The message of Christ has not changed, and it is only the teaching of Christ that helps us to address the problems and needs of society as well as those of our own lives. Mary was keenly aware of this. With her gaze fixed completely on God, she was able to cope with the many challenges and difficulties she encountered, especially those which came to her as the mother of the Lord. With her gaze fixed on Christ, the Church has handed on the Gospel of Christ for 2,000 years in times that have revealed the difficulties and needs of humanity in new contexts. The unchanging Gospel always answers these difficulties and needs.
November 24, 2023
Faith looks upon the cross of Jesus Christ and sees the King. The Gospel of St. John especially portrays Jesus as King as He reigns upon the cross. It is from the cross that He extends His arms over the world in an embrace of love. It is from this cross that blood and water flow upon the world from His wounded heart that we might be redeemed. As we look around the world and find war, so much strife and discord, division within our own nation, it is only God’s mercy extended to all which gives meaning and purpose. God’s power is revealed in His mercy. This is what we celebrate on the Solemnity of Christ the King, and it is for this that we are most grateful as we celebrate Thanksgiving.
The celebration of Thanksgiving gives us reason to reflect upon gratitude and to cultivate it more within our lives. It is a virtue of which St. Paul constantly speaks and asks us to cultivate as exemplified in his words, “Dedicate yourself to thankfulness. Whatever you do, whether in speech or action, do it in the name of the Lord Jesus. Give thanks to God the Father through Him” (Col 3:14-17). We have much for which we should be thankful, and we should give praise to God for it. May our thankfulness help us to realize more and more our dependency upon God, whom we praise for the gift of life.
November 10, 2023
Our Lord Himself was well aware of the dignity of working with the land as well as with the sacrifices that go with it. That is evident in the many parables He tells about farmers who often face significant difficulties. These parables include the sower who goes out to plant his seed and loses most of it, the landowner who leases out his land and is taken advantage of, and the parable in which a man plants his field only to have an enemy disrupt his work. In all of these parables, the one who works with the land always overcomes the obstacles and brings about a greater harvest.
On October 24, we celebrated the Thirty-sixth Anniversary of the establishment of our Diocese. At the onset in 1984, Mary, under her title as Queen of the Apostles, was chosen to be our patroness.
The month of November is upon us. This month brings with it a number of significant days, both for the Church and for our nation. November begins with the celebration of the Solemnity of All Saints and is followed the next day by the Commemoration of All Souls. This month will bring with it
October 22 is the Feast of Saint John Paul II. His feast is celebrated on the day when he was formally installed as the Chief Shepherd of the Universal Church. He was elected the 264th Pope on October 16, 1978, and chose to have a relatively simple Papal Installation rather than the usual
The month of October celebrates two great saints and doctors of the Church, Teresa of Avila and Therese of Lisieux. These two great Carmelite sisters, while from very different backgrounds, nationalities, times, and attitudes, share much in common with each other. What they share in common alsom
October is the month of the Rosary. During this month, we concentrate our attention on Mary, Our Blessed Mother, who leads us to her Son as we continue on our journey of faith in this life. The Rosary offers us a unique opportunity to come to Jesus through Mary. All of the Mysteries of the Rosary
Respect Life Sunday takes place this year during the Twenty-fifth Anniversary of the encyclical of Saint John Paul II on life, Evangelium Vitae, The Gospel of Life. He gave us this great gift on the Solemnity of the Annunciation, March 25, 1995. Indeed, through Mary’s yes to God’s will, the Son of
This year, the United States Council of Serra International has designated Sunday, September 27, as Priesthood Sunday. We are familiar with and grateful to the members of Serra within our Diocese who promote, foster, and pray for vocations to the priesthood and religious life. Serra’s promotion of
Like so many other recent events, the celebration of our diaconate ordination this morning is different than usual due to the limitations imposed by safety measures for the coronavirus. Our attendance is limited but, the Church is fully present with us as we celebrate this happy day for the life of
Pope Francis has continually encouraged us to pray to Mary during this time of the coronavirus pandemic. He reflected in his letter on April 25 that, “Contemplating the face of Christ with the heart of Mary will make us even more united as a spiritual family and will help us overcome this time of
Pope Francis has continually encouraged us to pray to Mary during this time of the coronavirus pandemic. He reflected in his letter on April 25 that, “Contemplating the face of Christ with the heart of Mary will make us even more united as a spiritual family and will help us overcome this time of
Each year, as we enter the month of September after the summer, we look forward to a more normal pace of our life. However, this year we are not quite sure of what normalcy is as we continue to face the uncertainties and restrictions which the coronavirus has placed upon us. At school reopens, it
On August 28, we celebrate the Feast of Saint Augustine, Bishop and Doctor of the Church, who made a tremendous influence on the life of the Church. He was born on November 13, 354 and died on August 28, 430 A.D. He is considered among the most important Fathers of the Church and his voluminous
We have two significant celebrations in honor of Mary during the month of August. One is on August 15, when we celebrate her Assumption into heaven. The other is exactly a week later on August 22, when we celebrate her Queenship. Both of these celebrations are intimately connected as they
We just celebrated the Feast of the Transfiguration on August 6. The Transfiguration is a significant event in the life of the Lord which occurs about midway through His public ministry and reveals to His disciples who He is and what His mission is all about in a moving and mystical manner. The
We begin the month of August in a very different context than that of March. The beginning of the month of March in Florida brought growing concern about the spread of the coronavirus around the world and within our country. By the middle of the month that concern grew greater for us. By the end
July 31 is a significant day in the life of our Diocese as it is the Feast of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, after whom our Cathedral Church is named. This week, on July 25, I will formally install the new Rector of our wonderful Cathedral Parish – Father Gavin Badway. We all wish him well in his
During this month of July, as we celebrate the freedom given to us in our great nation, it is well to reflect that the month of July is dedicated to the Precious Blood of Jesus Christ. It is through the Precious Blood of the Lord that we are given true freedom - the freedom from the enslavement to
The past weekend we celebrated Independence Day and were reminded of the great gift of freedom that we possess in our nation. However, because we live in a wonderful country where freedom is our charter, we oftentimes experience an understanding of freedom which is the farthest from that of our
One of the prominent symbols of our country is that of the Statue of Liberty which welcomes newcomers to the promise of this great nation. Referred to as Lady Liberty, she holds a torch in her uplifted right hand and on her left arm a tablet proclaiming the date of the Declaration of
Last week the Florida Catholic recounted the retirement of Sister Joan Dawson, O.S.F., the Episcopal Delegate for Religious of the Diocese of Palm Beach who will be moving to her community home in Tampa, Florida. I express to Sister Joan all of our profound gratitude for the loving mission
Last week, in this column, I reflected upon the Sacred Heart of Jesus to which the month of June is dedicated as the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart is celebrated on Friday, June 19. The following day, Saturday, June 20, we celebrate the memorial Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. It is most
June is a month of fulfilled promises and ones yet to come. This is especially true this year as we continue to move away from the quarantine imposed by the coronavirus to more of a semblance of normalcy in our lives. June holds the center of the year. Its days are longer and brighter and it also
The Sunday after Pentecost, we celebrate Trinity Sunday. The celebration of the Solemnity is a reminder of what the concluded celebration of Easter is all about. God is intimately part of our lives and reveals Himself and relates to us as He truly is – the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. God
This weekend, as we celebrate the Solemnity of Pentecost, our churches in the Diocese of Palm Beach will be open for the celebration of Mass. While we must make a very careful decision in whether to come to church at this time and while we must be cautious in following the protocols insuring
Sto lat is the traditional Polish wish that is given to express good wishes, good health and long life to a person. It is also a common birthday greeting. It means, "May you live 100 years!" May 18 was the hundredth birthday of St. John Paul II on which Pope Francis celebrated Mass at the tomb of
Pope Francis, in one of his Sunday audiences not too long after his being elected as Pope, held up a white medicine box with a drawing of the human heart upon it containing a Rosary. The Pope expressed to the gathered crowd, "I want to recommend some medicine for all of you. It’s a spiritual
Homily - Priesthood Ordination of Deacon Robinsón Aza Quetamá Deacon Nicholas Paul Zrallack Cathedral of St. Ignatius Loyola May 2, 2020 My brothers, Robinson and Nick, you are being ordained today as priests in an unprecedented time and in unique circumstances. The worldwide
It has been some time since we were first affected by the coronavirus and the many limitations which it has caused. It is over five weeks since our churches have been closed and we are not able publicly to attend Mass. Just some of the questions we are all asking are, "When will this be over?
The dire situation regarding the coronavirus has brought to the fore many stories of the heroic actions of others, including priests. Pope Francis reflected upon this in his homily for the Mass of the Lord's Supper on Holy Thursday. He said, "I cannot let tonight's Mass pass by without rememberi
Living the Truth in Love CHRISM MASS CATHEDRAL OF ST. IGNATIUS LOYOLA The Priest’s Ministry of Healing Of the oils that we bless and consecrate today, perhaps the one that stands out is the oil of the sick. In the context of the coronavirus pandemic the dire need for healing,
Living the Truth in Love Easter TV Mass Homily April 12, 2020 Do Not Be Afraid, Just Have Faith We come to celebrate Easter in a very different context this year. The coronavirus has caused a great deal of disruption within our lives, hopefully not illness, and an isolation from
We are about to enter Holy Week. Holy Week is the culmination of Lent, especially as we celebrate the Easter Triduum in which we enter into the Passion, Death and Resurrection of the Lord in a most intimate manner. The celebration of Holy Week this year will be very different from any that we have
For many years, since the pontificate of St. John Paul II, it is been the custom of the Popes to go on a Lenten retreat with members of their curial staffs during the week immediately following Ash Wednesday. Pope Francis has followed this custom with the exception that he has requested the retreat
I recently returned from a required visit to Rome which every bishop must make on a regular interval. The visit is called an ad limina visit because it is one to the "threshold of the apostles." On the visit, the bishop celebrates Mass at this threshold which is the tombs of the foundational
As Ash Wednesday is upon us. There is something quite unique about this day. It marks the beginning of Lent as a solemn penitential season of forty days for the Church. Yet, there is almost something mystical that surrounds Ash Wednesday! Churches are filled with people anxious to receive ashes
We live today in the midst of a world that is filled with words coming to us from all sides. The days of getting news and hearing a message from the television or newspapers are long over. We possess, through electronic devices we carry in our pockets, instant communication from the world and to
One of the saints that is special to Pope Francis is St. John Bosco. Pope Francis has made mention of him on several occasions. Just last year in his Wednesday audience, the Pope pointed to the upcoming Feast of St. John Bosco on the next day, January 31, and referred to the tremendous influence
We are already more than a week into the new year. As we planned for this significant year of 2020, we have made resolutions to improve ourselves as we journey through it. We know from experience that many of those resolutions will not come to pass. What is important for the new year is not so
