Last week, I had the opportunity to con-celebrate Mass with two priests who, together, have 120 years of priestly experience.  Only bringing 6 years to the Altar myself, I was somewhat in awe of the two aged servants who have…

‘In the New Covenant, prayer is the living relationship of the children of God with their Father who is good beyond measure, with his Son Jesus Christ and with the Holy Spirit.’  With these words, from the introduction to the…

“Um, Mom, this is the small one.”
Two years ago, I had the opportunity to travel to Rome with my parents.  They had never been, while I was making my fourth trip to the Eternal City.  I had a sense…

This week is a study of contradictions.  We begin the week we call ‘Holy’ by welcoming Christ triumphantly into Jerusalem.  Just a few short moments later, we proclaim the story of his Passion from one of the Synoptic Gospels.  Holy…

In a gathering, once upon a time, a Catholic priest was getting a good-natured ribbing from a friend: “You Catholics,” the friend quipped, “divide the world to conquer it.”
“It’s true,” the priest answered back, “we feel like we own…

Jesus’ very last words in the Gospel of Matthew form a basis for the foundation and structure of the Church: “Behold, I am with you always, even until the end of the age.”  As He says these words to the…

Every year, following the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, the Church in the United States celebrates National Vocation Awareness Week , this year from January 10-16. This week is set aside to call to mind that we all…

As we once again journey through the Advent season, at least part of me always wonders what was going through Mary’s mind during that journey.  The somewhat haunting refrain of a popular carol asks: ‘Mary did you know that your…

Recently, I had the opportunity to attend a conference sponsored by the Coming Home Network focused on the issue of papal authority in the Church: how it developed and what it means for the Church today. The main focus of…

Known for the way he developed the interplay between light and darkness in his paintings, the Italian master Caravaggio has had a lasting impact in the world of art since his troubled life ended nearly 400 years ago.  His distinctive…