Jesus is waiting for you right here, right now. He is all holy and He desires you to be in communion with Him. For that, you do not in this life need to be perfect; you need to be forgiven, to be healed and to be contrite and desire holiness. Give your life to Jesus today. Make that committment. Christ […]
“For through the law I died to the law, that I might live for God, I have been crucified with Christ; yet I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me; insofar as I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who has loved me and given himself up for me” (Galatians […]
The Cross is the great paradox of Christianity. More than a few people have asked me over the years why the Catholic Church focuses so prominently and persistently on the Crucifix. One inquirer even suggested that the Crucifix hanging above the Altar is too intense a reminder of the sorrow in the world and that she would never join a […]
The Final Journey to Jerusalem Begins The account of the raising of Lazarus from the dead by Jesus is the seventh of the seven signs in St. John’s Gospel that announce the fulfillment of the Old Covenant in the New Covenant and the passing away of the old rites, replaced by the grace and sacraments of Jesus Christ. It is also the […]
Some years ago a priest shared some guidance with my wife and me that has been the ongoing cause of a great deal of conversation and reflection in our home. In response to learning that we pray every day about our oldest son’s future and that he be healed of his autism, he encouraged us to pray first for acceptance. […]
We are all familiar with the “walk to Emmaus” (Luke 24:13-35) by two of Christ’s disciples the evening of the Resurrection in Luke’s Gospel. These two men, overcome with hopelessness and discouragement, were talking about the incredible events they had witnessed over the previous few days as they were walking to their home village of Emmaus outside of Jerusalem. As […]
Do you ever feel overwhelmed with all of the stress, responsibilities and challenges in your daily life? If I am honest with myself, the times I feel most anxious or stressed are usually caused by my lifelong tendency to overcomplicate things and an inclination towards “busyness”. I am grateful for the occasional insights I have into ways to address this […]
I don’t know about you, but I rarely get through the day without feeling beaten up a little by the demands and pervasive negative influence of the world. It is difficult to find peace and block out the noise. I am challenged to avoid committing the same venial sins over and over each day. In my weakness, I tend to […]
Please help us continue our mission! We welcome both one-time and monthly donations. A monthly subscriber giving just $10 a month will help cover the cost of operating Integrated Catholic Life for one day! Please help us bring enriching and inspiring Catholic content to readers around the world by giving today. Thank you and may God Bless you for supporting […]
Please help us continue our mission! We welcome both one-time and monthly donations. A monthly subscriber giving just $10 a month will help cover the cost of operating Integrated Catholic Life for one day! Please help us bring enriching and inspiring Catholic content to readers around the world by giving today. Thank you and may God Bless you for supporting […]
Please help us continue our mission! We welcome both one-time and monthly donations. A monthly subscriber giving just $10 a month will help cover the cost of operating Integrated Catholic Life for one day! Please help us bring enriching and inspiring Catholic content to readers around the world by giving today. Thank you and may God Bless you for supporting […]
Please help us continue our mission! We welcome both one-time and monthly donations. A monthly subscriber giving just $10 a month will help cover the cost of operating Integrated Catholic Life for one day! Please help us bring enriching and inspiring Catholic content to readers around the world by giving today. Thank you and may God Bless you for supporting […]
Holy Thursday, the night of the Last Supper aka the Lord’s Supper, the institution of the Holy Eucharist — why did Jesus do what he did and say what he said? What did he mean when he said “This is my body and this is my blood” and “Do this in Memory of Me”? And what does the Catholic Church […]
The Cross is the great paradox of Christianity. More than a few people have asked me over the years why the Catholic Church focuses so prominently and persistently on the Crucifix. One inquirer even suggested that the Crucifix hanging above the Altar is too intense a reminder of the sorrow in the world and that she would never join a […]
The Final Journey to Jerusalem Begins The account of the raising of Lazarus from the dead by Jesus is the seventh of the seven signs in St. John’s Gospel that announce the fulfillment of the Old Covenant in the New Covenant and the passing away of the old rites, replaced by the grace and sacraments of Jesus Christ. It is also the […]
The love with which God embraces each of us is one of the great truths revealed in to us throughout salvation history, but especially through and in Jesus Christ. To come to better understand this love, we are continually invited by God into a deeper communion of prayer with Him… to come to know Him as He is. God, the […]
This week’s poem in the Catholic Poetry Room is by Gerard Garrigan, O.S.B. […]
This week’s poem in the Catholic Poetry Room is by George Herbert. Easter Song I got me flowers to straw Thy way, I got me boughs off many a tree; But Thou wast up by break of day, And brought’st Thy sweets along with Thee. The sun arising in the East, Though he give light, and th’ East […]
This week’s poem in the Catholic Poetry Room is by Jeffrey Essmann. Stations 1 / 8 / 14 1. Judgment Amazed he was at his naivete, This Jewish “king” from some pathetic town Up north. Had he not well enough conveyed The power he had to nail the fellow down? —The wife comes running with her sordid dream; And “Crucify […]
This week’s poem in the Catholic Poetry Room is by Johanna Caton. The Waiting Inspired by St Bernard of Clairvaux’s Homily on Our Lady’s Fiat. Homily 4, 8-9: Opera omnia, Edit. Cisterc. 4 [1966], 53-54 What sigh or song or sob flew out, unleashed From angel lips, as Spirit’s fathering Word? What innocence in girl and angel stirred, As each […]
“Today a great silence reigns on earth, a great silence and a great stillness. A great stillness because the King is asleep. The earth trembled and is still because God has fallen asleep in the flesh and has raised up all who have slept since the world began . . . ‘I order you, O sleeper, to awake. I did […]
It caught me by surprise that the Carmelite Sisters keep a complete and prayerful silence during the Holy Triduum of Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday, not speaking until the conclusion of the evening Easter Vigil Mass on Holy Saturday. I remember when I was the “new kid on the block,” a recently-arrived postulant who was learning more and […]
A Daily Quote to Inspire Your Catholic Faith “If you do not live what you believe, you will end up believing what you live.” (Venerable Fulton J. Sheen) Please share this article on Facebook and other social media below. Please help us continue our mission! We welcome both one-time and monthly donations. A monthly subscriber giving just $10 a month […]
A Daily Quote to Inspire Your Catholic Faith “If one were to ask of the New Testament: What is Man? It would reply with the words of the apostle John: That creature whom God ‘so loved . . . that he gave his only-begotten Son . . .’ (3:16). The answer immediately evokes a second: Man is that creature who […]