Raising Hearts Blog

Papal Infallibility: What the Church Actually Teaches
Papal Infallibility: What the Church Actually Teaches
A precise look at one of the most misunderstood dogmas in the Catholic Faith — what it defines, how narrow its scope truly is, and why it has nothing to... Read more...
What Is a Church Council? A Guide to the 21 Ecumenical Councils
What Is a Church Council? A Guide to the 21 Ecumenical Councils
From Nicaea in 325 to Vatican II in 1965 — what a council actually is, why the Church convenes them, and the full list of the twenty-one that have shaped... Read more...
One Church, Many Rites: A Guide to the Liturgical Traditions of the Catholic Church
One Church, Many Rites: A Guide to the Liturgical Traditions of the Catholic Church
Coptic. Maronite. Byzantine. Latin. The Catholic Church is far bigger, and far more ancient in its variety, than most Catholics ever learn — here's a guide to Her many rites,... Read more...
The Assumption of Our Lady: A Mother's Guide to This August Feast — With a Novena
The Assumption of Our Lady: A Mother's Guide to This August Feast — With a Novena
There is a reason the Church gives us August 15th as a Holy Day of Obligation, and not merely a memorial tucked quietly into the calendar. The Assumption of the... Read more...
Silent actions are stronger than loud rebellion
Silent actions are stronger than loud rebellion
I have navigated motherhood for ten years now and I have a learned a few lessons, and I know that I have yet more to learn. But if I can... Read more...
The 10 Best Missals for Children Attending the Traditional Latin Mass
The 10 Best Missals for Children Attending the Traditional Latin Mass
A guide to the ten best missals for children at the Traditional Latin Mass, from first prayer books to a young Catholic's first daily missal. Read more...
The shepherd children Mélanie and Maximin at La Salette
Our Lady of La Salette: A Weeping Mother's Call to Conversion
On the apparition, the message the Church herself has approved, the tangled history of the "secrets," and why this quiet mountain shrine still has something urgent to say to Catholic... Read more...
The 21 Councils, and the Crises Each One Faced
The 21 Councils, and the Crises Each One Faced
A quick-reference guide to every ecumenical council in the Church's history — and the specific error, schism, or corruption each one was called to confront.   Read more...
A Traditional Catholic Mother's Back-to-School Checklist (Before the First Bell)
A Traditional Catholic Mother's Back-to-School Checklist (Before the First Bell)
Whether your children walk out the door to a classroom or gather at your own kitchen table, the start of a new school year is a season worth sanctifying. Read more...
The Code of Canon Law: Its History, and How It Governs the Church
The Code of Canon Law: Its History, and How It Governs the Church
From Gratian's twelfth-century compilation to the Code in force today — how the Catholic Church came to write down her own laws, and what that law actually does. Read more...
"Dearest Babbo": What St. Catherine of Siena's Letters to the Popes Teach Us About Loving the Church Through Crisis
"Dearest Babbo": What St. Catherine of Siena's Letters to the Popes Teach Us About Loving the Church Through Crisis
There is a particular kind of courage in loving something enough to tell it the truth. St. Catherine of Siena had that courage in abundance — and she aimed it,... Read more...
The Latin Language: Its History, and Why the Church Still Prays in It
The Latin Language: Its History, and Why the Church Still Prays in It
From the hills of ancient Latium to the altars of today — the story of the language that has carried the Church's prayer for over a thousand years, and why... Read more...