Persevere in faith to receive the mercy of the Lord Once again, the basic theme of the Sunday liturgies this October is plain to see. Every single reading calls us to persevere in our faith under all circumstances. To hammer home this message the Church takes all of its second …
Understanding the sacraments: What is a cathedral?
The building is ‘a symbol of the spiritual temple that is built up in souls’ How is a cathedral different from all of the other church buildings in a diocese? The most authoritative answer to this question is provided by the Ceremonial of Bishops (chapter 3), a text promulgated by …
Once upon a time: Events have ‘wonderful effect on our lives’
A 1913 expo and the Eucharistic Congress both celebrated the past while looking ahead to the future A once-in-a-lifetime experience is usually good for us. Our recent Eucharistic Congress is an example of a quite rare event that can have a wonderful effect on our lives. Such exhibitions help us …
The truth about marriage: Turn off the noise, turn on the attention
In July I attended the National Association of Catholic Family Life Ministers conference (NACFLM) in St. Louis. During one of the breakout sessions, the presenter mentioned that when he speaks to couples with hurting marriages, the couples’ conversation can be broken down to two basic points…the wife wants to be …
Fifteen ways to conquer pride
There is no menace to the spiritual life more dangerous, more prevalent, or more potent than pride. It is the basic source of all sin. If we can eradicate pride from our lives, we can enjoy living in the grace of God to the full. In September, we will go …
Introducing the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy: the most sacred mystery of the Eucharist
As part of the observance of the Year of Faith we have been looking at the Second Vatican Council’s Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy (Sacrosanctum Concilium), the first document promulgated by the Council. So far we have looked at the Constitution’s understanding of the liturgy (my first column) and the …
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 …
Living the readings: Living in an imperfect world
Gaining salvation by putting away parts of us that are earthly August is a difficult month with its heat and humidity. It’s the perfect time to meditate on how a Christian should live in a world that can be a very difficult place to evaluate, to make decisions, and to …
Marriage enrichment: Reignite the spark to enrich a marriage
Try breaking old habits, traditions once in a while and other tips to keep the romance alive My husband and I are celebrating our 33rd wedding anniversary this month. Somewhere along the line we began a tradition of going out to dinner and a movie to celebrate our anniversary. This …
Understanding the sacraments: Principles of reform
Vatican II liturgy restoration ensured faithful would experience an encounter with Blessed Trinity Last month, in recognition of the Year of Faith, I introduced the Second Vatican Council’s Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy (Sacrosanctum Concilium). I began by looking at the constitution’s description of the liturgy in order to understand …
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 …
Living the readings: A month of virtue
Great things are happening to us as power of God goes to work Some may be led to think that holiness is boring. They may claim that it is monotonous in that holy people do nothing but good. They define being good as avoiding evil. To reduce goodness to doing …
