Listen to the audio version of this content “We have all known the long loneliness and we have learned that the only solution is love and that love is found in community.” – Dorothy Day I’m Kaycee Cortner for Catholic Rural Life. I’m a ranch wife, horsewoman, editor, writer, and mom. Today we’re going to be discussing what we can do when we’re feeling isolated from the rest of the world.  Isolation is a massive problem in our society, not just for those of us living the rural life, but certainly for us to a different degree. We live in a technological age, where efficiency wins out ..read more

On February 4, 2024, 50 people gathered at St George Parish, Georgetown, Ohio for the 15th Annual Local Foods Seminar. Co-sponsored by the Cincinnati Archdiocesan Southeast St Mary Deanery Catholic Rural Life of the Catholic Social Action Office the purpose of these gatherings is to bring local producers and potential businesses and consumers together  to advance local food production in the five county primarily Appalachian area.  Presenters included the keynote by the Brown County Ohio State Extension Service which shared the present state of agriculture and its challenges in ..read more

Listen to the audio version of this content Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life. With these words, we are dismissed from our celebration of the Eucharist. We have entered the house of God, repented of our sins, heard the Word of God proclaimed, offered the sacrifice of our hearts with the offering of the bread and wine, which were accepted by God the Father through Christ Jesus, and received the Body and Blood of our Lord in Holy Communion. Now, we are sent forth with the command to “glorify God with our lives “.  In this, we imitate the Blessed Mother, who proclaimed “My soul m ..read more

Listen to the audio version of this content What makes rural evangelization distinct from urban and suburban evangelization? Well, here’s the first thing. It’s actually not that different. Because it’s a human call. The Lord calls every single one of us to share the gospel in our own place according to our state of life. So if you are baptized, you have a call to share the gospel. So it’s not that different. When people think of evangelization, unfortunately, too many people think of the whole person on a soapbox, screaming at people as they walk on by. That’s not evangelization. That’s spiri ..read more

Listen to the audio version of this content “This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Ps. 118: 24 Attending Mass when you live remotely definitely takes some planning, but when we consider that the Eucharist is the source and summit of our faith, the envy of the angels, and that we have the opportunity to receive Our Lord so intimately, it is a sacrifice well worth making.  Saint John Vianney said, “There is nothing so great as the Eucharist. If God had something more precious, He would have given it to us.”  I’m Kaycee Cortner for Catholic Rural Life. I ..read more

Let us Pray Dear Lord, the summer is over and gone, and the harvest is once more past. All the wealth and warmth of the summer sun is marvelously packaged now, in seed and fruit and vegetable, and stored away in bins and cribs and basements. Thank You, dear, generous God, for all Your goodness and for all Your gifts. All summer long You are working for us, storing heat and health and nourishment in the fields and woods. Now, when the air is cold, and there is no fruitfulness in the earth, we can live on what the summer and the harvest have stored up for us. Thank You for Your unnumbered kindne ..read more

This article was originally published in the Catholic Rural Life Magazine Winter 2018 and written by Morgan Smith. Wastefulness may be a sin against charity to our fellow man; but, in the long view of things, we are sinning against the charity of God himself. Each food we waste has cost the soil of our country much to bear. That soil was given to us by God as a legacy. If we squander it, we are failing in our stewardship and shall be called to account. Farmers are not alone in abusing God’s gift of the soil; every city dweller who throws away what might be used is guilty, too. Because much of ..read more

To celebrate CRL’s 100th anniversary, we are announcing a celebration on May 8th, 2024. The post rejoicing in the harvest appeared first on Catholic Rural Life ..read more

Lord, I am grateful that I live in the country. I am glad to live close to the earth that You have made. I am happy to spend so much of my time in the  open air, under the bright sun, the symbol of Your own justice and light. I am grateful for the rain and for the freshness that it brings–the rain, a  symbol of Your rich and undying blessings. I am happy to cooperate with You in Your work of continuous creation, by  growing the food that men need to sustain life. By Your almighty power You make grow the seeds I plant. You fill the earth  with minerals, You send th ..read more

Let us Pray Almighty God, we are in need of rain. We realize now, looking up into the clear, blue sky, what a marvel even the least drop of rain really is. To think that so much water can fall out of the sky, which now is empty and clear! We place our trust in you. We are sure that you know our needs. But you want us to ask you anyway, to show you that we know we are dependent on you. Look on our dry hills and fields, dear God, and bless them with the living blessing of gentle rain. Then the land will rejoice, and the rivers will sing your praises, and the hearts of men will be made glad. Amen ..read more