Elizabeth Scalia

Before he was known for anything else, Pope Francis was known as “the first non-European pope in nearly 1,300 years.” As we absorb the news of Francis’ death and anticipate…

It’s OK, we can say it (you know it, and I know it): Compared to our Orthodox brethren and our Muslim friends, the Catholic idea of required fasting is —…

Good evening! If you’re feeling like we just celebrated the feast of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini in November, you’re quite right. However, outside of the United States Mother Cabrini is…

Beyond my usual list of things to be grateful for — mercy, family, reasonable health, employment, the elders still among us and the children all around — I am particularly…

“The Road to Family Missionary Discipleship”Ryan and Mary Rose Verret with Peter Jesserer Smith, Witness to Love (2023)203 pages, $19.95 “Current efforts in standard (Catholic) marriage preparation are not working,”…

Good evening!  January 12 is the feast day of St. Marguerite Bourgeoys — who is not only the first female saint to come out of Canada (she was canonized Oct.…

Good evening! Happy New Year! I hope you continue celebrating the birth of our Lord and are getting ready for Epiphany (celebrated around the world tomorrow and on Sunday in…

Good evening! It’s interesting that in Advent we remember the Immaculate Conception — Mary, conceived without sin. In the beginning of John’s Gospel we are reminded that “The Word became…

Good evening! This week brought us through what I like to think of as the “autumnal triduum” of the church.  Those three days — Halloween, All Saints Day and All…

Good evening! As we observe the day of prayer and fasting requested by Pope Francis and try to wrap our minds around the fact that (as of this writing) the Lewiston, Maine, shooter is still at-large, we can only whisper up our plea to heaven that this chaotic earth might yet be put right through

Good evening! With the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas showing no sign of abating, the synod continuing apace amid polarized Catholic interests, the worldwide threat of terrorist strikes and…

“God’s Will: The Life and Works of Sr. Mary Wilhelmina”By the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles234 pages, $20 “Brides of Christ”By the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles, with…

Early on in “Gaudium et Spes,” the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, we read: “the church has always had the duty of scrutinizing the signs of…

“Way of Beauty: Rekindling Eucharistic Amazement through Visio Divina”Jem Sullivan, Our Sunday Visitor Publishing (2023)83 pages, $18.95 Most Catholics are at least familiar with the Benedictine practice of “lectio divina”…

Catholic journalist Simon P. Caldwell’s debut novel “The Beast of Bethulia Park” more than fits the bill for a holiday or beachtime read, featuring a young protagonist priest, a mysterious string of hospital deaths, a journalist juggling a very modern sort of relationship, and a couple of nefarious characters who may or may not be connected with a historical bit of 17th-century anti-papist terrorism.

“The Beast of Bethulia Park”S.P. CaldwellGracewing Publishing, 432 pages A few years ago, while musing on the Catholic imagination and the deep need for Catholic literary fiction that goes beyond…

What could possibly bring G. K. Chesterton, a religious order of female mice and a prize wheel of cheese together? Perhaps just some human imagination and a gifted mom’s wish…

Jen Norton, “Arise to Blessedness”Ave Maria Press, Jan 2023160 pages, $18.95 So, my Lent had been pretty easy pedaling in 2023. Declaring it an “Old Testament Lent,” I’d found instructive…

NEW YORK (OSV News) — The Christophers, a Catholic organization dedicated to bringing examples of transcendent light borne against darkness, has bestowed their prestigious awards for 2023 on 21 media…

When she was canonized by Pope St. John Paul in 2000, Josephine Bakhita immediately became the patron saint of survivors of human trafficking. Even a cursory read of her story…