Spring Brings Light, Renewal and Hope

WHILE TAKING a walk on a beautiful spring Sunday, I ran into the neighbor girls digging in the dirt. “Hi, ladies,” I called cheerfully. They enthusiastically explained their activity. The skeletal remains of a baby rabbit had been discovered in the open window well by their basement. Funeral preparations were in progress.

A Most Beautiful Experience

Dear Editor: At the daily Traditional Latin Mass, the bell would ring, the priest comes to the altar, you would open your missal and silently begin with him. When it was over, the prayers after Mass were said asking St. Michael to help us fight the Devil.

Our Great Homilists

Dear Editor: I was happy that the preaching of Father Andrew Varrano got a shout out from a parishioner, but I am not a bit surprised. In the late ’40s and ’50s, Andy and I were classmates in Cathedral High School, College and (in my case for three years) Immaculate Conception Seminary in Huntington.

Growing Up Catholic

Dear Editor: Much thanks for the publication of my article, “Parish of His Youth Imbued an Irish Spirit”(Up Front and Personal, March 14). Also, much thanks for your great review (The Editor’s Space, Oct. 4, 2014) of my cousin Vincent Manago’s book on St. Lucy’s parish experience (“The Third Attic and Other Brooklyn Stories”).

Stopping the Decline

Dear Editor: George Weigel’s column on decline of European Christianity (Feb. 28) was thought-provoking. It is undeniable that European civilization and achievement were orchestrated by the foundations laid by the medieval church through its numerous centers of learning.

The Challenge of the Resurrection

The Lord is Risen! Alleluia! Alleluia! Death and destruction is swallowed up in victory. For a while, evil seemed to thrive but the Risen Lord sends out His spirit on all humankind. Now the Word can become flesh in us, if we allow it.

Youth Get Stuck in Church

More than one hundred gathered for the annual youth lock-in to have a good time and strengthen their relationships with God.

An End and a Beginning for a Man in Love

RECENTLY, I READ a newly published book by Brant Pitre, a Scripture scholar and seminary professor. “Jesus the Bridegroom: The Greatest Love Story Ever Told” (Image, 2014), has a simple premise: God loves us.

The Rosary Is Her Guiding Light

My earliest remembrance of the miracle of the rosary was when I was 5 years old and my great grandmother (on my father’s side), Amy Delapenha held them with reverence as she watched on television: boxing matches, followed by the ritual of “The Price is Right” with Bob Barker, then lunch with “Guiding Light” and “As The World Turns.”

Sacrament of Mercy

We’re still waiting on the concrete plans for the Holy Year of Mercy, which will be a Jubilee Year, announced by Pope Francis. We know that a papal bull will be proclaimed by the pope on Divine Mercy Sunday, April 12, and that the year will officially begin with the opening of the Holy Door at Saint Peter’s Basilica on the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, Dec. 8.