Advent, like Lent, is a prayerful time of joyful expectation of a major feast of the Christian year.

Some people like to think of life as a journey, an adventure, a pilgrimage, a blank slate, a beach, a work of art … a box of chocolates. But life isn’t always that neutral, is it? Sometimes we are dealt a rough hand from the earliest moments of our existence. Sometimes life is filled with pain and obstacles. We are free to look at life however we want, but one thing is for sure: Life is a battle, and no one gets to sit on the sidelines.

Are you “hopelessly devoted”? No, not to your crush, your boyfriend/girlfriend or spouse, but to the Most High God?

Are you struggling with the rosary? Struggling with praying the rosary? You are not alone. Many Catholics feel super guilty for not praying the rosary very much or at all.

The images are still so fresh in our memories, the feelings still so easily recalled, that it is incredible to realize that 20 years have passed since the events of a day that will always be known as 9/11.

The recent launch of the Vatican’s global rosary “marathon” during May, targeted at praying for an end to the COVID-19 pandemic, comes as Canadians experience despair brought on by a third lockdown spanning the nation.

VATICAN CITY -- Because prayer is a dialogue with God, people should not dismiss or be embarrassed by saying their prayers out loud or in a whisper, Pope Francis said.

Those of us living with serious health concerns know the days can be long. I have always appreciated an expression I heard years ago: The days are long, but the years are short. 

This is the most profound story I have ever heard about prayer:

Second Sunday of Advent, Dec. 6 (Year B) Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11; Psalm 85; 2 Peter 3:8-14; Mark 1:1-8

The God of the philosophers and the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are very different.

VATICAN CITY - The purpose of crying out to the Lord in prayer is not to get used to suffering, but to remember that God, and not humankind, is the only source of salvation and consolation, Pope Francis said.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -When Father Joseph Hastings, 33, was growing up, he had dreams like most young boys. He wanted to be a basketball player. He thought about being an actor.
He came from a devout Catholic family that spent family time together in adoration and distributing food at the Missionaries of Charity shelter in North Memphis.

COVID-19 threw an interesting twist into a recent visit with the memory specialist. I was advised by e-mail my appointment would be conducted via video e-consult. I looked at the Bride and wondered, “What is e-consult?” The next morning we were staring into our laptop where the specialist appeared. 

VATICAN CITY -- Prayer is powerful not because it changes God or God's plans, but because it changes individuals and communities, one heart at a time, Pope Francis said.

VATICAN CITY -- Pope Francis will lead the major shrines around the world in praying the rosary to implore Mary's intercession and protection amid the coronavirus pandemic.