Welcome address by Msgr. Lazzaro You Heung-sik Mass in the World Cup Stadium (15 August 2014) Our beloved Papa Francesco, thank you for being here with us! Thirty years ago – and then again five years later – Pope John Paul II canonized last April, was the first pontiff to visit Korea. The emotion of ...read more

Pope Francis has sent a video message to the people of Korea, broadcast on Korean television over the weekend and ahead of his Apostolic journey to Korea. In the message, the Holy Father begins by inviting the Korean people to pray with him that his upcoming visit will bear fruit for the Church and for ...read more

Recently someone asked me why Pope Francis keeps mentioning the devil, as if the devil actually existed (see Fr. Rosica’s recent post, Why in the devil does Pope Francis speak so much about the prince of this world? )This person alleged that, just as ogres and leprechauns, devils do not exist. But the Catholic Church is ...read more

Here is Pope Francis’ greeting conveyed to the 132nd Supreme Convention of the Knights of Columbus in Orlando, Florida on August 5, 2014: His Holiness Pope Francis was pleased to learn that from 5 to 7 August 2014 the 132nd Supreme Convention of the Knights of Columbus will be held in Orlando, Florida. He has ...read more

For the last couple of weeks I’ve been sharing with you some of the content from a conference in homiletics that I recently attended as part of St. Augustine’s Seminary’s 100th anniversary celebrations (Read part 1, part 2, part 3 and part 4). There are many ways to prepare a homily, but preaching experts agree ...read more

Sebastian Gomes, Salt + Light  writer/producer/director of The Francis Effect, gives us a glimpse into filming the documentary: David Gibson is a renowned journalist, author and Catholic commentator.  As someone who knows well the history of the modern papacy and how the Vatican functions, he was a “must have” for our documentary.  I suspect that you ...read more

Sebastian Gomes, Salt + Light  writer/producer/director gives us a glimpse into filming The Francis Effect, and particularly his interview with Diane Sawyer: A person of Diane Sawyer’s stature needs no introduction. She is simply one of the best and most distinguished journalists in the English-speaking world. When we asked if she would be willing to do ...read more

Proclaiming the Word: Part Four Last time we looked at why a homily must be scriptural, pastoral, catechetical and liturgical and that there should be one key message (focus) and one suggestion as to how we can respond to that message (function). These are great suggestions for organizing your text. However, no matter what, the ...read more

Last time  I wrote about what makes a good homily and what is an image of a preacher.  At the preaching conference, most of the presenters dedicated their talks to how a homilist should prepare. “Prepare the homilist; not the homily” was a phrase used by Cardinal Thomas Collins of Toronto during the keynote opening ...read more

As I wrote last Sunday, last week I attended a preaching conference as part of St. Augustine’s Seminary 100th anniversary events. It was a who’s who in preaching, with all the talks by homiletics experts from all over North America. I think about homilies all the time. Not so much because I have to prepare ...read more