As a young girl (and to this day), I loved the movie The Sound of Music. I had great aspirations of being a spunky, joyful, faithful, romantic Maria, swinging my carpet bag and guitar whilst belting out “I have confidence in sunshine!” All of the songs brought me great joy, but there were some that [...]
Saint Gemma Galgani and Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton devoted their entire lives to Jesus. They show us that we must run to His mercy and unite ourselves wholly to Him.
“In the middle of our life’s journey, I found myself in a dark wood.” So begins Dante Alighieri’s The Divine Comedy, one of the greatest poems of Europe’s Medieval Period. The long (over 14,000 line) epic is written as a first person account of Dante’s travels through Hell (Inferno), Purgatory (Purgatorio), and Heaven (Paradiso). Recently [...]
Recent polls have shown that people generally fall into one of two categories when it comes to Valentine’s Day: either it is viewed as an overrated, Hallmark holiday or it is embraced as one of the most romantic days of the year. I suppose I fall somewhere in the middle. Ultimately, I think that celebrating [...]
Love is often misconstrued in our culture. We use the same word to describe our fondness for coffee, our favorite book, our dearest friends and family members. In relationships, love is reduced to a feeling, often bound up in lust. For some, love only exists in fairy tales, because of the hurt, betrayal, and pain [...]
Every New Year’s Eve, my family attends Mass at St. Joseph or Sacred Heart Church. As a child, I always thought this was another one of my family's traditions - a way of welcoming and ushering in the new year. Only later in life did I realize that this tradition was much more profound and [...]
With the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who served as a justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1993 until her death this past Saturday, our country has been asked once again to examine her values regarding truth, justice, charity, freedom and ultimately, peace. On Friday afternoon, I was rereading Pope St. [...]
In a hurting world, which desperately needs to encounter God’s love and mercy, it can be overwhelming to think of what we can possibly do to make a difference. It may be tempting to become detached to the suffering around us; certainly, it is easier on the heart. Yet, if we are truly seeking to [...]
Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. ~ Ezekiel 36:26~ Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, a recognition of the humanity and divinity [...]
There’s a scene from Thorton Wilder’s Our Town in which Emily (a young woman in her early twenties who has just died in childbirth) is given the opportunity to go back and observe one day of her life. She decides to return her twelfth birthday. The agreement is that she cannot alter the day, only experience it [...]
Caitlin Sica 