We continue our Lenten pilgrimage through the station churches of Rome with a visit to the church of San Lorenzo in Panisperna. The church is located over the site of Saint Lawrence’s martyrdom, just a few blocks from yesterday’s church, Saint Mary Major. Originally built during the time of Constantine, today’s structure only dates back […]
sToday we visit Santa Maria Maggiore, Saint Mary Major. This is our first of three visits to this church throughout Lent. Today we’ll discuss the story of how this basilica, also known as Our Lady of the Snows, came to be. To truly appreciate the story, you must realize that Rome can be ridiculously hot […]
Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion (Genesis 12:1-4; Psalm 33:4-5, 18-20,22; 2 Timothy 1:8-10; Matthew 17:1-9) Meeting Christ in a Deeper Way During Mass It is good that we are here. (Matthew 17:4) How ironic! We first see Peter gushing over how good it was to witness Jesus’ transfiguration. How magnificent it […]
Sacrosancta Lateranensis ecclesia omnium urbis et orbis ecclesiarum mater et caput. Of all the churches in the city and the world, the Most Holy Lateran church is the mother and the head. This phrase is inscribed above the entrance to Saint John Lateran. Surely this is a mistake, right? Isn’t Saint Peter’s Basilica the mother and […]
Just a few blocks away from the craziness that is Piazza Navona sits the church of Sant’Agostino. Originally, the titular church of San Trifone sat nearby. The property was given to the Augustinians and construction on the current church, dedicated to Saint Augustine, began in 1296. Just a few short years later, in 1446, the […]
Located a short distance from the Colosseum, Santi Giovanni e Paolo is our stop for today. Named for the martyrs of the fourth century, this church is dedicated to two wealthy brothers who served in Constantine’s court under his daughter, Constantia. She converted them to Christianity and they would host Christian rites here in their […]
“You were buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him.” Dear Brothers and Sisters, The Lenten period, which leads us to the celebration of Holy Easter, is for the Church a most valuable and important liturgical time, in view of which I am pleased to offer a specific word in […]
Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion (Genesis 2:7-9; 3:1-7; Psalm 51:3-6, 12-13, 17; Romans 5:12-19; Matthew 4:1-11) Sharing in Jesus’ Victory over Sin You certainly will not die. (Genesis 3:4) What a study in contrasts! In the first reading, we see Adam and Eve, surrounded by all the beauty of Eden, giving […]
[Given by Arlington Bishop Paul S. Loverde on the Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time at the Convent of the Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist in Rome] “The Lord said to Moses, ‘…Be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy.’” Jesus said to His first disciples and now to us, “…be perfect, just as […]
Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion Deuteronomy 11:18, 26-28, 32; Psalm 31:2-4, 17, 25; Romans 3:21-25, 28; Matthew 7:21-27) Building our Spiritual House on Christ and his Word “Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock.” (Matthew […]
Your Excellency, Timothy M. Dolan, Archbishop of New York, how pleasing it is to us all that you are offering this requiem Mass for the soul of Dr. Bernard Nathanson in the Cathedral where he was baptized, confirmed and received his First Holy Communion in December of 1996. Your telephone call from Rome to Dr. […]
Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion (Isaiah 49:14-15; Psalm 62:2-3,6-9; 1 Corinthians 4:1-5; Matthew 6:24-3) In the first reading the Lord tells us, with very tender words, that he will never forsake us or forget us.” These words also remind us of the Lord’s words quoted in Hebrews 13:5, “I will never forsake you or […]
I greet with affection these five priest brothers who will shortly be receiving Episcopal Ordination: Archbishop Savio Hon Tai-Fai, Archbishop Marcello Bartolucci, Archbishop Celso Morga Iruzubieta, Archbishop Antonio Guido Filipazzi and Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra. I would like to express to them my gratitude and the Church’s for the service they have carried out to […]
Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion (Leviticus 19:1-2,17-18; Psalm 103:1-4,8,10,12-13; 1 Corinthians 3:16-23; Matthew 5:38-48) In the first reading from Leviticus 19, the Lord commands us to: “Be holy, for I, the LORD your God, am holy.” He then provides some commands on how to be holy including: “You shall not bear hatred for your […]
Five years ago I received a letter from a former Special Forces officer and graduate of West Point—a career Army veteran—serving in Baghdad as a security adviser to Iraqi authorities. A Catholic himself, he wrote to me about the harassment and violence Iraqi Christians face as part of their daily routine. He knew, as many […]
Over the past few years, as I’ve talked about Catholics and the obligations of citizenship, two quotations have always guided my thinking. The first is from the French writer Charles Péguy. Péguy once said that “Freedom is a system based on courage.” What he meant is this: We’re never truly “free” until we have the […]
OSWALD was of a noble Saxon family, and was endowed with a very rare and beautiful form of body and with a singular piety of soul. He was brought up by his uncle, St. Odo, Archbishop of Canterbury, and was chosen, while still young, dean of the secular canons of Winchester, then very relaxed. His […]
