Planning a wedding is a lot of pressure. Everyone you know is invited, it’s (hopefully) a once-in-a-lifetime event and it’s the most formal occasion of
Some of the fondest memories I have of this year are the dinner parties I hosted at my house on liturgical feast days. They are
Living in Europe (and more specifically, Portugal) has been tough in terms of politics lately. I would venture to say even tougher than in America,
This month marks the beginning of the Year of Faith. It has gotten me thinking; do I really have faith? If I lived at the
Why do people pray the rosary: to obtain special graces? to connect with God? as Christian meditation? in reparation for one’s sins and the sins
There were a few words, often repeated in the news coverage of the recent Colorado shooting by James Holmes, which stood out to me like red signal lights: “loner who said little and was easily forgotten”, “kept to himself” and “didn’t seem to have many friends.”
“You can find Calcutta all over the world, if you have eyes to see” Mother Teresa profoundly remarks in this video (at about 2:20). She explains
I had the privilege of meeting a Saudi Arabian who was traveling throughout Portugal a few weeks ago and it was an eye-opening experience. I
Widows have always been a group of people that tug on my heartstrings. What is more tragic than a young husband or wife with small
I sometimes sing Toby Keith’s song “Beer For My Horses” to get on my sister’s nerves: “Grand pappy told my pappy back in my day
A wise friend once asked me, “Do you want to marry him or do you just want to get married in general?” Am I really
When I decided to study abroad at a European Catholic university, some American Catholics that I knew reacted negatively, saying that most of these
Accompanying the HHS Mandate uprising and uproar from afar has not only brought me hope but also more admiration for the Church. About 90% of
There is this emotion that every now and then swells up in me and the only word I can think of to describe it is
Has Europe lost its Catholic roots? Opinions are constantly being emitted on the question “What is happening to Europe?”, and while I think there is
I have been leading the youth group at my parish for almost four years now, based on the LifeTeen (www.lifeteen.com) model. I started out with lofty expectations
Yes! The Church in Europe is more alive and renewing itself than rumors would have you think. In fact, Christ is constantly loving and sanctifying
Since I’ve lived alone, I’ve been trying to establish routines that will help my physical and emotional health. I try to run/exercise three times a
It seems that our religion is usually pretty counter-cultural. The world says one thing, God says another. So it was no surprise when I
I experienced dramatically that I don’t know what’s best for me, only God does. And usually my plans go against His (“My thoughts are not your thoughts…” Is 55:8). So my best bet for happiness and salvation is to be obedient to God’s will, and so in an incarnate way to be obedient to His Church, and also to be obedient to those who know and love me disinterestedly and might be there to guide me.
