For some reason, I have never found going to confession all that difficult. That is not the case for many Catholics.
Sacraments
Posted inNews
Record Easter baptisms in France reflect personal journeys of faith
Over 13,200 adults and over 8,100 adolescents were baptized during the April 4 Easter Vigil, according to an annual survey published by the French bishops’ conference March 25.
Posted inFeatures
Why one diocese radically changed its approach to Confirmation
In 2025 the Archdiocese of Baltimore changed the confirmation age from between 14 and 16 to the age of 9. Can the move combat rising rates of disaffiliation?
Posted inThe Good Word
When we go to confession, two worlds meet
A Homily for the Third Sunday of Lent, by Father Terrance Klein
Posted inThe Good Word
This Lent, count your blessings
Who comes to mind when you deliberately look for those who have been your blessings from God?
Posted inThe Good Word
You can’t preach salvation without explaining sin
Here is the church’s great doctrine on sin: It is, as we say, “original.” It is larger than us, inherent in the life to which we are born, the humanity we join. We are sinned against before we ever decide to sin.
Posted inThe Good Word
Remembering your Baptism on Ash Wednesday
Many of us were baptized as infants, so we have no memory of the event. A real memory of the day would mean so much! In a way, that is what Ash Wednesday offers us.
Posted inDispatches
A former Irish president’s provocative argument: Is infant baptism a threat to human rights?
McAleese desribes baptism as a kind of recruitment tool that ignores how children, as they mature, should be able to freely decide their own religious identity, noting that canon law acknowledges no right to exit Catholicism.
Posted inFaith in Focus
A Jesuit Navy chaplain witnesses the healing power of sacraments for military personnel with PTSD
Prayer can serve as a bulwark against the challenges of life after war.
Posted inPodcasts
Preaching reconciliation: Confession isn’t just about sin—it’s an act of faith
In this “Preach” episode, Ann Garrido preaches for an Advent reconciliation service and explores with host Ricardo da Silva, S.J., what Advent brings to reconciliation.