Tag: Catholic Church

• Book Review—Pope Leo XIV: Inside the Conclave and the Dawn of a New Papacy by Christopher White

  As an American and a Catholic, did I ever, in my wildest dreams, imagine an American pope? Absolutely not. But, on Thursday, May 8, 2025, that is exactly what happened. My husband and I were both home (freshly retired) and were having lunch at our kitchen counter. After we finished eating, my husband was cleaning…

  michardillo

  September 5, 2025

  books

  book-review, books, Catholic, Catholic Church, Catholic school, Christopher White, Conclave, Confirmation, Councils, Italy, Jesuits, Kindle, Loyola Press, Mass, NetGalley, Pope Benedict XVI, Pope Francis, Pope John Paul II, Pope John XXIII, Pope Leo XIV, social media, Society of Jesus, St. Monica, Synod, Vatican, Vatican II, writer, writing

• Not An Anniversary To Look Forward To

  How are you feeling right now? Sad. Nostalgic. Brokenhearted. That’s how I feel right now. Today is the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina making landfall near my hometown of Port Sulphur, Louisiana. On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina lifted my parents’ home off of its foundation and deposited it, broken in half, across the back…

  michardillo

  August 29, 2025

  Essay

  20th anniversary, Catholic Church, dailyprompt, dailyprompt-2045, family, Hurricane Katrina, Louisiana, Mississippi River, Plaquemines Parish, Port Sulphur

• Charge It Up

  We are in Los Angeles visiting our daughter. It has been a lovely visit. The hotel is standard Marriott Courtyard, but the rooftop pool is very nice. I’ve been able to swim laps almost every day we have been here. Today, being Sunday, we got up, got dressed, and headed off to Mass. One of…

  michardillo

  August 10, 2025

  Essay

  Catholic, Catholic Church, charge it up, faith, Fr. Emmanuel, Gospel of Luke, keep watch, prayer, remain vigilant, St. Cyril of Jerusalem, stay awake, Sunday Mass

• The Para-Social Network

  The 2010 movie The Social Network details Mark Zuckerberg’s digital creation of Facesmash. Initially created out of spite after a failed date, it was an online directory of female students at Harvard where students could rate the girls’ attractiveness. Out of that misogynistic idea came Facebook, or TheFacebook as it was originally called. Today, Facebook…

  michardillo

  July 29, 2025

  Essay

  AJ Pearce, Catholic Church, completist, Elinor Lipman, Elizabeth Strout, Gospel of Luke, Jacques Pepin, Kirstin Chen, Mark Zuckerberg, Monsignor Oliver McGready, ParaSocial, The Social Network

• Come to Me All Who Labor

  This past Sunday the gospel happened to be one that has always confused me, the story of Martha and Mary and their visit from Jesus. Our parochial vicar, Fr. Juan Pablo Noboa, gave me something new to think about in connection to this passage of scripture from the Gospel of Luke, Chapter 10, Verses 38-42. …

  michardillo

  July 24, 2025

  Essay

  Catholic, Catholic Church, death, gospel, homily, Lazarus, Luke, Magnificat, Martha, Mary, Mass, Matthew, scripture passage, St. Anthony’s Messenger

• Walking with Francis: Rest in Peace, Holy Father

  Easter Monday April 21, 2025 The world woke today to the news that the Holy Father passed away this morning in the Vatican. Having just written religious reflections for the seven days of Holy Week, I was going to return to my book reviews and more secular personal essays today, but given the news, “shocking…

  michardillo

  April 21, 2025

  Essay, faith

  ABC News, Archdiocese of Washington, Basilica, Cardinal Dolan, Catholic Church, Catholic school, Catholic University, David Muir, Easter Monday, faithful, Holy Father, Pope Francis, Popemobile, Sistine Chapel, Vatican, Walk with Francis

• The Pause Between Acts

  April. 19, 2025 Day 7 of Holy Week Reflections Holy Saturday Today is Holy Saturday. Today we pause between the Crucifixion and the Resurrection. A pause. An empty space. There is no Eucharist in the tabernacle. In fact, the tabernacle doors are wide open, and empty. The candle above the tabernacle has been extinguished. There…

  michardillo

  April 19, 2025

  Essay, faith

  Angelus, Ave Maria Press, blessed-virgin-mary, Catholic Church, Catholic school, Good Friday, Holy Saturday, Jared Dees, Jesus, prayer, Praying the Angelus, Regina Caeli, teaching

• Behold, Your Mother

  April 18, 2025 Day 6 of Holy Week Reflections, Good Friday Good Friday, March 29, 2024 On Good Friday in previous years our parish had had the Seven Last Words, but the practice had lapsed for some years. Last year, our pastor Fr. Lee brought it back with a twist. He asked seven parishioners to…

  michardillo

  April 18, 2025

  Essay, faith

  Angel Gabriel, blessed-virgin-mary, Catholic Church, Good Friday, Jesus, John 19:26, Mary, new-eve, Pope John Paul II, St. John, the Cross on Calvary, wedding at Cana, woman at Calvary

• The First Millennial Saint: Carlos Acutis

  Thursday, April 17, 2025 Day 5 of Holy Week Reflections, First Day of the Triduum, Holy Thursday In February of 2022, I was teaching middle school religion, coming back after my first retirement, at my parish school, St. Jude Regional Catholic School. Our faculty retreat that year was held at the Shrine of St. Anthony…

  michardillo

  April 17, 2025

  Essay, faith

  Carlos Acutis, Catholic Church, Catholic school, Confirmation, conversion, Ellicott City, Eucharist, Italy, Maryland, prayer life, religion teacher, retreat, Shrine of St. Anthony

• The Papacy and the Pendulum

  Tuesday, April 15, 2025: Day 3 of Holy Week Reflections Pope Francis, who at age 88 is one of the oldest reigning popes of modern times, is the current Bishop of Rome. His papacy began on March 13, 2013, and I remember the day very clearly. I was in my classroom at my first school,…

  michardillo

  April 15, 2025

  Essay, faith

  #Holy Week, Belgium, Brussels, Catholic Church, Charleroi, Easter Sunday, Italy, Papacy, Pope Benedict XVI, Pope Francis, Rome, Saint Pope John Paul II, Triduum, Vatican Square, Waterloo