Dear Editor: It was quite encouraging for me to read about the rededication of Our Lady of Solace Shrine Church in Coney Island (Dec. 26-Jan. 2). The early years of my 60-years of matrimony were spent in that parish. I was blessed with the sacraments in that church and both of my sons received the […]
Author: settinger
Thank God for The Tribunal
Dear Editor: On my wedding day, I was thrilled. We had dated for about eight years. As I arrived at the altar, the man who told me, “Beautiful, just beautiful!” wasn’t my husband, it was the presider. My husband didn’t even acknowledge me. I couldn’t figure it out. I assumed it was nerves. Later during […]
Support Our Priests
We have been saddened to read in the past month of the sins and problems of some local priests in the daily newspapers. Struggles with serious drug addiction, failure to live up to priestly promises of chaste celibacy, engaging in lewd and perverted lifestyle, these are just some of the things reported about two priests […]
Push for Education Tax Credit Begins Again
The battle for fairness in education in New York State is underway again. For years, the Bishops of New York have been fighting for some kind of financial relief for parents who pay tuition in Catholic schools. It seems only fair since parents who choose a Catholic education for their children are being hit twice […]
Best Christmas Ever
Dear Editor: I am writing to you because I wanted to show my gratitude to God for giving me my best Christmas ever. It began on the nights of the 17th and 18th of December when I felt that my help was not needed anymore. The negative voice was trying to influence me and for […]
Act Against the Violence
Dear Editor: I commend The Tablet for its Dec. 12 editorial, “End the Violence.” Yes, we must pray, but as advocates, we also must act. Mass murder seems to occur in America every other week. Its frequency is frightening. Can anything be done? To quote from your editorial, “We recognize the Second Amendment right to […]
Bright Christmas Thanks
Dear Editor: Greetings from Trinity Human Service Corporation (THSC)! On behalf of our Executive Director, Father Pedro De Oliveira, O.F.M. Conv., and the staff and volunteers at THSC, I would like to express our heartfelt appreciation for the Bright Christmas Campaign grant. Your grant helped us provide Christmas gifts for many children in our neighborhood. […]
Looking Back
As the year 2015 transitions to 2016, it is traditional to make a list of important events and to reflect on them. However, if we were to do so, we might grow depressed. We had more gun violence in New York City and more random street crimes. Natural law was thrown out the window by the U.S. Supreme Court on June 26 with the recognition of same-sex marriage. With Vanity Fair’s cover celebrating Caitlyn Jenner, it appeared for many in our country that gender is now forever fluid, that one could be born with one sex but one’s gender could be shifting throughout one’s lifetime. Beloved comedian Bill Cosby was accused again and again by victims as a perverted sexual predator and finally arrested and released on bail to await trial. And the list of the secularization and moral decline of the United States can go on and on.
Jesus, Mary and Joseph: No Ordinary Family
ONE OF THE most beautiful Christmas cards I have seen is a play on the typical picture of the Holy Family. In this particular scene, Mary is asleep on a cot made of hay and Joseph is walking while cradling the Infant in his arms. It is a tender scene of the healthy love of a father for his son which, I must admit, makes me very jealous. I have often said that if I have any regrets about my vocation, the regret would be that I will never have a son. So, I find the image of Joseph holding his newborn baby boy quite touching.
Immersing Others in A Pool of Love
A wise priest once told me that mercy is where love meets suffering. That’s a pretty profound definition. I’ve pondered it often, even meditated on it, but I’m not sure I really understood it until I recently saw a letter from Calvary Hospital in the Bronx.