DID YOU MISS CHRISTMAS?
If you’re like me, the day after Christmas Day has always signaled the end of the Christmas season. If the tree isn’t at the curb for trash pickup by New Year’s Day, I feel behind schedule. And I admit...
View ArticleCATHOLIC MOTHER WITH TERMINAL ILLNESS LEADS PRO-LIFE EFFORTS
From the moment in 2012 when she was diagnosed with a terminal illness, Stephanie Packer has tried to remain realistic. She is optimistic but doesn’t attempt to give her husband and four children false...
View ArticlePOPE ASKS FOR WARM HEARTS TO HELP HOMELESS DEAL WITH THE COLD
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Looking out over St. Peter’s Square where icicles hung from usually bubbling fountains, Pope Francis prayed for the homeless. The freeze in Rome, subzero temperatures in large...
View ArticleGRANDPARENTS ARE MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER
Those of us fortunate enough to have grandparents have many stories that illustrate the importance of the special cross-generational relationship between Grandma, Grandpa and their grandchildren. When...
View ArticleSAINT PROFILE: GUDULA
The famous cathedral-like Church of Sainte-Gudule in Brussels, Belgium, is dedicated to this laywoman. The daughter of Count Witger and St. Amalburga, she was brought up at the convent in Nivelles...
View ArticleSMCHS STUDENTS HONORED FOR COMMUNITY SERVICE
Sydney Fredette and Isabella Zintel were named the Santa Margarita Catholic High School volunteers of the year in the 2017 Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program. In addition, Emily Caraig,...
View Article‘TRAPPED IN PARADISE’
A sister was recuperating from an illness in early 2016 at Regina Residence, the home for retirees of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange, when she felt useless and restless. For Sister Eileen...
View ArticleJFK POSTAL SERVICE ANNIVERSARY STAMP
A stamp marking the 100th anniversary of the birth of John F. Kennedy, the country’s only Catholic president, will be issued Feb. 20 at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston,...
View ArticleMEET DEACON PETER & JAN LAUDER
YEARS MARRIED: 40 CHILDREN: 4 GRANDCHILDREN: 6 YEARS IN THE DIACONATE: 1 HOW THEY MET: “At a high school dance” WHAT THEY DO FOR FUN: “Travel, wine tasting, movies” HIS ROLE IN THE CHURCH: “I serve at...
View Article‘COLLATERAL BEAUTY’
NEW YORK (CNS) — “Collateral Beauty” (Warner Bros.) is a strange, pretentious drama about overcoming grief. While that’s obviously a subject about which a good film — perhaps many of them — might be...
View ArticleROSARY SOCCER TEAM READY FOR SEASON
The margin for error hasn’t grown much in recent seasons. Goals usually arrive few and far between when the Rosary girls’ soccer team is on the playing field and it doesn’t seem to matter if the Royals...
View ArticleTHE RISKS OF CODEPENDENCE
News about the rise in addiction in the U.S. focuses mostly on the addicts — how they got hooked on pills, and the dangerous consequences of that addiction. But as experts know, addiction doesn’t...
View ArticlePOPE TO DIPLOMATS: BREAK BAD HABITS OF WAR, INJUSTICE
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — At the start of a new year, Pope Francis laid out a laundry list of suggested resolutions for religious and political leaders for making a joint commitment toward building peace....
View ArticleGO IN HASTE! BE AMAZED! TREASURE!
By now most of you are probably aware of the depressing statistics regarding the “nones,” that is to say, those in this country who claim no religious affiliation. The most recent survey showed that...
View ArticleA DIGNIFIED DISPOSITION
More than 50 years after the Church approved the practice of cremation for Catholic funerals as part of the Vatican II reforms, there is still a level of uncertainty regarding just what is, or is not,...
View ArticleFOR CRUISE CREWS, CHURCH CENTER OFFERS SPACE FOR FAITH, FRIENDSHIP
LOS ANGELES (CNS) — Akbar Pathan of Mumbai, India, had on the red vest and dress slacks he wears during his shifts as a bartender on the Princess Cruise line. The 36-year-old married father of two sons...
View ArticleDIOCESE OF ORANGE TO ORDAIN NEW AUXILIARY BISHOP
Huntington Beach native and priest of the Diocese of Orange for the past 27 years, Bishop-elect Timothy Freyer will be elevated to the role of Auxiliary Bishop of Orange in a solemn and ancient...
View ArticleOUT OF THE MOUTH OF BABES
Before the age of 8, Catholic children are bestowed three of the seven sacraments. There’s the first sacrament, baptism. For parents, perhaps the hardest part of introducing a child to baptism is...
View ArticleHOMEBOUND REMEMBERED BY ST. IRENAEUS PARISH
St. Irenaeus Care Ministry in Cypress asked for the help of teachers and students at St. Irenaeus School and parishioners of St. Irenaeus Church to share the Christmas Spirit with residents of local...
View ArticleOC CHURCHES DONATE CHRISTMAS CARDS SO JAIL INMATES CAN CELEBRATE THE SEASON
She misses piling into the car to scour the neighborhood for the best Christmas lights, cooking traditional Samoan meals with her family and singing with her siblings. But mostly, Fiona misses her...
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