Emphasis

Reading and Understanding the Bible

BY AMY EKEH Let’s face it, as much as we may want to read the Bible, it can be a...

St. Augustine—May he who did not shrink from taking a b...

May he who did not shrink from taking a beginning even like ours, perfect in us ...

St. Stephen—Look, I see the heavens opened and the Son ...

Look, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of ...

The Christmas Child

BY GINA LOEHR The joy of Christmas is best understood by children. Excused from ...

Bl. Bartolo Longo—O, Mary, did you not find a room for ...

O, Mary, did you not find a room for your Son? Here it is, I offer it to you in ...

St. Thomas Aquinas—I would not believe if I did not rea...

I would not believe if I did not realize that it is reasonable to believe. — St....

Shepherds, kings, gold-foil stars…and llamas

Every child’s eyes focused on the altar, watching the annual Christmas pageant i...

Has Christmas Come for You Yet?

One of the things I love about Christmas being celebrated for an octave (or twel...

St. Augustine—This is the business of our life: by labo...

This is the business of our life: by labor and prayer to advance in the grace of...

St. John Henry Newman—Let us pray God teach us: …

Let us pray God teach us: we need his teaching; we are very blind. The apostles ...

St. Teresa of Avila—All difficulties in prayer have jus...

All difficulties in prayer have just one cause: praying as though God were not t...

St. Leo the Great—Invisible in his own nature he became...

Invisible in his own nature he became visible in ours. Beyond our grasp, he chos...

Nick-nicknames

by Jake Frost In our family, we have so many nicknames that our nicknames now ha...

St. Lucy—You can take nothing with you from this life …

You can take nothing with you from this life, and whatever you give away at deat...

Jesus is coming!

Over the centuries, many Christians have predicted the second coming of Christ a...

St. John of the Cross—The more lofty the degree of lovi...

The more lofty the degree of loving union to which God destines the soul, so muc...

St. John Damascene—To serve Mary and to be her courtier...

To serve Mary and to be her courtier is the greatest honor one can possibly poss...

St. Bernard of Clairvaux—There are three distinct comin...

There are three distinct comings of the Lord of which I know, his coming to men,...

Do we become angels after we die?

BY MSGR. STUART SWETLAND Dear Father: When someone dies, I often hear expression...

St. Ambrose—Patient endurance is the perfection of char...

Patient endurance is the perfection of charity. — St. Ambrose