Ordained to be a Minister of Joy
It is good to remind ourselves, as priests, that making small promises regarding gestures of understanding and kindness, especially to those who offend us, intentionally or not, support, in a concrete fashion, the promise we make to imitate the Lord in all things.
United in Faith and Community
United in Faith and Community is the theme for this year’s Catholic Schools Week. It reminds us that Catholic schools are a place of learning, but it’s always in the context of our faith and in communion with one another.
Love is the Soul of Holiness
Centuries, backgrounds, cultures, nationalities and lifestyles separate Francis de Sales and John Bosco. Yet, their outlook on life and their ability to reach people with the message of Christ was exactly the same. So much did St. Francis de Sales influence St. John Bosco that the Salesian Community, founded by Don Bosco, was named after this patron and model.
We Welcome the Migrant
At the present time, our nation is experiencing a great deal of division in regard to the matter of immigration. While we must secure our borders, and justified progress has been made in this regard, we cannot lose our identity as a land of immigrants open to all for the freedom and bounty it provides.
Each Day is a New Life
In his homily for the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, New Year’s Day, Pope Leo XIV expressed, “Thus, at the dawn of the new year, the Liturgy reminds us that for each of us, every day can be the beginning of a new life, thanks to God’s generous love, His mercy, and the response of our freedom.”
One in Mind, Words and Heart
Whenever we profess our faith, it is important to realize that we are articulating truth that we believe. We do so, as formulated by the Council of Nicaea, in a formal manner. This articulation of truth is always one that corresponds to our mind as an affirmation of faith.
Journeying Together Toward the Kingdom of God
Like Mary, the Church is also our mother, and very much plays a role similar to Mary in handing on Christ to us. Just as Christ became flesh through Mary, Christ becomes flesh to us today through the Church.
Advent will not Disappoint
The season of Advent this year is a continuing part of the Jubilee Year of Hope. The theme of this year from St. Paul’s letter to the Romans is “Hope does not disappoint.” Advent truly reminds us of this reality.
We are a Nation of Thanksgiving
On Thanksgiving Day, when we celebrate Mass, the preface of the Eucharistic Prayer refers to our ancestors’ coming to “this land as if out of the desert into a place of promise and hope.”
The Land of Lincoln and the Land of Leo
There is a continued need with our nation to protect the dignity and right to life of every human person from the moment of natural conception in a mother’s womb until natural death. There still are many signs of racism, violence and hatred, which threaten the principles for the founding of our nation for which the Civil War was fought.
It’s the Great Pumpkin
Both Pope Leo and Pope Francis have emphasized how hope is not simply optimism. While optimism and a positive outlook are very good qualities which add to the joy of life, in themselves they are not hope. Hope is based on a conviction that what is hoped for will truly come about. For us, as believers in God, true hope and what He promised will always come about. That is why St. Paul tells us always to “rejoice in hope” (Rom 12:12).
November — A Month of Hope
The month of November begins this year with our moving the clocks back an hour on its first Sunday, Nov. 2. As we do so, we are reminded, as we gain an extra hour, that time is always moving forward.
The Pope’s White Horse
“Then I saw the heavens opened, and there was a white horse. Its rider was called ‘Faithful and True.’” These words from Revelation 19:11 present the image of Christ on a white horse as He comes to judge the world at the end of time for the complete devastation of evil.
Pope Leo XIV - Dilexi te, On the Love for the Poor
Pope Leo XIV just gave us the first major writing of his pontificate in the apostolic exhortation, Dilexi te, On the Love for the Poor. An apostolic exhortation differs from an encyclical letter in so far that an encyclical is the highest form of communication from the pope...
Understanding, Love and Mercy are Integral to Justice
God became one of us in a justice that comprises mercy and compassion as the model as to how we are to live. The master becomes the servant and calls us all friends. This is what our world needs more than anything else today...
