It wasn't exactly a match made in heaven, at least on the face of it. An aging, former theology grad-student was placed in charge of 18 young elementary students, preparing them for First Holy Communion. The teacher had never taught…

Everything we know about St. Stephen, one of the first deacons and Christianity's first martyr, comes from chapters six and seven of the Acts of the Apostles in the New Testament.

Stephen came from a family of Hellenists, Jews who…

Frankie Corcoran lifted the collar of his overcoat against the wind whipping up Park Avenue, lit a Marlboro, and checked his appearance in the reflection from the window of a nearby children's clothing store, the one with $50 anklets for…

One cannot help but be moved by the beautiful episode recounted in today's Gospel. Here we have two new mothers meeting and sharing their joy. But these two moms did not come together to swap pregnancy stories. And although Mary would…

What is a gift? It is something provided to another without expecting or demanding anything in return. It is not an exchange, at least not intentionally. It is a pure provision from you to someone else. In that sense, it…

When the Church celebrates the liturgy of Advent each year, she makes present this ancient expectancy of the Messiah, for by sharing in the long preparation for the Savior's first coming, the faithful renew their ardent desire for his second…

The last Christmas Eve my father was alive, he spent the evening and late into the night chatting with the four of us kids. He expressed his pride in us and then told each of us individually what he saw…

On All Saints' Day, I attended Mass at a local Catholic high school.  The celebrant, the pastor of a nearby parish, started the Mass by saying to the student body of about 800 kids: "Is everyone here sorry for all…

The Appian Way in Rome, like most of the sites in the Eternal City, is a tour de force of early Christian history. The military road for the vast Roman Empire was constructed in 312BC and is composed of massive flat…

During the weeks of Advent leading up to Christmas, you'll find many essays and op-eds lamenting the rampant materialism that accompanies the season.  By "materialism" the writers generally mean consumerism, the excessive focus on presents and gift-giving to the exclusion…