. But even for Matthew, that call was only the beginning, the moment when he started following Jesus. For Matthew, as for all the saints, his conversion lasted a lifetime. Real convers ...
“I want God to become especially interested in you, just as you, prompted by his grace, are beginning to become interested in him.” This iconic masterpiece in apologetics, written by Our Sunday Visitor’s founder Archbishop John Francis Noll and first published in 1913, presents the foundations of Catholicism through an engaging dialogue between a Catholic priest and a young man seeking truth. In Father Smith Instructs Jackson , Mr. Jackson po ...
"You mean sixty-one seconds. You said sixty-one minutes, but you mean a little over one minute." "No," I said. «He didn’t have a pulse for over an hour.» After a healthy pregnancy, on September 16, 2010, Bonnie L. Engstrom delivered a stillborn baby boy. After sixty-one minutes, just when the doctors were going to call a time of death, James Fulton’s heart began to beat. In that sixty-one minutes, the Engstrom’s been asking for and ...
Dear Father, As the anniversary of our wedding draws near, I pray again that You hold my husband in Your gentle embrace. Share with him the endless joy of knowing You. Shower him with Your love and grace. Remind him, if it be Your will, of my undying love for him. These days are sometimes hard for me, as memories of our sweet vows wring my heart and tears flow silently. As I walk this earth alone, I ask You, please, for grace. Give me courage, ...
