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Food for the Journey

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In today’s gospel reading, Jesus continues his bread of life discourse where he tells his followers that without the bread of life he speaks of, we have no life. Jesus promises that those who take the bread will never be hungry, and those who believe in him will never thirst.

So often we make promises that we can’t keep. As a kid, I promised my mom that I would make my bed every morning, but as an adult, I’m shocked if my bed is made more than twice a week. But we can look at the promises of Christ and understand that when he makes a promise, he always keeps it.

But wait. If Jesus promises I’ll never go hungry again, why does my stomach growl and mouth water every time I drive past a Chipotle?

Jesus, of course, is not talking about literal, bodily hunger. He is talking about hunger and thirst for a full life in him. He is talking about the Eucharist, which is food for our journey.

When the Israelites wandered the desert during the Exodus, they complained to God and longed to go back to Egypt where they were enslaved and in chains. But God delivered Manna, bread from heaven, for them to eat every day until they stepped foot in the promised land.

This bread nourished them and gave them life. It fed the mouths of hungry children and gave them sustenance for the journey.

Similarly, the Eucharist gives us life. Christ literally fills us with himself, giving us nutrients, energy, and strength until we are ready to enter the promised land of Heaven. The Eucharist allows us to be strong in our resilience against a culture of death that wishes to enslave us. Without it, our faith in him dies.

It’s why we consume it during every mass. It’s why we should attend mass every Sunday.

So next time you prepare to receive Christ in the form of the Eucharist, be intentional about your “Amen” as you accept him into your body. Think of the Israelites as they woke up each morning to find new manna ready to feed them and thank the Lord for your escape from captivity and eventual reward in heaven.

Hannah Crites is a native to Denver Colorado and graduate of the Franciscan University of Steubenville. She has written for numerous publications and blogs including the Chastity Project, Washington Times, Faith & Culture: The Journal of the Augustine Institute, and Franciscan Magazine. She is currently working in content and digital marketing for a small web development and digital marketing agency. Connect with her through Twitter (@hannah_crites) and Facebook. Check out more of what she has written at https://hannhcrites.com/.

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Taking the Tough Stuff

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Martyr (n.): A person who is put to death or endures great suffering on behalf of any belief, principle or cause. This is one of the many definitions I found on dictionary.com.

Today’s first reading tells us the story of the martyrdom of St. Stephen, who is widely recognized as the first Christian martyr. A deacon in the early Church, his teachings angered many people and so they desired to put him to death. Rather than renounce his beliefs and teachings, Stephen instead faced the cruelty of stoning.

Unfortunately, martyrdom is not some ancient, out-of-touch practice but something that has been present in modern times. Take the recent attack in Sri Lanka on Easter morning, for example. Or back in 2015, the Egyptian Coptic martyrs killed by ISIS.

The cold, hard reality is this – just how far are we willing to go for our faith? Are we ready, willing and able to follow behind Jesus with our crosses on the road to Calvary? Or are we lukewarm? Catholic when it’s convenient to us?

Martyrdom aside, we often face many difficulties and persecutions when it comes to sharing or even simply practicing our faith. Those persecutions can take many different forms – a child who says the words “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance in a public school gets reprimanded, an employee forced to work on a Sunday to cover a shift, among others.

The fear of persecution, however, can almost do more harm as we choose to stay silent instead, choose to follow the cultural norms. Wishing someone a “Happy Holidays” instead of a “Merry Christmas,” just to name one. We’re fearful of offending someone and being labeled as insensitive or worse – being labeled a Christian.

Christianity isn’t easy, friends! Remember earlier when I asked, “Are we ready, willing and able to follow behind Jesus with our crosses on the road to Calvary?” It’s literally an invitation, an exhortation, from Jesus himself (Matthew 16:24). Persecution comes with the territory.

And sometimes we might not enjoy what is being told to us. We might even hate it. It might make us angry, infuriate us. But it is important that the message doesn’t fall on dead ears, like the elders and the scribes in the first reading. Otherwise, we’ll find ourselves, stone in hand, ready to throw. This time, who will we be aiming at

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Erin is a Parma Heights, Ohio, native and a 2016 graduate of the Franciscan University of Steubenville. She uses her communication arts degree in a couple of different ways: first, as an Athletic Communications Assistant at Baldwin Wallace University and, secondly, as a youth minister at her home parish of Holy Family Church. Although both of her jobs are on complete opposite spectrums, she truly enjoys being able to span the realm of communications. You can follow her on multiple Twitter accounts – @erinmadden2016 (personal), @bwathletics (work) and @HFVision (youth ministry).

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It’s Never Enough

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Nearly three years ago, I was preparing to go to my first World Youth Day pilgrimage. I was excited but saw it more as a vacation than anything. At that point, I had begun losing faith and was bargaining with God. My hope was that while I was in Krakow, Poland, I would feel God’s presence and that would mean that He existed. While packing, I remember thinking that if I didn’t feel it, then that was that; I wouldn’t believe anymore.

Once I got to Poland, I was surrounded by Catholics and people that wanted nothing more than to share the love of God with me. Sure, we had to stand in lines everywhere we went, but it gave us the chance to talk to people about their lives, culture, and faith. At each event, there was always the comforting wave of people singing Ave Maria in multiple languages, their voices rising in unison. The Holy Spirit was all around me, affecting the hearts and minds of us all.

Still…I hadn’t heard the voice of God directly, so I was upset. At every church and every chapel, I found myself praying and begging for a sign until I was in tears. I just wanted to know that He existed, to know that He loved me, but I wanted to physically hear or see it.

It’s so crazy because I look back at that 10-day pilgrimage and wonder how I could have been so blind. I mean if three million Catholics traveling from all over the world, all believing in a God that we cannot see, touch, or hear, wasn’t enough for me to validate God, nothing would ever be enough. How could I ask the world of God when He had already given it to me?

While reading today’s Gospel, Jesus’ words made me think of that summer. “Amen, amen, I say to you, you are looking for me not because you saw signs but because you ate the loaves and were filled” (John 6:26). The disciples were searching for Jesus because of the huge, physical miracle that He had just done, not because of everything else that they had witnessed or heard him say.

Similarly, at World Youth Day, I was ignoring all of the signs and waiting for an earth-shattering miracle. It wasn’t until a couple of weeks after World Youth Day that I was finally open to seeing the ordinary things around me as signs from God. It was at that point that I had the hindsight to realize that I was given a hundred signs in Krakow, I simply chose to disregard them.

Too often, we are given glorious signs, but they just aren’t enough. We feel the tug in our hearts, but we tell ourselves it’s just a feeling. We see the tiny miracles changing lives every day, yet do not believe.

While we may pray to God all the time, we often forget to listen to his response. Allow yourself to believe in the miracles that God does in our daily lives. Believe in the little signs that are sprinkled throughout your life. Recognize the tug in your heart as the Holy Spirit trying to show you the right path.

Click here for tips on how to hear God’s voice in your life.

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Veronica Alvarado is a born and raised Texan currently living in Michigan. Since graduating from Texas A&M University, Veronica has published various articles in the Catholic Diocese of Austin’s official newspaper, the Catholic Spirit, and other local publications. She now works as the Content Specialist in Diocesan’s Web Department.

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Abundance

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Faith- what’s the first thing that pops into your mind when I say that word. Faith! How about Church? What’s the first thing you think of? How about rules? What comes to mind then?

We are all at a different place in our beautiful journey to the Sacred Heart of Jesus that beats and burns for love of us. I know sometimes for me my faith can seem stagnant or centered around study. I love theology so I actually enjoy a super dry theological teaching, but if I never get beyond the teaching to the person than the study of God ends at study.

I know for some today their immediate thought of the Church is broken or wounded. We are going through a time of purification to be sure. Some people have a faith where it’s all about the laws and rules. Many need this structure, but if it stays at the level of rules, as opposed to the rules guiding you to the truth, then relationship doesn’t form as easily.

I think the same question could be asked of the Apostles in the Gospel today. If we were in that boat with them thousands of years ago what would they have said? At this point, they have the Holy Spirit and are preaching the love of Jesus with passion, but they still can’t even begin to grasp the true love of God. He doesn’t just want them to have a faith built on rules or study, but a faith of abundance.

He wants the laws to lead us to fullness just like the rules in a sport allow you to experience the fullness of the game. He wants us to obey his teaching, and experience a heart the bursts just like that net thousands of years ago. He wants us to trust and experience the depths of true love.

When was the last time you were bold and asked God to fill you to the brim with his grace? When was the last time you obeyed the teachings of Christ and were brought deeper into an understanding of his love and goodness? So now stop and actually think about it. It’s easy to read a blog. It’s harder to stop for a second and allow the words to lead to deeper reflection. Where is your net today? Are you full, is your net rotting from sitting in the sun without use for too long, or is your net bursting at the seams? This Easter season is the perfect time to ask for the grace that comes from the resurrection.

“Do not be afraid. Do not be satisfied with mediocrity. Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” -St. John Paul II

From all of us here at Diocesan, God Bless!

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Tommy Shultz is a Solutions Evangelist for Diocesan. In that role, he is committed to coaching parishes and dioceses on authentic and effective Catholic communication. Tommy has a heart and a flair for inspiring people to live their faith every day. He has worked in various youth ministry, adult ministry, and diocesan roles. He has been a featured speaker at retreats and events across the country. His mission and drive have been especially inspired by St. John Paul II’s teachings. Tommy is blessed to be able to learn from the numerous parishes he visits and pass that experience on in his presentations. Contact him at tshultz@diocesan.com.

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Trust in Him

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Have you ever had the little voice in your head tell you it’s time to change a certain situation, yet you hesitate or are too busy to do anything about it? Then, the next time something similar occurs you find yourself, again, talking and thinking more about what’s going on but still not getting to the root of the issue? Fast forward a few months (or years) and hmmm, you’ve made no changes!

Today’s readings bring this to mind for me. The reading from the Acts of the Apostles speaks of a growing community, yet there are concerns (and individuals) falling through the cracks that affect the overall ministry to the people of faith. A the select few are selected and blessed to share the vision and work of the Apostles. During the Easter Vigil celebrations around the world, our newly elect and candidates are brought into the faith. We, as the universal Catholic community, the Church, are here to support these neophytes as they continue on their faith journey.

Our new members are encouraged to reach out to established folks in parish life to mentor or walk with them as they continue on this new path of life. It is not easy to take those first steps. The image of an infant learning to walk or someone first learning to ride a bike comes to mind. There are stumbles and falls, starts and stops as this new experience becomes something that can finally be done with confidence, without relying (too much) on a guiding hand or steadying presence.

We have to find our place in the process of the journey. A recent article really highlighted this for me. While on the trek there will be times when we question our purpose, as well as times of fear and doubt. The Gospel illustrates this today. The Apostles were afraid, even when they saw Jesus. He said to them, “It is I. Do not be afraid.” Still, the apostles wanted to act, to bring Jesus into the boat with them, to take control. The Lord knew this and He immediately got them to their destination.

The following prayer from Soren Kierkegaard really sums up that shared experience. He wrote, “O Lord, calm the waves of this heart: calm its tempest! Calm yourself, o my soul, so that the divine can act in you! Calm yourself, o my soul, so that God is able to repose in you, so that his peace may cover you!”

I believe the Lord is here, guiding us in each and every life situation. I have been given graces through Him in the sacraments that have helped me to prepare, be it through education, talent, skills, or life experiences, to be able to present to those with whom I interact, no matter the circumstance. During these times, I just need to get out of the way and have faith.

So wherever you may find yourself this day or the next, follow St. Boniface’s lead: “Let us stand fast in what is right, and prepare our souls for trial. Let us wait upon God’s strengthening aid and say to him: ‘O Lord, you have been our refuge in all generations.'” Amen.

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Beth is part of the customer care team at Diocesan. She brings a unique depth of experience to the group due to her time spent in education, parish ministries, sales and the service industry over the last 25 yrs. She is a practicing spiritual director as well as a Secular Franciscan (OFS). Beth is quick to offer a laugh, a prayer or smile to all she comes in contact with. Reach her here bprice@diocesan.com.

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A Believers Work

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In Today’s Gospel, Jesus tells us that He is the way, the truth, and the life. It is here that He shares the intimacy between Himself and God the Father. He states multiple times that He and the Father are one, here we see our belief in Jesus Christ is God made Man. This Scripture points us to the humanity and divinity of Jesus, but also the Triune God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). Philip says to Jesus, “Show me the Father.” Jesus responds,

“Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else, believe because of the works themselves. Amen, amen, I say to you,
whoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and will do greater ones than these, because I am going to the Father. And whatever you ask in my name, I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything of me in my name, I will do it.”

Whoever believes in me will do the works that I do. How is our work? Does it resemble Christ’s work? How are our actions and words? Are they mirroring Christs’? This Scripture is pretty self-explanatory and I’ll leave it at that.

God, help us to look at our lives and see where we can improve as believers. Help us to identify where we need to resemble You more in our words and deeds. Give us the courage to be courageous and faithful to You today. Amen!

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Briana is a Catholic youth minister at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel parish in Cleveland, OH. She is also a nanny and district manager at Arbonne. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Theology and Catechetics from the Franciscan University of Steubenville, OH and is excited to use these skills to bring her students closer to Christ and His Church. “My soul has been refined and I can raise my head like a flower after a storm.” -St. Therese

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Witnesses to Glory

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In today’s readings, we hear what God is calling us to, as Christians. We are called to be witnesses to the Truth, no matter what the cost.

I love the season of Easter because we get to read so much of Acts of the Apostles and really get to know what the Apostles experienced after the death and resurrection of Christ. They were thought to be crazy but, rather than resigning themselves to the thought that evangelization was an impossible task, they continued to spread the Good News. In today’s reading from Acts, Peter tells the Sanhedrin, “We must obey God rather than men” and that Jesus was truly God. Peter, as a witness to the events of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection knows the Truth. He recognizes the importance of adhering to God’s law above that of man. In reminding the Sanhedrin of this, so too does he remind us.

Peter’s words are just as relevant today as they were then. We must be witnesses to the Truth even when that means standing against the laws of our time. In today’s world perhaps that means fighting pro-choice laws or fighting and praying for an end to religious injustice in all parts of the world.

The Gospel Acclamation tells of Christ’s reply to doubting Thomas “You believe in me, Thomas, because you have seen me…blessed are those who have not seen, but still believe!”

We, unlike the Apostles, are not direct witnesses to Christ’s life, death, and resurrection. We are, however, witnesses to the effects and the power of the glory of His Resurrection. We experience and participate in Christ’s Resurrection in the sacraments, most especially in the Eucharist. It is our belief in Him and in His Resurrection that will grant us eternal life.

In this Easter season may we contemplate the power and glory of Christ and may we be witnesses to His Goodness.

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Dakota currently lives in Denver, CO, is studying for her Master’s in Spanish, and loves her job as an elementary school librarian. She is engaged to the love of her life, Ralph. In her spare time, she reads, goes to breweries, and watches baseball. Dakota’s favorite saints are St. John Paul II (how could it not be?) and St. José Luis Sánchez del Río. She is passionate about her faith and considers herself blessed at any opportunity to share that faith with others. Check out more of her writing at https://dakotaleonard16.blogspot.com.

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A Familiar Passage to a Refreshed Tune

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Sometimes, Scripture readings are so familiar that I can “skim” over them. Hearing them so many times should embed them in our minds and hearts, but the adaptability of the human brain can have the opposite effect: we can fail to give familiar things our full attention.

Today’s Gospel is like that. We’ve all heard John 3:16 so many times that it is easy to overlook how stunning this passage is. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son….” Why would God do this? When we are learning about someone, we want to know their interior – their thoughts and desires and motivations. If we want to know God’s thoughts and desires and motivations, we would do well to study deeply today’s Gospel! Here we are told exactly what God is about, and what motivates His actions, and our part in the whole thing.

First, God is love. And God loves the world. God loves the world so much, that when we were lost in darkness and doomed to perish, God sent his only Son to bring us the light of Truth and eternal life. If God sent His Son, this means that God is FATHER, and we must believe that Jesus is SON and that we can become children of God through our baptism into Jesus.

Second, we learn that the direct mission of the Son of God is SALVATION, not judgment. He comes into the world in obedience to the sending of the Father so that we can be saved through him. He is the light that has come into the world to be the Way and the Truth and the Life for us. This is the Good News.

But we have a responsibility here too. We must use our freedom to enter into this mission of the Son. If we do not accept the Truth, if we do not believe, if we do not receive the Gift that is given, we keep ourselves outside of that mission. Some people choose wrongly; some love to hide and revel in the darkness by denying their createdness, their dependence. Like Adam and Eve in the Garden, they want to choose for themselves what they think will make them happy. They do not trust that God will give them all they need.

In order to receive the gift that God is giving us, we must “do what is true”. So we are called to freely enter into a relationship with the Trinity: we must believe in the Son Who has been sent for us so that we can live as children of the same Father. We must receive with faith the gift of light and truth and goodness that Jesus constantly pours out for us. This is the way of Truth, that “whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life,” and eternal life begins right here, right now.

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Kathryn Mulderink, MA, is married to Robert, Station Manager for Holy Family Radio. Together they have seven children (including Deacon Rob and seminarian Luke), and two grandchildren. She is a Secular Discalced Carmelite and has published five books and many articles. Over the last 25 years, she has worked as a teacher, headmistress, catechist, Pastoral Associate, and DRE. Currently, she serves the Church as a writer and voice talent for Catholic Radio, by publishing and speaking, and by collaborating with the diocesan Office of Catechesis, various parishes, and other ministries to lead others to encounter Christ and engage their faith. Her website is https://www.kathryntherese.com/.

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Just Like the First Apostles

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Every time I read today’s reading from Acts of the Apostles, it fills me with contentment and peace. The early Christians were a united front, a tight team, and they looked after one another. There is no allusion to greed or aspiration to lofty positions. They were filled with the Holy Spirit (“With great power”), sought to bring the Good News to as many people as possible (“bore witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus”) and were rewarded for their efforts (“great favor was accorded them all”).  The fact that there was “no needy person among them” reminds me of the original bliss of the Garden of Eden. Perhaps these moments in history were in fact another foreshadowing of heaven’s eternal joy.

Yet, if you continue reading on, you realize all too soon that the first Apostles’ lives were far from bliss. Persecutions, hardships, extensive travel in harsh circumstances, misunderstandings and eventual martyrdom awaited them. And this is why the Bible’s contents continue to be so relevant to us today, precisely because of its ups and downs.

I have four young boys and watch the ebb and flow of life unfold before my eyes every single day. My toddler literally smothers the baby with hugs and kisses, grabs a toy and crawls on the floor, trying to get the baby to follow him around the room, giggling and shrieking with joy the whole time. At other moments, usually, when he’s tired (or has a dirty diaper) he purposely runs over the baby’s fingers with a toy or wants to shove him out of my lap so I will hold him instead.

My 6 and 4-year-olds are best friends. They play together, watch cartoons together, invent adventures together, mastermind Lego creations together and chat it up for hours on end. My 4-year-old despises school because it takes his big brother away from him for 8 hours. Yet the two amigos also fight like cats and dogs, argue about which program they’re going to watch, push each other around, chase each other around the house, tease each other to the point of tears and hurt each other. They can’t live with each other and can’t live without each other.

These real-life scenarios reflect in a small way what we all experience. Ups and downs. Good Friday moments and Easter moments. Times of abundance and times of drought. The good news is that we know what awaits us. Although we may not know if the next minute or the next hour will bring us joy or sadness, we do know what awaits us at the end of our journey. We are Easter people, believers in the Resurrection! May this season be one of joy for you, knowing that “everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.” (Jn 3:15)

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Tami grew up in Western Michigan, a middle child in a large Catholic family. Attending Catholic schools her whole life, she was an avid sportswoman, a (mostly) straight A student and a totally type A sister. She loves tackling home projects, keeping tabs on the family finances and finding unique ways to love. She spent early young adulthood as a missionary in Mexico, studying theology and philosophy, then worked and traveled extensively before finishing her Bachelor’s Degree in Western Kentucky. Her favorite things to do are finding fun ways to keep her four boys occupied, quiet conversation with the hubby, and grocery shopping with a latte in her hand. She works at Diocesan, is a guest blogger on CatholicMom.com and BlessedIsShe.net, runs her own blog at https://togetherandalways.wordpress.com and has been doing Spanish translations on the side for the past 18 years.

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St. Catherine of Siena: Christ’s Beloved Laborer

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Today, the Church celebrates the Memorial of Saint Catherine of Siena, whose life reflects today’s gospel,  where Jesus invites us to find rest in him. St. Catherine serves as a model of this. She was a woman of action, but the heart of everything she did was for the sake of Christ and his Church.

St. Catherine was born in Siena, Italy on the Solemnity of the Annunciation. She was the twenty-third of twenty-five children, however, many of her siblings did not survive to adulthood.

Catherine’s family lived in the midst of the Black Plague, which killed up to one-third of the population of Europe. She grew up in a time where Europe was losing faith in Christ, in part because of the crisis that surrounded it. The pope resided in Avignon, France, although he was still the bishop of Rome.

Regardless, Catherine grew up intensely religious, often protesting against her parent’s efforts to marry her off. She loved Christ and wanted to give her life to him.

At age 18, she entered the Third Order (lay) Dominicans, an order typically reserved for widows and elderly. She lived a secluded, contemplative life, but wrote letters to men, women, priest, and religious, offering them spiritual guidance and advice. Eventually, people began gathering around her, seeking her counsel. Her influence spread up the ranks of the Vatican to the pope himself.

She eventually began to travel, calling for reform in the broken church, and urging people to pray and fast for healing and love God totally.

Catherine played a key role in stabilizing the papacy after the Avignon Papacy. Through letters and visits, she convinced Pope Gregory XI to return from Avignon to Rome.

She wrote over 380 letters to church leaders and lay people. Because of her writings, she was named one of three female doctors of the Church. She is also the only lay Doctor of the Church.

Like Christ, Catherine died when she was 33 years old.

Catherine was a woman of action. When she saw an injustice, especially surrounding her beloved church, she acted, consecrating her work to Christ and letting him heal his broken church through her.

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Hannah Crites is a native to Denver Colorado and graduate of the Franciscan University of Steubenville. She has written for numerous publications and blogs including the Chastity Project, Washington Times, Faith & Culture: The Journal of the Augustine Institute, and Franciscan Magazine. She is currently working in content and digital marketing for a small web development and digital marketing agency. Connect with her through Twitter (@hannah_crites) and Facebook. Check out more of what she has written at https://hannhcrites.com/.