The village of St. Kateri in upper New York when she was a child of only 4 years of age, was attacked by a smallpox epidemic. She lost her parents and younger brother and was severely scarred and nearly left blind. Baptized into Catholic faith at age of 18 or Read more…
As you know, many East Asian countries celebrate Lunar New Year, which this year was Friday, February 12. This weeks long celebration is a strong part of the culture and tradition of our Vietnamese Catholic community in the Archdiocese. I had hoped to join the Vietnamese Martyrs Catholic community for Read more…
We had 21 of our faith communities represented at St. James Cathedral today for the celebration of “Our Saints.” We began at 10:00 with Eucharistic Adoration. Then, the procession for Mass began at 11:00, including representatives from many of our cultural communities who carried images of saints from the Read more…
I have written numerous times in this blog that one of the primary (If not THE Primary) solutions to many of our social ills today is a proper understanding – in fact recognition – of the human person. In today’s Gospel, (Luke 13:10-17) there is a woman present in the Read more…
The mission of the Church is to proclaim Christ to the world. The world has always needed this proclamation, and it is no different today. Our best, most credible proclamation of Christ comes in the form of witness, by the way we live, as much as by the creed we Read more…
I field a fairly regular question these days, and it goes something like this: “Bishop, what are the bishops going to do about…the HHS Mandate, or the recent Supreme Court rulings on the Defense of Marriage Act, or religious liberty, or about the growing support for same sex marriage?” Obviously, Read more…
My focus for this weekend’s homily was inspired by listening to Fr. Robert Barron’s homily. You can find his homily through his Word of Fire Website, here. My own reflection, though similar, takes a different direction than Fr. Barron’s. Our first reading this weekend is from the Book of Nehemiah Read more…
Perhaps it is the intense political season. Perhaps it is the heightened awareness of a growing aggressive secularism. Perhaps it is my own continued prayer regarding how best to fulfill my ministry as a bishop. Regardless of the many currents flowing in and out of our days and the movements Read more…