Catholic Digest

2 months ago | catholicdigest.com | Robert Reed

by Bishop Robert ReedRich man & the beggarYear after year, we pass through the penitential season called Lent, and on Easter we bring back our ‘Glorias’ and ‘Alleluias’, and we feast again. We might hear that we are “Easter people.” But what does that mean? Does anything change? Are we personally renewed? We have accompanied Jesus, in a spiritual sense, through his passion, death, and resurrection. In what ways are we changed by our personal witness to that series of events?

2 months ago | catholicdigest.com | Dwight Longenecker

At the very heart of the Catholic Mass, the priest turns to the people and lifts up the chalice and consecrated bread that has become the body and blood of Christ. He repeats the words of St. John the Baptist when he saw Jesus coming to him at the Jordan River: “Behold, the Lamb of God” (John 1:29). These few words contain within them a vast and fascinating history that looks both back with thanks and forward with hope.

Feb 13, 2025 | catholicdigest.com | Michael P. Foley

Valentine was a priest in Rome who was martyred on this day in AD 270. There are several theories regarding his patronage of young lovers. According to one, he administered Holy Communion and last rites to Christian prisoners before being imprisoned himself. As a prisoner, he wrote a letter to the jailer’s daughter, signing it “your Valentine.” Another version has it that the saintly priest played matchmaker for the jailer’s daughter. But the most likely reason is historical happenstance.

Oct 27, 2024 | catholicdigest.com | Dwight Longenecker

Why is it that, when we take the youth group to camp on retreat, we always make sure there is a campfire on the schedule? Why do we put up with the dirt, soot, and smoke of a fireplace in our home when we no longer need it for heat? Why do we light candles, build a fire on the beach, at the campsite, or in the fire pit in the backyard? It’s because there is something strange and beautiful about fire. It not only provides heat and light, but it brings us together.

Oct 27, 2024 | catholicdigest.com | Susie Lloyd

Most feast days of the saints celebrate the day the saint died, went to heaven, and stayed put. Lazarus Saturday celebrates the opposite. It is the day Our Lord summoned his friend back to this life, despite four days and several spools of moldering mummy wrap. In the Eastern Rite, this mind blowing event is always commemorated on the day before Palm Sunday, which this year was April 13. Though Lazarus has his own regular brand feast day in October on the Eastern calendar, this is the big one.