Spiritual Life

If a life parcelled out in 280-character quips, floating emojis and gifs, 15-second video “hot takes,” screaming headlines, disaster reportage and AI-generated thought clouds seems unsatisfying, Fr. Laurence Freeman OSB has a suggestion.

July is the month of the Most Precious Blood of Jesus Christ. Just to say those words: “Most Precious Blood of Jesus” feels so sacred—and it is!

The intrusion of AI notwithstanding, articles do not write themselves, and so some of you may wonder who this author is. By now, you may have discerned that I am not one who dwells in the realm of vapid religiosity.

We’re poor, we humans walking the earth. We’re nothing in the vast universe, and can keep nothing. If God forgot us, even for a micro-second, we wouldn’t exist.

Most of us learn faith through practices. We learn how to pray, fast, give, confess, discipline ourselves. These practices matter. They steady lives that might otherwise dissolve into distraction and noise.

In the early days of 2026, a columnist for Our Sunday Visitor news service pinpointed an all-too-often ignored danger of our all-too-pervasive social media environment.

A woman was surprised to see, during a stressful interview with their son’s principal, her dear husband’s face crumple like a child’s, a look of terror appearing there momentarily.

Prominent Catholic author, speaker and educational psychologist Mary Ruth Hackett is among the many Christians around the world who in recent years has become more knowledgeable about, and attuned to, discerning spirits and the concept of spiritual warfare, the unseen battle against evil preternatural forces.

Human dignity is restored to someone shattered. A dead relationship comes to life. A broken person is made whole. How does it happen?

Happy Month of the Holy Rosary! The Holy Rosary is the solution. To what, you ask? To whatever problem you might have.