Catholic Exchange

Spiritual Needs Also Require Tending

• Archives
• Monday, December 25th, 2006
• Archbishop John Favalora

In addition to the seven corporal works of mercy, the Church lists seven spiritual works of mercy. These are:

To admonish sinners
To instruct the ignorant
To counsel the doubtful
To comfort the sorrowful
To bear wrongs patiently
To forgive… Read More

May The Passion Inspire Us to Deeper Lenten Reflection

• Archives
• Thursday, March 10th, 2005
• Archbishop John Favalora

(The Passion of The Christ opens nationwide tomorrow for its second theatrical release. The new version is titled The Passion Recut, since approximately 6 minutes have been cut from the film. The following column by Archbishop Favalora was written last… Read More

Justice vs. mercy

• Archives
• Friday, August 8th, 2003
• Archbishop John Favalora

Second of two parts
My dear friends,
How did the Church move from centuries of passive acceptance of the death penalty to what some people today would call active opposition?
As I said in my last column, the Church has… Read More

Natural Family Planning: A secret no more

• Archives
• Wednesday, July 30th, 2003
• Archbishop John Favalora

First of two parts
My dear friends,
Some people call it the best kept secret in the Catholic Church. Here in the Archdiocese of Miami, we're determined to change that.
I am referring to Natural Family Planning, an effective, totally… Read More

Heaven and Hell: Looks are Irrelevant

• Archives
• Saturday, March 15th, 2003
• Archbishop John Favalora

My dear friends,
Pope John Paul II is not mistaken. He is not contradicting centuries of Church teaching. So why are two short paragraphs, read at two general audiences in late July, 2001 still generating controversy?
I am speaking, of… Read More

Make God a Part of Your Daily Life

• Archives
• Wednesday, January 15th, 2003
• Archbishop John Favalora

My dear friends,
Do you pray with your children? Do you say grace before meals? Do you say a quick prayer when you get up in the morning, and another before you go to sleep at night? How often do… Read More

Why Pray Through Mary? Mothers’ Pleas are Powerful

• Archives
• Thursday, November 21st, 2002
• Archbishop John Favalora

My dear friends,
People of other faiths often wonder why Catholics pray to Mary and the saints. Why not go straight to Jesus, or God himself? Why rely on intermediaries?
The theological explanation is sometimes difficult to understand. We do… Read More

Of saints, relics and devotions

• Archives
• Tuesday, October 29th, 2002
• Archbishop John Favalora

My dear friends,
The relics of St. Therese of Lisieux, the Little Flower, visited South Florida, inspiring thousands to prayer and thousands more — including Catholics — to bewilderment: Why all this fuss about the bones of a saint? Isn't… Read More

Deacons’ special call: To serve the poor

• Archives
• Wednesday, October 9th, 2002
• Archbishop John Favalora

(Second of two parts)
My dear friends,
I stated last time that the ministry of service is an integral part of the permanent diaconate. In fact, the first deacons were ordained by the Apostles precisely to care for the widows… Read More

What is a permanent deacon, anyway?

• Archives
• Tuesday, October 8th, 2002
• Archbishop John Favalora

(First of two parts)
My dear friends,
Back in 1971, my archbishop asked me to start the permanent diaconate program in the Archdiocese of New Orleans. He gave me the assignment in June, instructing that the first class start in… Read More