Self-denial is never an end in itself but is only a help toward greater charity—as the life of Saint John Joseph shows. John Joseph was very ascetic even as a young man. He devoted himself even at his youngest years to a life of poverty and fasting. At 16 he …

On March 4, the Catholic Church honors Saint Casimir Jagiellon, a prince whose life of service to God has made him a patron saint of Poland, Lithuania, and young people. In 1984, Pope John Paul II addressed Lithuanian pilgrims commemorating the 500th anniversary of the prince’s death. He said the …

DEAR BROTHERS AND SISTERS, Lent is a favorable time for personal and community renewal, as it leads us to the paschal mystery of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. For our Lenten journey in 2022, we will do well to reflect on Saint Paul’s exhortation to the Galatians: “Let …

We’ve set sail on Lent 2020, and here’s a look at Ash Wednesday in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. Our photographers went to the Cathedral of St. Peter in Chains in Cincinnati, St. Anthony of Padua & St. Mary Parishes in Dayton.

Written by Gail Finke, Illustrated by Emma Cassani “St. Biscuit’s” Neighborhood nickname for the hard-to-spell parish (pronounced “bah-NIG-nus”) “Of all the places I’ve worked, St. Benignus is the most like a family. Like the early Church, they love each other as a family. If there’s a problem, everybody knows and …

This article is part of an ongoing series on Pope St. John Paul II’s “Theology of the Body” (TOB). I began several months ago to explore the three “original experiences” Pope St. John Paul II pondered in his Theology of the Body. In these reflections, we saw that the original …

St. Alexander succeeded St. Achillas as bishop of Alexandria in 313. Alexander was a champion of orthodox Catholic teaching. The majority of his ministry was dedicated to fighting against the Arian heresy. Arius, a priest of Alexandria, claimed Jesus was not truly God and that there was a time when …

In his 1999 “Letter to Artists,” Pope St. John Paul II invoked a famous line from Fyodor Dostoevsky’s novel, The Idiot, attributed to the protagonist, Prince Myshkin: “Beauty will save the world.” He explained that “beauty is the key to the mystery and call to transcendence. It is an invitation …

The saints have been of life-long interest to Pope Benedict XVI. As a young priest participating in the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965), then Father Joseph Ratzinger was greatly influenced by a main theme: the “Universal Call to Holiness.” The Council fathers wrote that “all the faithful of Christ,” in every …

On Feb. 23, the Catholic Church remembers the life and martyrdom of St. Polycarp, a disciple of the apostle and evangelist St. John. Polycarp is celebrated on the same date by Eastern Orthodox Christians, who also honor him as a Saint. Polycarp is known to later generations primarily through the …