The Soulful Catholic Blog

Susan was doctoral candidate with a bright future the night her life changed forever. The evening bicycle ride with her husband was something they did regularly but would never share again. After the freak accident in 1994, her entire left leg had to be amputated.

Never doubt that God has a sense of humor.

The month of June is a scorcher for those who dwell in the sizzling metropolis of Phoenix and this summer is no different. The Soulful Catholic remembers all too well the year Sky Harbor International Airport was forced to shut down because officials didn’t know if aircraft were safe to fly when the mercury hit 122 degrees Fahrenheit.

There’s a grotto on Mount Carmel in the Holy Land where you can visit the cave in which Elijah once took shelter during a fierce storm.

For many people, even those of deep faith, lingering anxiety remains one of the more sinister aftershocks of the COVID-19 pandemic.

I left the house that Saturday morning in plenty of time to make the 30-minute drive to my class.

It’s been less than two weeks since Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted of the Diocese of Phoenix issued an Apostolic Exhortation on the Eucharist, but the treasure contained therein is already having an impact.

What we’ve always considered to be true and the actual truth aren’t necessarily the same thing.
That lesson was brought home to me last week when a relative sent me a document detailing the list of passengers from Ireland who set sail for America in April of 1848.

We may have grown up in the scorched desert of Arizona, but our mother made sure we five kids never forgot our Irish heritage. And it wasn’t a matter of simply wearing green on St. Patrick’s Day, either.

Why do we give up stuff for Lent? The answer is more complex than you may have imagined.

It’s Valentine’s Day weekend and at our house that can only mean one thing.

Once the COVID-19 pandemic struck, more and more people began walking the winding cement trail that hugs the network of canals in our part of the desert. Riding bikes, pushing strollers, jogging—entire families, couples, lone walkers listening to podcasts or music—my...

Thousands of people gather in Downtown Phoenix every December (unless there's a wicked pandemic about) to honor Our Lady of Guadalupe. A young woman from the community dresses up as la Guadalupana and stands atop a float in the long parade that snakes through the city...

We stood under a canopy in the parking lot, cameras rolling and clicking, microphones and recorders extended. It seemed like every local news affiliate had sent its crew. And then there was The Soulful Catholic carrying out her day job as a reporter with a local...