Category: Church Street

Reflections for Sunday, November 9, 2014
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Reflections for Sunday, November 9, 2014

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by on Nov 05, 2014 in Catechesis, Featured, Learn & Live the Faith, Sunday Reflections
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Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion (Ezekiel 47:1-2,8-9,12; Psalm 46:2-3,5-6,8-9; 1 Corinthians 3:9-11,16-17; John 2:13-22) The Importance of Supporting and Praying for Our Bishops Zeal for your house will consume me. (John 2:17) Imagine a church adorned with marble columns, bursting with colors, gold ceilings, marble floors, walls covered with New Testament scenes, […]

Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium, The Joy of the Gospel
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Front Row With Francis: The Visible Church

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by on Nov 01, 2014 in Catechesis, Featured, Learn & Live the Faith, The Shepherd's Voice
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“Though absent from our eyes, Christ our Head is bound to us by love. Since the whole Christ is Head and body, let us so listen to the voice of the Head that we may also hear the body speak.” -St Augustine Continuing his catechesis on the nature of the Church, Pope Francis took this […]

Holiness is For All!
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Holiness is For All!

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by on Nov 01, 2014 in Catechesis, Church Street, Columnists, Featured, Learn & Live the Faith, Sunday Reflections
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At age 16, I thought that aspiring to holiness was out of the question. If you really wanted to be holy, I thought, you had to be a priest, nun, or brother. And you had to spend your days doing “religious stuff” like praying, preaching, teaching catechism, or serving the poor. But I had developed […]

Reflections for Sunday, November 2, 2014
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Reflections for Sunday, November 2, 2014

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by on Oct 29, 2014 in Catechesis, Featured, Learn & Live the Faith, Sunday Reflections
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Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion (Wisdom 3:1-9; Psalm 23:1-6; Romans 5:5-11; John 6:37-40) Praying And Interceding For Those Who Have Gone Before Us In the time of their visitation they shall shine. (Wisdom 3:7) Have you ever wondered why we bother to pray for those who have already died? After all, they’ve […]

Eight Days a Week
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Eight Days a Week

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by on Oct 25, 2014 in Catechesis, Columnists, Featured, Sunday Reflections
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Saint Paul’s letters addressed to the Thessalonians are the oldest New Testament writings.  He wrote them during his second missionary journey, less than 20 years after the Resurrection.   On that journey he entered Europe for the first time and the Macedonian city of Thessalonica was his second stop.  In 1 Thessalonians he praises the members […]

The Radical Rabbi and the Great Commandment
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The Radical Rabbi and the Great Commandment

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by on Oct 25, 2014 in Catechesis, Columnists, Featured, Learn & Live the Faith, Sunday Reflections
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They are at it again. In this Sunday’s gospel Jesus’ opponents enlist a lawyer to do what lawyers do best- ask a question that puts a person on the hot seat. “Which commandment of the law is the greatest?” (Matthew 22:34-40). If the law consisted in only the Ten Commandments, this would be tough enough. […]

Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium, The Joy of the Gospel
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Front Row With Francis: Ezekiel’s Bones and The Church

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by on Oct 24, 2014 in Catechesis, Featured, Learn & Live the Faith, The Shepherd's Voice
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Pope Francis continued his teaching series on the Church, explaining how the Body of Christ is a visible expression of the very life of God. Referring to a passage in Ezekiel, he warned that the mission of this vital, mystical entity is often derailed by the sins of its members. The pope reminded the faithful […]

Reflections for Sunday, October 26, 2014
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Reflections for Sunday, October 26, 2014

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by on Oct 22, 2014 in Catechesis, Featured, Learn & Live the Faith, Sunday Reflections
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Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion (Exodus 22:20-26; Psalm 18:2-4,47,51; 1 Thessalonians 1:5-10; Matthew 22:34-40) Loving Others As God Has Loved Us If he cries out to me, I will hear him; for I am compassionate. (Exodus 22:26) Do you have children? If so, you’ve probably thought about what you would do if […]

Render unto Caesar
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Render unto Caesar

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by on Oct 18, 2014 in Catechesis, Columnists, Featured, Learn & Live the Faith, Sunday Reflections
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Despite their flattering words, they were trying to trap him, to force him into a no win situation. Consider the circumstances.  They are living under the iron boot of a brutal empire which filled the earth with its idolatry.  Patriotic Jews longed to throw off the tyrants’ yoke.  They prayed for an anointed king who […]

The Pope Who Confronted the Modern World
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The Pope Who Confronted the Modern World

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by on Oct 18, 2014 in Featured, Learn & Live the Faith, Live in Christ, The Shepherd's Voice
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A third 20th Century pope advances toward sainthood this weekend with the beatification of Giovanni Battista Montini, Pope Paul VI (1963-1978). In canonizing Popes, the general rule is that we raise men to the honor of the altars and not papacies.  Pope Montini, however, is so inextricably linked with the Second Vatican Council, over whose […]

Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium, The Joy of the Gospel
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Front Row With Francis: Christian Hope

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by on Oct 17, 2014 in Catechesis, Featured, Learn & Live the Faith, The Shepherd's Voice
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Pope Francis’ General audience this past Wednesday was about hope. Like many other virtues, hope can be twisted into many different definitions. Pope Francis clarified, “Christian hope is not simply a desire a wish: for a Christian, hope is expectation, fervent, passionate expectation for the final definitive fulfillment of a mystery, the mystery of God’s […]

Reflections for Sunday, October 19, 2014
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Reflections for Sunday, October 19, 2014

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by on Oct 15, 2014 in Catechesis, Featured, Learn & Live the Faith, Sunday Reflections
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Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion (Isaiah 45:1,4-6; Psalm 96:1,3-5,7-10; 1 Thessalonians 1:1-5; Matthew 22:15-21) Moving Forward in Faith through God’s Open Doors Thus says the Lord to his anointed … opening doors before him and leaving the gates unbarred. (Isaiah 45:1) “A new door will open for you today.” Have you ever […]

The Sneakiest of the Seven Deadly Sins
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The Sneakiest of the Seven Deadly Sins

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by on Oct 11, 2014 in Catechesis, Columnists, Featured, Sunday Reflections
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At age 16, life was about rock ‘n roll. If my own band was not performing on Saturday night, I was out in the audience, watching another band. It would have never occurred to me to spend my Saturday nights at a Catholic conference or retreat. True, no matter how late I was out, I’d […]

Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium, The Joy of the Gospel
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Front Row With Francis: On the Unity of the Church

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by on Oct 11, 2014 in Catechesis, Featured, The Shepherd's Voice
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Pope Francis called all Christians to unity during His General Audience Catechesis. He challenged us not to remain resigned to this division, but to take the step towards reconciliation and full communion. “Holy Father, keep them in thy name which thou has given me, that they be one, even as we are one,” (John 17:11) […]

St. Francis Borgia
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St. Francis Borgia

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by on Oct 10, 2014 in Saint of the Day - Ex Form
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FRANCIS BORGIA, Duke of Gandia and Captain-General of Catalonia, was one of the handsomest, richest, and most honored nobles in Spain.  In 1539, there was laid upon him the sad duty of escorting the remains of his sovereign, Queen Isabella of Spain, to the royal burying-place at Granada. The coffin had to be opened for […]

CL3 - hbratton notxt
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St. Dionysius and his Companions, Martyrs, St. Louis Bertrand

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by on Oct 09, 2014 in Saint of the Day - Ex Form
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OF all the Roman missionaries sent into Gaul, St. Dionysius carried the Faith the furthest into the country, fixing his see at Paris.  By him and his disciples the sees of Chartres, Senlis, Meaux, and Cologne were erected in the fourth century. During the persecution of the Roman Emperor, Valerian (253-260, AD), Dionysius was arrested […]

Reflections for Sunday, October 12, 2014
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Reflections for Sunday, October 12, 2014

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by on Oct 08, 2014 in Catechesis, Featured, Learn & Live the Faith, Sunday Reflections
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Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion (Isaiah 25:6-10; Psalm 23; Philippians 4:12-14, 19-20; Matthew 22:1-14) Accepting Jesus’ Invitation to Say Yes to Him Cast him into the darkness outside, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth. (Matthew 22:13) How crowded is heaven? How about hell? Theologians have debated this question for […]

Saint Bridget of Sweden, religious
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Saint Bridget of Sweden, religious

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by on Oct 08, 2014 in Saint of the Day - Ex Form
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ST. BRIDGET was born of the Swedish royal family, in 1304. In obedience to her father, she was married to Prince Ulpho of Sweden, and became the mother of eight children, one of whom, Catherine, is honored as a Saint. After some years she and her husband separated by mutual consent. He entered the Cistercian […]

Imitation of the Saints
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Imitation of the Saints

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by on Oct 04, 2014 in Catechesis, Columnists, Featured, Learn & Live the Faith, Sunday Reflections
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One aspect of the Catholic religion that many non-Catholics don’t understand is our devotion to the saints.  Many of our ‘separated brethren’ can’t comprehend our veneration of the Roman Church’s holiest members.  Some think that we worship them and regard us as idolaters.  This isn’t true: we believe in one God which we profess every […]

Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium, The Joy of the Gospel
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Front Row With Francis: Charisms in the Church

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by on Oct 03, 2014 in Catechesis, Featured, Sunday Reflections
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Anyone who has ever observed young children opening gifts on Christmas morning has witnessed the sheer delight that receiving a gift can bring. Their unbridled enthusiasm as they tear open their presents brings joy to the hearts of their parents who have painstakingly sought to find the perfect gift for each child. The greatest gifts […]

Reflections for Sunday, October 5, 2014
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Reflections for Sunday, October 5, 2014

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by on Oct 01, 2014 in Catechesis, Featured, Learn & Live the Faith, Sunday Reflections
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Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion (Isaiah 5:1-7; Psalm 80:9,12-16,19-20; Philippians 4:6-9; Matthew 21:33-43) Living Out Our Faith in Christ Think about these things. (Philippians 4:8) When you begin taking piano lessons, you begin by finding middle C. Then you learn how to read the notes on a page and how each note […]

St Paul: Building Bridges, Not Fences
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St Paul: Building Bridges, Not Fences

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by on Sep 27, 2014 in Catechesis, Columnists, Featured, Learn & Live the Faith, Sunday Reflections
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Following my ordination my bishop assigned me to work in two yoked parishes.  “Yoked” churches share a pastoral staff but are not merged.  The pastor and myself worked to merge the parishes. One parish was Irish.  The other was Puerto Rican.  The linguistic and traditional differences were palpable.  Often I reflected on the sixth chapter […]

Talk is Cheap
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Talk is Cheap

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by on Sep 27, 2014 in Catechesis, Columnists, Featured, Learn & Live the Faith, Sunday Reflections
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There will never be a shortage of words.  Words are plentiful because talk is cheap.  It’s easy to make a promise.  Keeping a promise is an entirely different matter, as this Sunday’s gospel makes abundantly clear. There are over a billion people on the planet who have solemnly promised to live a life of loving […]

St. Vincent de Paul
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St. Vincent de Paul

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by on Sep 27, 2014 in Saint of the Day
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ST. VINCENT was born in 1576. In after-years, when adviser of the queen and oracle of the Church in France, he loved to recount how, in his youth, he had guarded his father’s pigs. Soon after his ordination he was captured by corsairs, and carried into Barbary. He converted his renegade master, and escaped with […]