So far we’ve looked at two things that must be present for mercy to take place, we’ve seen the direct relationship between mercy and love and forgiveness. We’ve also looked at why we are being invited to “walk through the door” of mercy this year. This week and next, as we celebrate Christmas and the beginning ...read more

Call it an early Christmas Gift, call it a message about the kind of mercy Pope Francis wants us to show to the world. Whatever you want to call, the end result is the same: Mother Teresa is going to be canonized. A second miracle attributed to her intercession has been approved by Pope Francis. The ...read more

This morning the Vatican promoted the cause of American Hospitaller Brother William Gagnon, who died ministering in Vietnam during war: The heroic virtue of the Servant of God William Gagnon, professed Religious of the Hospitaller Order of St John; born in Dover, USA, 16 May 1905 and died in Hô Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon), ...read more

Recently, as we prepare for Christmas, I read a reflection that said that we are living times of mercy. It said that we are living the promise that God made to Abraham – this was God’s proposal to our human condition: To give us his mercy. And as a response to God’s promise, Mary said ...read more

Last week, I explained how asking a simple question like how we should care for the environment led us to ask many more other questions, from looking through the creation narrative in the Book of Genesis, to discovering that our desire to learn about created things begins with a sense of wonder. Sr. Damien Marie ...read more

CUA students enjoy group discussion while they reflect on the lives of the saints. Earlier this year, I was in Washington D.C. to lead the Women’s Lenten Retreat for CUA’s Campus Ministry. The girls were amazing, I loved spending time with them. Their faith and their joy was inspiring. They were like the Church’s Light Brigade! ...read more

Many people have asked me either how we came to work on a project about the environment, or how we ended up with the format that we ended up with. My response is always that we began with one question, “why should we care for the environment?” and we tried to be honest and thorough ...read more

While we celebrate Pope Francis’ historic visit to Uganda today, I thought I’d share with you this classic image of Pope John Paul II during his apostolic visit to Uganda in 1993. Wonderful, isn’t it? During the 26 and a half years of his pontificate, John Paul II was a pilgrim to 129 different countries ...read more

As I begin writing this, one week has passed since the series of terrorist attacks in Paris on November 13. I currently live about 6 km from the scene of the worst of the bloodshed of November 13: the Bataclan concert hall where 89 of the 129 deaths occurred. At about 10:15 that evening, I ...read more

Listening to all the readings at Mass about the end of times at this time of the year makes you wonder if we should be proclaiming them as “the Good News!” Recently while visiting my parents I found a book titled, “The Final Hour.” It’s about all the end-time prophecies. I have to be honest, ...read more