Recently, Australia passed a bill that bans social media for people the ages of 16 and below. This is a huge step when it comes to social media laws and a first step for social media companies to realise that maybe they are going overboard. It implies to all tech giants from Facebook to TikTok.…
There are two kinds of families that I notice at Christmas Mass. The first are those with young children dressed up in their best Christmas finery, excited about the whole day. The kids sing the songs they know with enthusiasm. They admire the array of Christmas trees and poinsettias in the sanctuary. They rush to…
Catechism of the Catholic Church Christ commanded the apostles to preach the Gospel to communicate the gifts of God to all men. This Gospel was to be the source of all saving truth and moral discipline. The Gospel was handed on in two ways: orally – preaching – and in writing. The bishops are…
It was proper for God to crush my dreamy life and move me to Ireland because I was building my own castle instead of joining His, says Angela Suryadana As most girls growing up in the early 90s, my media consumption was dominated by stories of good-looking damsels in distress who were rescued by…
Jason Conroy In 2011, university student Kevin Baker fell two stories and severely fractured his skull. His brain damage was so extensive that the doctors gave him little chance. Even if he survived, he would never be the same again. A few years ago, I saw Kevin give his testimony at the FOCUS student conference…
Fr Alan Hilliard I was speaking to a friend of mine a few weeks ago. She’s been having a difficult time. To put her son through college and to pay off debts she was working two jobs. Eventually she gave up one of the jobs as she had made financial headway. She is a…
Saint of the week The missionary Francis Xavier, born in 1506 in Navarre, Spain, was a man whose life took an extraordinary turn through his encounter with Ignatius of Loyola at the University of Paris in the late 1520s. At the time, Francis was ambitious for worldly success. Yet Ignatius, older and already embracing…
Fr Chris Hayden An old preacher’s story tells of a group of people walking by a rapidly flowing river. They notice a man in the torrent, crying for help. One of them jumps in to save him. Moments later another stricken individual appears, and another member of the group jumps in to help. This…
Fr Joshua J. Whitfield Jer 33:14-16 Ps 25:4-5, 8-9, 10, 14 1 Thes 3:12—4:2 Lk 21:25-28, 34-36 Aside from being one of the fathers of monasticism, St Benedict is also one of the more profound spiritual doctors of Advent. At least I have long considered him thus. I think of him every Advent…
Michael R. Heinlein Learning to wait is an important skill to acquire. I am reminded of its importance almost daily as I help my young children come to understand it – and, of course, in that process come to understand it more and more in my own life, too. “Patience is a virtue” I heard…
Renata Milán Morales