He dwells among us: Stand beside her

In the struggle against suffering, there is one sword we should all take up By Bishop Richard F. Stika July is always a special time when I give particular thanks to God for the gifts of life, of baptism and of our country. Mom gave birth to me on the …

He dwells among us: Bucket lists

Joy comes from being the hands, the face and the heart of Christ to others Have you ever been asked, “What’s on your bucket list?” For those not familiar with the phrase, it is a list of things that a person wants to do before he or she dies. For …

He dwells among us: The journey to Bethlehem

‘The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light,’ and St. Joseph is our sure guide With the beginning of Advent, the Church marks the start of a new liturgical year, a full month before we celebrate the beginning of a new calendar year. And this seems fitting …

He dwells among us: Love and mercy

The ‘Gospel of Life’ challenges us to show mercy even to those who denied it to others Thirty-six years ago, two of my uncles were senselessly and brutally gunned down during a robbery of their small urban grocery store. The gunman, a 16-year-old youth, was arrested six months later but …

Bishop urges thoughtful solution to border crisis

By Bishop Richard F. Stika Imagine being a parent of five children and living with the very real expectation and fear that one of them, or worse yet, all of them, could be the targets of a ruthless and violent gang that you have no power to stop. The circumstances …

He dwells among us: ‘You shall be my witness’

The prayer of every priest, ‘Lord, what do you want me to do?’ always leads to greater joy I love the Easter Season. With the exception maybe of the pollen and other allergens, there is always so much to look forward to in this season—warmer weather, the end of a …

He dwells among us: The Great Witness

We are one team in the great common witness made up of many movements that further the Church I think people like to join groups perhaps because they want to help others and to be a part of something greater than themselves. I remember my excitement when I first joined …

He dwells among us: With the help of the saints

Holiness is answer to question of what it means to be truly human; saints are special friends to help us Shortly after his election as pope in 1958, the world was introduced to the quick wit and humor of Blessed John XXIII. “Anybody can be Pope,” he exclaimed, and “the …

He dwells among us: Hope and new beginnings

Advent reminds us of what a new beginning truly is when our hope is Christ We all look forward to the new beginnings that mark life’s journey, which we hope will be filled with much good in our future and in the lives of others. And with every life disappointment …

He dwells among us: So much to be thankful for

Our Eucharistic Congress reminds us to be thankful for the past and hopeful for the future Even three weeks after our Eucharistic Congress, I continue to be amazed by the number of people who tell me of how their lives were touched, renewed, and even transformed the weekend of Sept. …

He dwells among us: Celebrating our Eucharistic Congress

An encounter with the risen Christ himself As I sit down to compose this column, I am within sight of our 25th Jubilee Anniversary as a diocese and our region’s first Eucharistic Congress. I must say, I am filled with great joy and anticipation as we approach these two important …

He dwells among us: Truth and freedom

The liberty we celebrate also is a summons to protect and defend ‘self-evident truths’ Freedom isn’t free. We are particularly reminded of this during our solemn observance of Memorial Day as well as with Independence and Veterans days. For it is all too easy to take for granted our freedoms …