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Select a Month December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010

December 2019

December 02, 2019

How a ‘fallen away’ Catholic became a priest

A great story, from Aspen, Colorado: Christianity is filled with stories of rapid-fire callings to...

November 2019

November 29, 2019

Steubenville to ordain first married priest, a former Pentecostal minister from its first diaconate class

Big news, via CNS: Deacon Drake McCalister, a former Pentecostal minister, has been given approval...

November 25, 2019

‘Don’t become a priest’

That's the blunt message Franciscan friar Casey Cole offers in the video below — and...

October 2019

October 29, 2019

Canada opens unique retirement residence for both lay and religious

"This is unique — the religious and lay people mix. I don't think there's any...

October 11, 2019

Boom: Cincinnati seminary enrollment doubles in a decade

"They’re actively giving themselves over to what the Lord’s asking them to do." Details: Changes...

October 07, 2019

‘Why is our son in the seminary?’

A few weeks back, you'll remember, I posted an essay from America in which a...

October 01, 2019

‘Breaking’ news: breakdancing priests!

You've got to see this to believe it: The story, from Knoxville: Spreading their...

September 2019

September 25, 2019

Married deacon in Amazon: ‘I feel it in my heart. I want to be a priest.’

From Reuters: Just before dawn, Shainkiam Yampik beats a drum carved from a tree trunk...

September 24, 2019

Boom: Baltimore welcomes largest seminary class in almost 40 years

“God is calling all of us to be saints. I want to pursue sainthood through...

September 24, 2019

‘The schism to worry about is the one where all the women leave the Church…’

That's the conclusion of this piece from Phyllis Zagano in NCR: The Vatican released the participants'...

September 22, 2019

Ordination update: 9 new deacons for Boston

It happened Saturday, when Boston's Cardinal Sean O'Malley ordained the new deacons at the Cathedral...

September 19, 2019

Pope Francis: Ministry is not a job, but a gift

Here's wisdom every one in ministry needs to remember. From Vatican Media: Pope Francis reflected...

September 16, 2019

Amazon archbishop backs ordaining married men as priests

From Crux: According to a Spanish missionary archbishop who’s been in Ecuador since 1998, “We...

September 14, 2019

WATCH: The engineer who became a nun

Not exactly the kind of item you expect to see on your nightly news, but...

September 09, 2019

Meet the divorced father of two who is also a Catholic priest

From the Aberdeen News in South Dakota: The Rev. Tom Hartman’s first call was as...

September 08, 2019

God is his co-pilot: meet a flying priest in Alaska

Here's a unique vocation, via Catholic Anchor, from Father Scott Garrett, who tends to the...

September 05, 2019

A Catholic mother asks: how can I trust my son will be safe in the seminary?

I suspect it is a question a lot of parents are asking these days. From...

August 2019

August 29, 2019

On entering the convent and leaving: ‘Our God is a God of journeys, not of destinations’

Catholic writer and speaker Meg Hunter-Kilmer posted this on Facebook yesterday, and I think it...

August 26, 2019

Ordination update: 12 new deacons for San Bernardino

I got the following email today from my friend Msgr. Gerard Lopez: Ordination was Saturday,...

August 25, 2019

Meet the youngest ‘parish priest’ in Ireland

You might be surprised — I was — to learn his age is 32. I...

August 21, 2019

Why aren’t more Catholics having church weddings? Maybe because of things like this.

A lot of clergy will tell you that Catholics aren't receiving the sacraments like they...

August 17, 2019

‘We have this treasure in earthen vessels’: Remembering James Stephen Behrens

My heart broke when I heard this news today: Father James Stephen Behrens, OCSO, a...

August 16, 2019

Buffalo Dean of Seminarians quits: ‘The values and morals of this seminary and diocese do not correspond to my own.’

Things in Buffalo just keep getting worse: In the wake of more than 100 child...

August 14, 2019

‘The Woodstock Nun,’ 50 years later

Who knew? From The Catholic Review in Baltimore: The fleeting image of the demure and...

August 13, 2019

The ESPN headline writer who lost his job — but found his vocation

A h/t to Terry Mattingly's Get Religion blog — and writer Bobby Ross, Jr. —...

August 11, 2019

The extraordinary life of Deacon Joseph Van Tam Le

Denver Catholic recounts his remarkable journey: Deacon Joseph Van Tam Le, 97, passed away peacefully...

August 10, 2019

Behold, a priest

Last weekend, my parish in Queens, New York continued a longstanding custom of inviting a...

August 04, 2019

This is superb: the story of the basketball star who became a nun

You won't find a better vocation story than this. Check this out, from ESPN: She...

July 2019

July 25, 2019

Beautiful: the world’s first community of religious sisters with Down syndrome

Most people probably don't even know such a community exists. Details: The Little Sisters Disciples...

July 24, 2019

Want to feel more hopeful about the future of the Church? Try this.

Words of wisdom from Simcha Fisher: Who but priests understand better how serious our spiritual...