Building the Domestic Church

Web Team • January 22, 2026

The recently held Diocesan Eucharistic Congress was a font of blessing for so many of our brothers and sisters from across the diocese. They came together in praise of God, bound together by the overwhelming love of the Eucharist. It was a day steeped in the knowledge that, gathered around the Eucharist, we are one Church from East to West under the leadership of our Chief Shepherd, Bishop Edward Rice.

The day was a call to all people to live a fervent and intentional life centered around the Eucharist, the source and summit of our faith. Often, the transformation that the world seeks is found in Catholics being authentic witnesses to the faith and fervent in proclaiming the mercy of God by the manner of their lives.

It was a blessing to be gathered with bishops, priests, religious men and women, and the lay faithful in celebration that God is the reason for our being, without whom we are nothing.

In his closing remarks, Bishop Rice quoted Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J. saying: “Ordinary Catholic families cannot survive. They must be extra-ordinary families. They must be what I do not hesitate to call heroic Catholic families. Family life can be restored in our society only by the apostolic zeal of holy Catholic families reaching out to other families who are in such desperate need today.”

We all have a role to play in spreading the good news of the gospel. 


Do You Know How Much THAT Will Cost?

By Web Team • January 22, 2026
If you want your children to always practice the faith, just listen to this story. When I was chaplain at Northridge Prep, a parent came to me with a dilemma. "Father," he said, "I like to take my kids and family up north to go fishing during the summer. We fly into a remote lake in Canada and we're going to be there for ten days." I immediately knew what the dilemma was: what would this family do for their Sunday Mass? Clearly there was a solution: they were going to ask me to come fishing with them as their chaplain! But as he continued, I realized that wasn't what was going to happen. Instead, he explained that they wouldn't be able to get to Sunday Mass from their remote lake location. "Can you give me a dispensation for that?" I wasn't his parish priest, so I couldn't do that for him. But as I thought about his situation, I had an idea: "I know what you can do! Just fly out for Mass on Sunday while you're in that remote lake in Canada!" He looked shocked. "Fly out for Mass!? Do you know how much that will cost?" I said, "Yes. It'll cost you the same amount of money that it did to fly in. And besides, nobody's forcing you to fly in." He got very serious, thought about it, and thanked me for my advice. As it turns out, they all went up to that remote lake together. And when the time came for Sunday Mass, they all flew out together. Here's the best part: when the owners of the lodge found out he was flying his family out for Mass on Sunday, they said, "We never get to go to Mass in the summer when we're up here! Is there any chance we could go with you?" "Absolutely." Flash forward twenty-five years - the family still practices the Catholic Faith. All four of the children are faithfully married Catholics, and all of their grandchildren are baptized and practicing. I know the couple set a good example for their children, and I know they made memories that summer, especially when the father told his children that they were flying out to go to Mass on Sunday.

The Mysterious Metal Sound

By Web Team • January 22, 2026
What on earth was that clanging and banging and slamming of doors sound every morning? This is a story I heard from the founder of Opus Dei, Josemaría Escrivá. When he was a young priest in the 1930s, he would hear confessions in a Madrid church from 7 to 8 in the morning. After a few weeks, he'd hear the doors open around 7:30 AM. Then he'd hear loud clanging and banging of something metal before it went silent... then he'd hear the clanging and banging again and the door slamming. He decided that one day, he was going to sneak out of the confessional, hide behind the nearby column, and watch. He was going to solve the mystery! So the next day, at 7:30 AM, the doors opened, the sunlight came in, and the clanging and banging of metal came in too. It was a milkman with his milk pails and cans! He put down his pails and cans, then knelt down in front of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist. He lowered his head and said in Spanish, "Buenos dias, Señor. Soy Juan, el lechero. Espero que tengas un buen dia," which means "Good morning, Jesus. It's John the milkman, just stopping by to wish You a good day." Then he'd pick up his milk pails, open the door, and go on his way. St. Josemaría watched the man go and said to himself, "I wish I had his faith and devotion." It's a very simple thing, isn't it? You, the electrician; you, the car salesman, you, the stockbroker; you, the attorney; you, the mother; you, the child... to open up that door and say, "Hi, Jesus, it's Billy. I play shortstop. I hope You have a good day." If you do that, Jesus will grow in your heart, your faith will get stronger, and you will never leave Him. Don't leave Him alone! Jesus is truly present in the tabernacle.