What are you afraid of? What is the thing in your life that makes you so afraid that you aren’t happy, the family drama that you worry about all the time, or the world issue that seems apocalyptic in magnitude?
Are you ready for your death? So many things in the world attract us and take our attention away from the fact that we were made for eternity. Beginning with Halloween at the end of October and all throughout November, the Church remembers in her prayers in a special way all those who have died.
Instead of expecting marriages to last, our culture has grown in the past century to tolerate and even expect divorce. Since all of us are sinful and imperfect, how can we confidently make a lifetime commitment to another flawed person in marriage?
Catholics are known for many things. One is the set of ‘calisthenics’ we perform at Mass, which often bewilders newcomers—we stand, then sit, then stand again, sit again, stand again, kneel, etc. Another is the belief in the Real Presence…
Thomas Becket and King Henry II of England were the closest of friends. Accounts of their friendship describe the two as being like-minded in many of the issues confronting England. Thomas is frequently credited as playing a major role in the political reforms Henry was applauded for instituting.
It’s easy to condemn evil from the comfortable armchair of hindsight. The Nazis were evil. Who in good conscience would have cooperated in their destructive agenda? Surely I wouldn’t have! It’s quite another thing to face the choice either to cooperate with evil, or lose your life.
The French saints Louis and Zélie Martin are perhaps most famous as the parents of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, but their own stories are less well-known.
The human body is objectified in the present day in a way that it was not during the time of Michelangelo. This is a subject that generates heated discussion and is a source of contention even among Catholics, so how do we approach this issue in our daily lives?
As a freshman in college, I had the opportunity to take several trips with other art students to New York City. In one art gallery, I was surprised to find that the entire exhibition consisted of giant concrete blocks arranged in various ways. I walked around, confused. What’s the meaning behind “artwork” like this? What does it say about society that things like this are considered great art?
Based on the 1862 book by Victor Hugo, this popular musical runs the gamut of human experience: love and loss, forgiveness and bitterness, justice and mercy, grace and despair.
The purpose of sacred art is to lift your thoughts toward God. If you’re a visual person, art can be a helpful and enjoyable way to draw yourself into prayer.
Do we have to avoid all entertainment that isn’t 100% in tune with the Faith? Of course not. But it’s important to make prudent choices about what you put into your imagination, and to avoid things that present temptations for you.
If you asked people to relate their experiences of art to their Catholic faith, you’d probably stop most of them in their tracks. In the medieval period, art had a clearly religious tilt. This could be seen especially in the breathtaking cathedrals, with their statues, stained-glass windows, tapestries, and other ornate decorations.
We covered the topic of work this month (May 2021) on St. Joseph’s Shelf, partially because May 1st is the feast of St. Joseph the Worker. So as we close out the month, it’s worth looking at a few truths about the value of work through the eyes of our website’s patron saint.
We’ve already talked about the Catholic view of work and reasons why we perform work for God, others, and ourselves. But schoolwork presents different challenges and opportunities. Here are five deeper reasons why we work and study in school, beyond grades and college applications.