As we continue to focus our attention on the New Evangelization, I wish to draw your attention to the recent writing of our Holy Father, Pope Francis. In November, Pope Francis published his first Apostolic Exhortation, The Joy Of The Gospel. The first thing I wish to do in this Read more
The life of a Christian is one of service and humility, born in close association with Jesus Christ. The life of the Christian is to bear the good fruit of love, harvested in the many acts of charity, great and small. As a good fruit comes from ‘good stock,’ Read more
Today’s readings once again give ‘food for thought’ regarding the numerous ways God is present to us. In the Liturgy of Hours this morning, one of the psalm antiphons offered the heading for today’s blog entry: “Adore the Lord in His holy court.” This gave me pause to think of Read more
Merry Christmas! This Holy Night, we celebrate the birth of our Savior. We celebrate the patience and faithful love of our God, come down to earth that we might gaze upon the face of God in the person of Jesus. Tonight, the world celebrates the perfect union of the human Read more
Let the Lord enter, he is the King of Glory! Psalm 24 This seems to be the invitation to all of God’s people today, this Fourth Sunday of Advent. It is clearly the invitation to the individuals of our readings today. King Ahaz, King of Judah, is facing an assault Read more
As this year’s National Catholic Youth Conference draws to a conclusion today, my prayer this morning is filled with hopes for our Church and in particular, for the youth of our Church. One of the prayers in this morning’s Liturgy of Hours reminds us that to serve the Lord is Read more
In Today’s Gospel (Luke 5:33-39) Jesus is questioned why his disciples do not fast and pray as do the disciples of the Pharisees and John the Baptist. Jesus refers to himself as the Bridegroom, in whose presence the disciples rejoice; eating and drinking. (A reference to Eucharist, where we eat Read more
Today’s first reading continues from the Book of Exodus. In today’s selection, we see Moses erect the Dwelling of the LORD, as God commanded. In this Dwelling Moses placed the Ten Commandments, and the glory of the LORD filled the Dwelling. (Exodus 40) Notice how the Ten Commandments serve for Read more
Today the Church celebrates the feast of St. Ignatius of Loyola. He was one of several great saints that lived during what could be called the Golden Age of the Church. Born in 1491, he was one of several saints the Lord raised up during the time of the Reformation. Read more
Years ago I worked more closely with seminarians as a vocation director, and later as a vice rector of a college seminary. I learned then (and recalled from my own years as a seminarian) that seminarians have a unique capacity to exaggerate the elements of their priestly formation. For example, Read more