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 …
Marriage enrichment: Advice on natural family planning
NFP Awareness Week occurs in July to raise awareness, help couples be pro-woman, pro-man, pro-child Each year I dedicate my July column to Natural Family Planning Awareness Week. NFP Awareness Week is sponsored by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, and this year the educational campaign that goes along with …
Understanding the sacraments: Christ is always present
The Second Vatican Council and the liturgy The Year of Faith, which began on Oct. 11, 2011, and concludes on Nov. 24, celebrates the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council as well as the 20th anniversary of the publication of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. …
Once upon a time: Following the Catholic Church in real time
Faithful now have almost instant access to developments as information dirt trail turns into a superhighway My, how times have changed!” Grandmothers say this to granddaughters as a preface to negative remarks about ladies’ fashion that follow. Fathers may preface some remarks about wonderful improvements in the whole arena of …
