I smiled the whole way back to my seat. After Mass, we chatted about how wonderful it was that I had been able to receive the Eucharist from him. What an unexpected surprise and delight.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church lays out a very different understanding of hope for the Christian, not merely as an expectation, but as a supernatural virtue:

We stand before Christ, transcending time, awaiting the moment when the energy of light and life — unleashed at creation, and subsumed (just once) into the quiescence of a grace-filled womb — flares through that enshrouded body, reanimating, resurrecting.

Pope St. John Paul II could well be called the “apostle of life.” He spent his entire pontificate boldly proclaiming the inviolability of innocent human life.

These sacred years remind us that humanity, history and time do not merely belong to God; they have been taken up into God in the person of Jesus Christ.

While a vegan or vegetarian already fulfills the law of abstinence by just sticking to their usual meat-free eating habits, it might make sense for them to consider adopting an additional penance for Lent.

Sports gambling seems to be everywhere, especially when watching or listening to sports — both collegiate and professional. In fact, during March Madness season, nearly 68 million Americans are expected to wager over $15 billion on the NCAA basketball tournament.

During St. Patrick’s season, my thoughts turn to two other Irishmen on the road to sainthood.

Even if one cannot physically make a pilgrimage to the sacred places that the church sets aside, every Catholic can experience the indulgence of God’s grace by entering the holy doors of one’s own parish “home” and being intentional about receiving the sacraments.

Children will forget things at home—the trumpet, the lunch, the math homework, or water bottle. Sometimes you can’t fix it. But sometimes you can—and you will.