One of the things Pope Francis has said that I have always appreciated is, “God has a sense of humor.” That has certainly been evident throughout my life. There has often been my plan and God’s plan … with the latter always prevailing! I grew up the fourth of six …

“The Body of Christ.” “Amen.” Step to the side. “The Body of Christ.” “Amen.” Step to the side… For most Catholics, this is the ritual at Mass. We are trained to, at the proper time, stand, fold up our kneeler, wait in line for our turn, receive Jesus, then walk …

She was sitting with three other ladies, also in wheelchairs, when I found her at the nursing home. She was over 100 years old. “We can’t do much anymore,” she said about herself and her friends. “I bet you can still pray,” I said. They nodded. “How about an ‘Our …

Great Catholic theologians have said to “begin with beauty” when sharing the Good News of Christ, for beauty has the ability to bypass reason and appeal directly to our heart and soul. In art, our commitment to this beauty portrays the truth of our faith, which pierces the culture surrounding …

I’ve been a Catholic all my life—although the nuns at old St. Mary’s Catholic School in Middletown might contest the statement. I grew up in Middletown as the son of a daily-Mass attending father and devout Methodist mother. Although Dad insisted their four children attend Catholic grade school and Bishop …

What a blessing our Catholic schools are for the children and young adults in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati! As attendance at Mass continues to wane, our Catholic grade and high schools often become the only avenues by which we can teach the beauty of the Gospels—where students attend Mass and …

The various phenomena of environmental degradation and natural disasters which, unfortunately, are often reported in the news remind us of the urgent need to respect nature as we should, recovering and appreciating a correct relationship with the environment in everyday life. A new sensitivity to these topics that justly give …

At the entrance of a parish school where I previously served as principal is a reproduction of the Renaissance artist Fra Angelico’s “The Annunciation.” In the painting, St. Gabriel comes to the Blessed Virgin Mary to announce that she will give birth to the Son of the Most High and …

Many people have asked me if leading the National Eucharistic Revival deepened my own relationship with Our Lord in the Eucharist. Indeed, yes! It has been a profound grace of the Revival, and I hope that’s true for many others too. In fact, I believe our Eucharistic Revival will only …

Father William Joseph Chaminade founded the Society of Mary in 1817, in the aftermath of the French Revolution. Born in 1761, as a young priest he barely survived the Revolution’s carnage and terror. When the revolutionary government demanded every priest in the country swear allegiance to the new government or …