A Closer Look | Kenneth Craycraft Every year, we are reminded that Lent should not merely be about giving up habits or pleasures but also adding some positive spiritual discipline. We might give up caffeine or alcohol, for example. Or we might add a spiritual or corporal work of mercy, …

The Final Word | Laura Jordan Roesch From his humble birth to his public ministry, Jesus exemplified the image of the servant leader. His example urges us to put our own ambitions aside as we follow His path. To truly lead, we must walk not at the head of the …

March 20 – Friday of the Fourth Week of Lent Readings: Wisdom 2:1a, 12-22; Psalm 34:17-18, 19-20, 21 and 23; John 7:1-2, 10, 25-30 Invitation to Prayer: Come, Holy Spirit, and give me courage. Reflection: As I read through these readings, I did so as one typically would: from the …

By Walt Schaefer Missionaries, the Cincinnati Reds, the Venezuelan Air Force. A number of improbable things came together in 1990 to create Davey Concepción Field in Barquisimeto, Venezuela. • Cincinnatian Mike Gable, his wife, Kathy, and their four young sons had been assigned to serve as lay Maryknoll missioners in …

by John Stegeman Based on the Combined Rite of Election and Calling to Continuing Conversion this year, 1,096 people intend to proceed to the Sacraments of Initiation. It will mark the highest number of people joining the local Church in more than 15 years. Of the total, 556 are catechumens …

On March 18, the Catholic Church honors St. Cyril of Jerusalem, a fourth-century bishop and doctor of the Church whose writings are still regarded as masterful. St. Cyril of Jerusalem. | Credit: AnonymousUnknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons By EWTN News Staff March 18, 2026 at 4:00 AM ET On …

Beauty Leads Us Closer to God by Susan Bergman As a busy mom of eight, Marcie Stammen of North Star rarely stopped to think about her journey with art. Looking back, she can see how God planted this gift in her early years and gently drew her back to it …

How Catholic Bearcat helped one student discover Christ and a welcoming community by Lisa Fletcher She arrived on campus searching for something she couldn’t yet name. The University of Cincinnati buzzed around her with the usual flurry of classes, sports, and social events, but for Zeta Washington, a California native, …

Bishop Stephen Parkes of Savannah, Georgia, reminds us of the many reasons to celebrate the great saint’s life. St. Patrick as seen in C.E. Kempe’s stained glass in St. John the Baptist Parish, Burford, U.K. | Credit: Lawrence OP via Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) By Tessa Gervasini·DC Bureau March 17, 2026 …

I arise today Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity, Through belief in the Threeness, Through confession of the Oneness of the Creator of creation. I arise today Through the strength of Christ’s birth with His baptism, Through the strength of His crucifixion with His burial, Through the …