Pope Francis has made strong comments against gossip more than once. He has called gossip a form of “terrorism,” an enemy of harmony and has warned that gossip has the potential to destroy the local and universal Church from within. He says gossip is one of the devil’s two favorite weapons of division, the other being money. Gossip is gene...

John Cassian surprisingly begins his Institutes, which describes the life of the desert Fathers in Egypt, with clothing. The monks must dress to fit their vocation, for the monk will be known like the Prophet Elijah, “by the description of the character of his clothing.” We are sacramental beings and express ourselves outwardly in our demeano...

After making the critical decision to follow Christ, it becomes clear to many men that the Christian life is a lot like sports: there’s a lot more that goes into perfecting one’s game than appears at first. When a toddler is holding a football, his one task is just to get it into the hands of his dad standing a few feet away; however that happe...

  St. Francis De Sales, a doctor of the Church, teaches that humility is the virtue we need to have before God, whereas meekness is the virtue we want to have before man. That definition is worth reading again, since few Catholics today know the difference. Humble before God; meek before men. Ignorance of this distinction is evidenced by th...