October is usually a good month for weather in Chicago. It is always a good month in the Church, because it begins with commemorating a popular saint who is a doctor of the church and patron of the missions: St.…

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, on Sept. 19, about 350 couples renewed their marriage vows during the annual Mass to celebrate the anniversary of those married 50 years. In reflecting on their 50 years together, some couples wrote that the…

On July 24, 2010, the Apostolic See of Rome confirmed the proper calendar, texts and adaptations for the dioceses of the United States of the third edition of the Roman Missal in the English language. The parishes of this and…

People live longer these days; many people in this country have about 10 more years of life than would have been the case years ago. The death of a child is always a tragedy, although many died in childhood a…

The Year for Priests ended in the universal church last June, on the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Christ’s love for his people is the origin of the ordained priesthood in the church. In our archdiocese, however, the…

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:
[Recently] I traveled with Bishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller and two priests of the archdiocese to the State of Michoacan in Mexico in order to learn about the place where many Catholics of Mexican origin in…

During this Easter season, the church presents, in the liturgy of the Mass, the various apparitions of the risen Christ. We hear how even those who knew him best often failed to recognize Jesus when he appeared after his rising…

One of the characters in the Christmas story who doesn’t appear around Jesus’ crib is King Herod. Herod was a powerful and able ruler who had rebuilt the great temple in Jerusalem. Instead of being grateful, many of his subjects…

The Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, followed a week later by the Feast of the Queenship of Mary, are moments to recall our own future with God. Because Christ is risen from the dead in his…

Pope Benedict’s recent encyclical letter is a dense read by anyone’s standards. It’s called “Charity in Truth,” and is a “social encyclical” in a long line of such letters in modern times.
No matter what topic the pope writes about,…