He dwells among us: As one who serves

What is your motto, your message to the world? By Bishop Richard F. Stika Will there be a deacon at Mass?” It’s a question that makes me smile. “Yes,” I reply, “I am one.” Many people don’t realize that once ordained a deacon, you always are a deacon, even if …

Once upon a time: Building His Church, living stone by living stone

By Monsignor Xavier Mankel With the canonizations of Pope John Paul II, Mother Teresa of Calcutta, Louis and Zelie Martin, and many other lesser-known saints, we should have at our disposal a sufficient number of saints from a catalogue of the saints to cultivate devotions for many years to come. …

He dwells among us: Ocean of mercy

In life’s hard journey, we all must dive into the ocean of mercy By Bishop Richard F. Stika As the media began reporting last month on the release of Pope Francis’ document on marriage and family, titled The Joy of Love (Amoris Laetitia), I thought of the story of the …

Understanding the sacraments: A multilingual celebration of Mass

Guidelines for liturgy can enhance our cultural and linguistic diversity By Father Randy Stice One of the riches of diocese is its growing cultural diversity, with Mass celebrated in a number of different languages, including Spanish, Vietnamese, and Korean. In this respect we mirror the diversity of the Church in …

Marriage enrichment: Helping couples blend their faith

Ecumenical, interfaith marriages should openly discuss religious practice By Marian Christiana Marriage preparation is one of the great joys of my job. I love working with couples of all ages who are beginning their marital journey. Their happiness and optimism is infectious, and their enthusiasm spills over into my own …

Once upon a time: The Holy Week(s) of Easter

Celebration of Christ’s triumph over death has expanded through the years Holy Week always has been special. Before there was a Holy Week, Easter began with the Easter vigil. And before many years had passed Easter included seven days beginning on Palm Sunday. Gradually the week turned into two weeks, …

Living the readings: The Easter season

Fifty days of rejoicing lead the faithful to feast of Pentecost By Father Joseph Brando In this previous column, we explored the entire season of Lent. Today, we will delve into the Sundays of the Easter season, including the great day of Pentecost. Since we are covering twice as many …

He dwells among us: Walls of illusion

In this Year of Mercy, let’s tear down the walls of fear dividing us from God and neighbor By Bishop Richard F. Stika With the Easter season we again rejoice in the words, “Christ is Risen!” For by His death and resurrection, the walls of sin that separated us have …

Once upon a time: Getting from ashes to Easter

By Monsignor Xavier Mankel Every parish has some. Packed away in a box or two, there is a supply of bunting and other material used to drape the doors of the parish church in gold and white when the pope dies. In civil matters, the bunting may be red, white …

Merciful like Joseph

On our pilgrim journey of life, call upon the help of St. Joseph as your guide By Bishop Richard F. Stika What would you think if you had a dream involving seven healthy cows and seven well-developed ears of corn, followed by a vision of seven gaunt, emaciated cows and …

Understanding the sacraments: Revising the Liturgy of the Hours

Also known as the Divine Office, it is the official prayer of the Catholic Church By Father Randy Stice In recent columns we have looked at several revised liturgical books: the Order of Celebrating Marriage, the Order of Confirmation, and the third edition of the Misal Romano, the Spanish Missal. …