At the end of January, the Cardinal Archbishops of Chicago, Washington, DC, and Newark issued a joint statement on the morality of U.S. foreign policy, measuring it against the principles set forth by Pope Leo XIV in his address to the diplomatic corps assigned to the Holy See. They asserted that...

Guidance for Centering Prayer and other contemplative practices includes letting go of expectations for our prayer. Typically, this ...

It’s very difficult to recognize sin, prejudices, or hatred once it has been normalized, once we’ve grown cozy with it. Perhaps this is why the Bible speaks so much about blindness: if we’re honest, every one of us is loaded with blind spots, inherited from...

As we continue to travel on the Lenten journey toward Easter, let us pray this powerful prayer for environmental justice provided by Network, an organization that lobbies for Catholic social justice: “God of humanity, open our eyes to the rightful priority of ...

The Seeds of Justice Network has shared this inspiring invitation for Lent from Pope Leo XIV. “I would like to invite you to a very practical and frequently unappreciated form of abstinence: that of refraining from words that ...

Former MMOC Contemplative Core teammate Saralou Hendrickson offered this insight in 2021 – we share it again this week in memory of her: “Martha, Martha, you are anxious about many things. One thing is...

In his “Message for Lent 2026,” Pope Leo XIV makes a connection between authentic fasting as a witness to the world, and awareness of and surrender to Divine Communion, such as is cultivated by our contemplative practices. He then calls us to a unique fast born out of this communion:...

Love Thy Neighbor is a sub committee of our Peace and Justice Ministry Our Mission Statement is: Love Thy Neighbor prioritizes listening and learning, as we welcome our community and our sexual and gender diverse members and their...

As we begin the season of Lent, many Catholics will undertake or rededicate themselves to the three Lenten practices of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving in order to grow in openness to God. Popular Catholic author and speaker Fr. Mike Schmitz ...

Did you know that the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) faces $186 billion in cuts over the next decade?...

We all have our preferences, but for the most part, we must admit that our likes and dislikes are often based on external factors such as cultural conditioning, habits, and unquestioned assumptions, rather than really being rooted in...

Humility is a critical spiritual disposition, and when I think of humility, I often think of a very small child – perhaps because Jesus says,...

The Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) works to expose disparities in our criminal justice system that are a legacy of our history of racial injustice. Black men are nearly six times more likely to be incarcerated than white men; Latino men are...

Contemplative practice and its fruits certainly edify the soul, but this edification and the ever-growing realization of our absolute communion with God come not through any sort of filling up, but rather a stark and beautiful surrender to..

Fratelli Tutti, Pope Francis’s encyclical on fraternity, includes teaching on racism as “a virus that quickly mutates,” calling it a constant shame for humanity. He asks why “it took so long for the Church unequivocally to condemn slavery and ...

In recent weeks, much of this space has been devoted to the great inner “yes” that is revealed and strengthened through contemplative practice. However, we must be clear that a stance of yes to the Divine Presence in things as they are is not the same as approval of the status quo. Even a cursory look at the...

The organization, Catholic Climate Covenant, (catholicclimatecovenant.org) is a resource with a wealth of information regarding climate issues and solutions as they relate to Catholic Social Teaching. Recently, they published data on food and related waste. In the U.S., the average person throws away over four ...

Our offering this week is a joint effort: Writer and speaker Rebecca Hastings published an article entitled “5 Guaranteed Ways to Find God in the Everyday”. We’ll share her five suggestions, with our own take on...

“In Pope Leo XIV’s first public address, he invited the Church –and the world—into the heart of Christ’s message: peace, not as comfort but as a calling. Peace is built not by policy alone but by the daily conversion of hearts. By seeking the suffering...

This weekend reminds us of a profound Trinitarian display in the life of Jesus. We must always be mindful that, as was the case with Jesus, such profound experiences are often followed by a call to the desert. Author and podcaster Cassidy Hall explores the desert as a metaphor for difficult times in...