Baseball, Belief, and Building on Love
Shine On | by Dominick Albano It’s February, and for some people, this month symbolizes love. It makes them think of Valentine’s Day or maybe, the coming of Lent… or just taking time away to someplace warmer. For me, when the calendar turns to February, I can only think of …
The Church of Baseball
The 1988 film Bull Durham opens with a voiceover by a main character, Annie Savoy, rhapsodizing about the beauty of baseball. “I believe in the church of baseball,” Annie begins, followed by a rather dubious inventory of gurus and other religions she has tried to follow. After a brief soliloquy …
Feeling like you’re not good enough
My life’s greatest regret happened during a baseball game my nine-year-old son was playing in. It’s a day I hate to remember, and yet I can’t forget it. Bottom of the last inning, my son’s team was up by one run, with runners on second and third base and two …
Tolkien’s hymn to humility and mercy
The director of L’Osservatore Romano reflects on The Lord of the Rings, a precious source of inspiration for politics today. By Andrea Monda Seventy years ago, in January or February 1956, J.R.R. Tolkien wrote a letter to Michael Straight, editor of New Republic, in which he mentioned a “ferocious” letter he …
April Puzzle 2026
ACROSS 1 It becomes the Blood of Christ 5 Not fer 9 Some outdoor gear 13 Precious metals, to Pedro 14 The “B” of N.B. 15 Distinctive dress worn by religious 16 Artist Chagall 17 Picnic intruders 18 Delight 19 “___ boy!” 20 Views 21 In a bit 22 First …
Living Stones, Not Decorative Monuments
Shine On | Dominick Albano A few years ago, I was to lead a parish mission at a church in California, and before the first night began, I slipped into a pew at the front of the sanctuary to pray. The church was empty. Quiet. Still. When I finished praying, …
Venerable Fulton Sheen to be beatified in St. Louis on 24 September
The late American Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen will be beatified at a Mass presided over by Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle on September 24, 2026, in St. Louis, Missouri, according to the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints. By Deborah Castellano Lubov and Robin Gomes Venerable Fulton J. Sheen of the …
8 things to know and share about the Annunciation
The angel Gabriel appeared to Mary to announce the incarnation of Christ. Here are eight things to know and share about the event and how we celebrate it. Save this story The Annunciation by Fra Angelico. | Credit: Public domain via Wikimedia Commons By Jimmy Akin March 25, 2026 at 4:00 …
Study finds nearly 70% of Catholics who have not gone to confession in the past year want to go
The Catholic Pulse Report finds that God’s mercy remains the top draw for both regulars and those who have not received the sacrament in the last year. A priest listens to a penitent during confession during a reconciliation event at the Circus Maximus in Rome on Friday, Aug. 1, 2025, …
Pope Leo XIV explains why the priesthood is reserved to men
The pope also invited Catholics to pray for priestly vocations. Pope Leo XIV gives a thumbs up during the weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square on March 25, 2026. | Credit: Daniel Ibanez/EWTN News By Victoria Cardiel March 25, 2026 at 9:30 AM ET Pope Leo XIV on Wednesday said …
