“What are you doing for Lent?” It’s a good question. Parents often ask their children. Friends ask each other. If we haven’t been preparing ourselves during the “pre-Lent” period found in many Catholic rites, we may well be asking ourselves this right now as Ash Wednesday looms. Is it the right question, though? It does not seem that it is the wrong question...

Every year, we ask some of our regular radio friends to share Lenten reading recommendations to help give you ideas as you put together your own plan for Lent. Here are some of their ideas...

Every Lent leads to the same mystery: the Crucifixion, Death and Resurrection of our Lord, Jesus Christ. Every Lent prepares the Church and all her members to experience and participate more profoundly in the Paschal Mystery. It is a season of purging our souls of sin and disordered attachments to become more like Jesus. We believe with St. Paul that “If we have died with Christ, we will also live with him” (Rom 6:8). It is a season where we set our gaze on the cross of Christ and place our hope in his resurrection.

Chris Stefanick sits down with John Burke, who’s interviewed over 1,500 people who have had near-death experiences. These are real accounts that will challenge your thinking and open your eyes to the truth of eternity. From the overwhelming beauty of Heaven to the shocking, heartbreaking reality of Hell, these stories will shake you to your core.

A change to U.S. visa policy is set next week to make it more difficult — if not impossible — for many religious sisters to enter the U.S., and could soon keep contemplative nuns and others from gaining permanent residency in the country.

On Feb. 24, the Permanent Synod of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church released a remarkable public statement. Issued under the authority of Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, who was targeted for immediate assassination if Russian troops entered Kyiv three years ago, it could only have been written by men who read the signs of the times — not through the “art of the deal,” but through the prism of deep faith...

Whether or not President Trump discusses in vitro fertilization in his State of the Union address tonight, IVF is a topic that should be on the minds of pro-life Americans. That Trump has promised to broaden access to IVF should be no surprise; he made that promise during his campaign. What is a surprise is that some prominent pro-lifers have urged us not to complain. On balance Trump has been good for the pro-life movement, they argue; we should not weaken him by criticism.

It doesn’t happen to everyone, but it’s happened to enough people to warrant a discussion. Why do so many people who come from Evangelical backgrounds feel drawn to explore history and liturgy through the Anglican tradition? And why do so many of those same people feel ultimately drawn to the Catholic Faith? Matt Swaim talks to Andrew Petiprin, who grew up Evangelical, became an Anglican priest, and then later entered the Catholic Church...

I never want to see this movie again. Granted, this might sound a bit harsh coming from a Classics undergrad who spent most of his Classics Club movie nights rewatching the first installation of this movie franchise—yet I remain steadfast: I never want to see this movie again. I have no issue with some of the creative liberties and historical inaccuracies...

On December 20, 2002, I was at lunch in the papal department when the wide-ranging conversation John Paul II always encouraged took an unexpected turn, with the pope asking me how President Ronald Reagan was doing. As it happened, I had recently run into Reagan’s former attorney general, Edwin Meese, and had asked the same question. The answer was a sad one.