Young man’s sacrifice sparks solidarity with the poor

Anyone who’s ever had the joy of having a houseful of teenage and 20-something males knows what I mean when I say that it’s all about the food. One local teenager stands apart from the crowd.

Bearing our share of hardship for the Gospel helps us grow in love

If you reflect on the lives of the saints, one of the first things you might notice is that they weren’t comfortable. They embraced the cross and the hardships that came with it. Taming the flesh so as to better follow Christ is a countercultural, revolutionary effort in 2018, but then again, it’s always been a way to swim against the tide.

Marriage rulings: Wake up and smell the coffee, America

Even with many Americans still professing faith in God (sort of) we are clearly in a post-Christian era that finds its roots in the so-called sexual revolution and drug culture of the 1960s that embraced contraception, abortion and “free love.”

Too busy to pray? Finding time for God brings peace

You may have heard the clever observation that people nowadays have become human “doings” rather than human beings. Multi-tasking, packed calendars and smart phones...

Pope: Our first calling is to love, embrace all people

You know those emails that insist you “must” click on this link, view that video or delve into such-and-such a blog? Honestly, I end up deleting most of them. It’s just too much. Every now and then though — perhaps at my guardian angel’s prompting — I click.

Remembering a gentle shepherd murdered by militants

Today we remember Chaldean Father Ragheed Aziz Ganni, who, along with three subdeacons from Church of the Holy Spirit in Mosul, Iraq, were killed June 3, 2007, while leaving the church after Mass.

Beloved Nativity set brings back memories, reminds us to trust

The Child Jesus enters our broken, fallen world with His purity and innocence and fragility. He is born in the most humble of circumstances, in a temporary shelter, among sheep and oxen, and laid in a manger. He shed His first drop of blood for us eight days later at His circumcision, a foretelling of the blood that would flow from the terrible wounds of crucifixion.

God speaks to us in everyday moments

You’ve seen them. Holding cardboard signs with scrawled pleas for help, they stand at freeway exits, hoping for a handout. Should you give them money? Should you circle around and return with food and water?

Praying for food: Who will answer?

Plowing through a formidable stack of mail that accumulated while I was away last month, my eyes fell on a large envelope from Food for the Poor. Inside was a tabloid newspaper with a bold red headline: “Answering the Call.”

Journey of the heart: Distance between two cities diminishes through faith

Phoenix is more than 7,000 miles from Mosul. And yet as I sit and pray here in sunny Arizona, my heart turns to the beleaguered city in Iraq.