When Benedict became Pope, he emphasized that the question of God is the first question of all and that this question necessarily involves all of us without distinction. Vatican spokesperson, Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi recalled the Holy Father’s firm resolve to dialogue with the unbelieving world since the early dawn of his papacy. Pope Benedict ...read more

Focolare comes from the Italian word meaning “hearth” or “family fireside”. This is a concept whose absence has been sorely felt in our times. People don’t gather around warmth communally anymore. Since the time of the fireside gatherings we have scrambled and sought ways to replicate this unique-and necessary- source of fellowship and solidarity that ...read more

Does anyone have time for book clubs anymore?  While the idea is quaint, I can’t tell you how many times a group of friends and I have “committed” to reading numerous must-reads only to have them turn into “should-have” reads. Throughout the past week, though, a few of my colleagues and I had the privilege ...read more

The Church certainly does her share of proclaiming saints. If you think about it, it’s an amazing act of faith–the Church, by Her relationship to the Holy Spirit is able to confidently announce that a soul is in Heaven. If we recall  St. Luke’s account of the good thief on the cross adjacent to Jesus; ...read more

February might become the new month of Mary. Within the past month, she has been making regular appearances in my life. No, not those kind of appearances. Instead, as is her habit, her appearances are often quiet suggestions of beauty, gentleness and humility. Such is her way. This  “re-awakening” to the beauty of Mary within ...read more

Are there times when forgiveness doesn’t come easy to you? Is there a particular offense that would take your entire will to pardon? Last week, we posed this question on Facebook and not surprisingly, sex offenses were among the most common answers. With that said, we are reminded of the radical nature of forgiveness. If ...read more

Growing up, my mother would repeat this slogan as if it were her own. That said, I can’t deny its truth. The phrase was originally hatched as the mantra for the Family Rosary Crusade (started by Servant of God Father Patrick Peyton,CSC) . The crusade began in 1942 and the slogan was apparently first broadcast ...read more

The media have been turning our eyes to Egypt throughout these past few weeks. We have seen fiery images of shouting mobs, people climbing tanks and angry demonstrating. Just one month before all of this started, we heard about a bombing in Alexandria, the nation’s second largest city. The target? A Coptic (Christian) Church. Up ...read more

This week the Perspectives Weekly team gave in to peer-pressure…in the best possible way. Last week, the Canadian bishops’ newly-released pastoral letter on chastity inspired us to initiate a discussion first on Facebook and then with a panel of young, single people. The discussion and the comments on Facebook became so extensive that we felt ...read more

A few days back, Fr. Tom sent around this article from Catholic News Service. The article presents an overview of a recent conference at Fordham University. The goal of the conference was to come up with ways of reaching the Church’s “20-somethings” in order to better meet their (our) needs. For a few reasons, some which ...read more