by Elizabeth Rzepka | Jan 2, 2026 | Blog
I recently came across a photo of a Japanese pilgrimage site with statues of Mary and the Japanese martyr Yasutaro as he endured torture for refusing to renounce his faith. His torture involved being imprisoned in a Sanjakuro, a three-foot square cage. I have...
by Elizabeth Rzepka | Oct 31, 2025 | Blog
In 2018, I moved from one state to another after a heartbreaking loss. My first Sunday in my new home, I attended Mass in the local cathedral. As I sat alone in this unfamiliar place, emotionally numb, something powerful pierced through my deadened heart: music. I was...
by Elizabeth Rzepka | Aug 8, 2025 | Blog
In our local Catholic community, there have been a lot of griefs observed lately. In Scripture we find reminders that God comforts those who mourn, is close to the brokenhearted, and promises eventual triumph over sorrow. And in Romans 12 when St. Paul gives counsel...
by Elizabeth Rzepka | Jun 27, 2025 | Blog
The Catholic Church is blessed by an abundance of devotions that enrich the lives of believers, but my personal favorite is the feast we celebrate today: the Sacred Heart of Jesus. When we look upon the image of the Sacred Heart, we see a heart split open by Longinus’...
by Elizabeth Rzepka | Aug 21, 2023 | Blog
In the spring of 2012, I came across an article that had become a viral sensation: a guileless new restaurant review from an eighty-five-year-old woman in Grand Forks, North Dakota. It caught my eye because I had just returned to Michigan after interviewing for a job...