In the Jubilee Year of 2000, John Paul II made a very insightful statement.  He said: “Our Christian witness would be hopelessly inadequate if we ourselves had not first contemplated the face of the Lord.”  The same might be said of our fully entering into the Christmas season. Christmas is a time in which we ...read more

The seasons of Advent and Christmas seem to come so quickly and to be filled with many activities to say the least. In the everyday planning and preparations for family and community celebrations there are inevitably certain individuals who for whatever reason go unnoticed or unrecognized. They make important contributions. They are invaluable in their ...read more

Historically speaking, the church had to take root somewhere. When in the early 30’s AD Jesus of Nazareth was executed, rose from the dead and sent his Spirit to be with his little band of disciples, Rome was the dominant political and social player. Peter and Paul brought the faith to Rome before being executed ...read more

Regardless of background, ethnicity or faith tradition, almost everyone in our society today would argue that education is important.  We all acknowledge that becoming an “educated” person is worthwhile.  We spend a huge portion of our earnings and savings (or all of them and more!) on achieving that goal.  But, what does it mean to ...read more

Perched on the side of a mountain in the central Italian province of Umbria is the historic town of Assisi, best known as the hometown of St. Francis, one of Christianity’s most revered saints. I’ve spoken to many visitors to Assisi over the past few years – especially since Cardinal Bergoglio was elected pope and ...read more

ANGELUS August 15, 2014 Dear Brothers and Sisters, At the end of our Mass, we turn once more to Our Lady, Queen of Heaven. To her we bring all our joys, our sorrows and our hopes. We especially entrust to her all who lost their lives in the sinking of the Se-Wol ferry, as well ...read more

Prayer for Justice and Peace in the Holy Lands Lord our God, author of life and giver of peace, the tragic events unfolding in Iraq, Syria, Israel and Palestine pain us. We know that violence is not conquered by violence. We remember all those forced from their homes in Iraq. We entrust to your loving ...read more

On Wednesday August 6, we celebrate the Feast of the Transfiguration of our Lord on Mount Tabor. We also remember with gratitude Venerable Pope Paul VI (Giovanni Battista Montini) who died this day thirty-six years ago at the age of 80. The Final Years of Pope Paul VI Excerpt from his Apostolic Exhortation “GAUDETE IN DOMINO” ...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