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

The Knights of Columbus, the world’s largest Catholic family fraternal service organization, is currently comprised of 1.8 million members in 15,000 councils world-wide. In addition to councils based out of local churches, the Knights of Columbus also have councils based out of Catholic colleges and universities. Here the Knights of Columbus council #1477 from the ...read more

On Thursday afternoon July 31, Sebstian Gomes, producer at Salt and Light gave this interview to Minnestota Public Radio (MPR). The background for the interview was the situation surrounding Archbishop John Nienstedt, Archbishop of Minneapolis-St. Paul. Listen to the radio interview here. Sebastian explained the Vatican’s response to and Pope Francis’ decisive actions on behalf ...read more

The Knights of Columbus is the world’s largest Catholic family fraternal service organization, with 1.8 million members in 15,000 councils world-wide. They strive to perform all good works as led by their four core principles- charity, unity, fraternity and patriotism. Here the Knights team up with the Special Olympics and Catholic Athletes for Christ to host ...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

 It’s always interesting to see what’s “going viral.”  Oftentimes it’s a hit pop song or music video, or some other video giving a quick dose of ridiculous comic relief.  But sometimes the world of social media provides a sudden and real opportunity for all people of good will to unite behind a cause for justice ...read more

Ever wonder where the idea for feathered caps came from? I recall my mother saying ‘that’s a feather in your cap’ to express an accomplishment. But, whenever she said it the first thing that came to mind was a pirate or buccaneer. Later I learnt these nefarious characters stole the idea from the landed gentry, ...read more

On the Feast of Mary Magdalene – July 22 “Love the sinner, hate the sin.” The famous catchphrase first appeared in the letters of St. Augustine, when he wrote, “With love for humanity and hatred of sins.” It was later included in the autobiography of Mohandas Gandhi as “Hate the sin and not the sinner.” ...read more