A new school year offers a fresh start, and many students embrace that opportunity. But, for overachievers, early positive energy may soon give way to feelings of stress. The need to succeed can consume and overwhelm these kids.Some pressure comes from parents and teachers, but overachievers often expect too much of themselves. They feel they must do everything well, and many suffer a crushing fear of failure. When they do succeed, any feelings of satisfaction are short-lived because they're...

We celebrated the feast of Saint Juan Diego on December 9. With just two days in between, we celebrated the event of Mary's appearances on Tepyac Hill in Mexico. The heavenly visitor came to her people on December 9, 1531. Juan was a fifty-five-year-old Catholic convert. He was going to Mass when Our Lady intercepted him as he was making his way down Tepyac Hill. Mary asked him to go to the bishop. She wanted a great church built on the very spot where she was standing. The Indian was o...

This feast day is one of the most loving celebrations in all the Church's liturgy. It is the day that we especially remember all the faithful departed—our dear ones and all those who have passed from this life into the next.We don't know how long a particular individual who dies spends in purgatory. However, we do know that purgatory is real. Today we stop to remember all who have died. We especially pray for those who were related to us. We pray for those who taught us good things...

Dear Friends,Have you ever felt frustrated because bullies never give it a rest? I have. It seemed as if I was continually being challenged into arguments. I knew they were trying to provoke me. I knew these bullies’ thoughts. Yet I kept focused on my Father and on my mission.One time I was asked to choose between Caesar and my Father. Caesar was an authority, but my Father is the ultimate authority. There was no contest. My answer was “Give to Caesar what is his, but give to Go...

Saint Theresa, often called the Little Flower, was born in Normandy, France, in 1873. She was the youngest of the five daughters born to Louis and Zelie Martin. Theresa was a very lively, lovable little girl. Her father called her his "little queen." Yet she could be too sensitive and irritable. In the story she wrote of her life, she tells how the Infant Jesus helped her overcome this weakness.It was Theresa's great desire to enter the Carmelite convent where two of her siste...

When we celebrate the feast days of the saints, we usually celebrate the date on which they died because that is the day they were born into the joys of heaven.But the birthday of Mary, our Blessed Mother, is an exception. We celebrate her birthday because she came into this world full of grace and because she was to be the Mother of Jesus.The birth of Our Lady was like a dawn. When the sky starts to turn a rosy pink early in the morning, we know the sun will soon come up. In the same way, ...

The truth is, sometimes we just don’t feel like praying. Maybe we don’t believe that our prayers are being answered. Maybe something has happened that has shaken our faith. Maybe we just don’t know what to say…or do.How can you get your prayer life back on track? Use short prayers. God really just wants you to talk to him. Maybe you’re putting it off because you don’t have a lot of time to spend. Try talking to God as if he were standing right beside you...

When we read about the saints, it’s easy to contrast their lives with our own, and to feel sometimes that we’re not quite rising to the occasion. Most saints lived in different worlds, and had different graces suited to their times; but God has called us to live in this world. That’s a good reminder when we’re feeling discouraged! Here are some other ways of coping: Offer it all up to God. All that drudgery and discouragement and lack of time, all those events and expecta...

Alphonsus was born near Naples, Italy, in 1732. He was a hard working student. He received his degree in law and became a famous lawyer. A mistake he made in court convinced Alphonsus of what he had already thought: he should give up his law practice and become a priest. His father tried to persuade him not to do it. However, Alphonsus had made up his mind. He became a priest. His life was filled with activity. He preached and wrote books. He started a religious congregation called “Redemp...

Midsummer is officially in June, at the summer solstice, though that is actually the start of summer. Real midsummer is now, as we’re about halfway through the season. Another month before we’re doing the back-to-school thing, still time to reflect. Midlife is a similar time of reflection, halfway through a standard allotment of years on earth. It’s appropriate to think of both summer and life in terms of seasons, and here are a few tips to help: Do it now. If there’s som...