The college semester is upon us again, and at most universities the new academic year is either now beginning or has recently begun [1]. For the returning students, this means a return to familiar stomping grounds and reunions with friends before the courses really buckle down into the semester grind. For the new students, it […]
A Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) news blog featured a story about A new line of clothing for people with Downs Syndrome has been launched. Karen Bowersox of Mentor OH, has developed a clothing line specifically for people with the condition. Being an advocate for people with disabilities, I took note of the story. It’s not […]
After the Confetior and a few short prayers (such as the Kyrie), the priest then intones the Gloria by proclaiming the first few words aloud: Gloria in excelsis Deo, Glory to God in the highest. We are reminded of the night Christ was born, when the angels proclaimed this very phrase to the world. What we might not […]
“We are strong in our faith, rooted in our history. We have been here for 2000 years. We refuse to go!” Iraq and Syria are in turmoil. In Iraq, Islamic radicals of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) are threatening to plunge the country back into civil war. In Syria, a ruthless regime […]
“Who do you say that I am?” That is a question that we are called to answer every day. Who it he? Is he God? Is he the Lord of our lives? Or was he just a good man who healed the sick and got crucified for crimes against the Jerusalem establishment a long time […]
This week, Pope Francis continued his Apostolic Visit to Korea where he spent time with youth and Bishops of the country. He shared that his visit can be summed up by three words: memory, hope, testimony. Like all Catholics, I have my own testimony. I am an adult convert to the Catholic Church. In 2012, […]
Pope Francis denounced the trend of moral relativism during a meeting on Sunday with Catholic bishops from Korea and around Asia. Christians must avoid the temptation “to compromise our faith, to water down the radical demands of the Gospel and to conform to the spirit of this age,” the pope said. He said that dialogue is “an essential part […]
Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion (Isaiah 22:19-23; Psalm 138:1-3,6,8; Romans 11:33-36; Matthew 16:13-20) God’s “Inscrutable” and “Unsearchable” Plan to Establish His Church Upon this rock I will build my church. (Matthew 16:18) For years, Mother Teresa of Calcutta was an object of international acclaim, a celebrity of sorts whom people wanted to […]
After finishing up one of the marriage classes we offer to couples preparing for marriage, we facilitators will often talk about what went right and necessary improvements. It seems no matter how much we prepare technology to work properly, it invariably has us jumping through hoops and frustrating us crazy. We joke about gremlins and […]
There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” –Maya Angelou It’s all about our stories. Everyone has them – many of them, in most cases. Your stories, taken all together, explain you. You can look in the mirror, see that face with wrinkles around your mouth and at the corners […]
The apostles thought she was a nuisance and asked Jesus to get rid of her. Jesus had gone to the region of Tyre and Sidon, modern-day Lebanon, and a local woman approached him for a favor. This was pagan country, home turf of the infamous Jezebel. The inhabitants of these parts were fondly referred to […]
“Do you pray the Rosary every day?,” Pope Francis asked the crowd at Castelgandolfo on the Feast of the Assumption last year. “But I’m not sure you do, he added, teasingly. “Yes!,” the crowd yelled back in unison. Pope Francis is traveling in South Korea this week, and thus he did not hold his weekly […]
After the Confetior and a series of prayers, the priest ascends the altar and begins to read the Introit. During High Mass, this is the set of verses that is chanted as Mass begins. In the Ordinary Form, this is referred to as the “opening verse”, and is actually optional. The priest might say it […]
When I first became a mom, I was not quite 23 years old. I lived 3 hours away from my parents and my friends, and I had no idea what I was doing. I didn’t have the internet or blogs back in those days, I really felt like we were completely on our own. I […]
Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion (Isaiah 56:1,6-7; Psalm 67:2-3,5-6,8; Romans 11:13-15,29-32; Matthew 15:21-28) The Power of Persistent Prayer Woman, great is your faith! (Matthew 15:28) Today’s Gospel reading gives us a vivid illustration of Jesus’ teaching that we need to ask, seek, and knock. Only this is not a parable or a […]
The news of Robin Williams’ death is heartbreaking, as is any news of the death of one of our heroes. Just as was the news of mega-church pastor Rick Warren’s son’s suicide. I can understand Williams and I feel pity and sorrow for those souls. I really can and do. Between the time I was 14-17 I tried on […]
“They are facing a human catastrophe and risk a real genocide. They need, water, food, shelter…” These were the words of the leader of Iraq’s biggest Catholic community as he made an impassioned plea for help to the international community following the fall of Iraq’s largest Christian town on the night of August 6th-7th. In […]
One of the most famous stories of the New Testament is the one about Jesus walking on the water. If there is any gospel story we never tire of hearing, this is it. The lake is rough.Though several of the apostles spent most of their life in a boat, they’re still worried. But when they […]
Not everyone reads the Bible. And even though many people who attend a church that is based in the Bible have beliefs that proceed from the “Good Book,” they don’t all adhere to 100 percent of those words – and perhaps don’t even know what is inside the book. Chances are they know the “highlights:” […]
Pope Francis resumed his catechesis on the Church, during his first General Audience since June. He focuses this week’s teaching on how Jesus fulfills the Old Testament by giving a new teaching on mercy in the beatitudes. Key Points: 1.)“John points to Jesus and calls us to follow him in repentance and conversion. The new […]
About one year after a marriage begins, the married couple enters a period of disillusionment, says Dr. Phil Mango. That’s when they realize that neither of them is perfect, and one person’s faults are reflected in the other person’s reaction almost daily. The same thing happens to newly ordained priests. After years spent in the seminary immersed […]
Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion (1 Kings 19:9,11-13; Psalm 85:9-14; Romans 9:1-5; Matthew 14:22-23) Learning to Listen to God’s Voice The Lord was not in the earthquake. (1 Kings 19:11) How often have you seen a movie where God appears amidst lightning bolts and angelic choirs and then speaks in a terrifying, […]
My earliest recollection of Caitlin was in her mother’s womb. Her mom and I were both pregnant with daughters. Information we did not know at the time, but would later bring great delight. This “wasn’t our first rodeo” as they say, I was on child number four and Caitlin made six. The girls were born […]
Only one miracle of Jesus is recorded in all four gospels–the multiplication of the loaves and fishes. I once heard a homilist give what he said was the real meaning of the story: the people in the crowd took out food they were hiding under their cloaks and shared it. Jesus’ preaching inspired the melting […]
