Last Sunday, Pope Francis celebrated the opening Mass for the Extraordinary Synod of Bishops on the topic of the family. Before the liturgy began, the Holy Father stopped and did something extraordinary – he venerated the relics of a family of saints.
Author: settinger
Beatified in New Jersey
NEWARK, N.J. (CNS) – More than 2,200 people packed the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark Oct. 4 to celebrate the first beatification liturgy in the U.S.
75 Years of Ethnic Diversity in Rego Park (with slide show)
Seventy-five years ago, Catholics in Annadale Park rejoiced when a new parish was formed to serve the growing Irish and Italian families in this community of creeks and fields dotted with small houses and a few stores.
Nuestra Voz’s Editor On Reality TV Show
Last month, Univision premiered its newest reality TV show called “Va por Ti,” a singing competition featuring 28 Hispanic men and women from different regions of the U.S.
MercyFirst Recognizes Exceptional Staffers
MercyFirst celebrated Mercy Day, the feast of Our Lady of Mercy and the founding of the Sisters of Mercy, on Friday, Sept. 26. Sisters of Mercy thanked the staff for being the heart, the hands, the feet and arms that makes mercy visible through all MercyFirst programs. MercyFirst is a sponsored ministry of the Sisters […]
Lessons Learned from Public Acts of Betrayal
Feelings about two important news stories of the past few weeks can be described with one word, but it’s not the word most people are using.
Living Without Being on Display
When I was a kid, “sharing” meant splitting your lunch sandwich with a friend or sharing a book or toy. Today, “sharing” usually means writing a status update on Facebook, posting an Instagram photo or talking via Snapchat.
Cinema and the Sacred
As the technological revolution transforms movies and computer-induced images seem to multiply magically, movies seem dumber and dumber. Still, my faith in the importance, power and beauty of film has been renewed by the 2013 Polish masterpiece, “Ida,” written and directed by Pawel Pawlikowski.
Our Witness Is an Effective Force
Some laughter or chuckles from the congregation at the right moment assure a preacher he got his point across to them. While a homilist may find it amusing to notice one person in a pew gesturing to another as if to say, “He’s talking about you,” he hopes everyone gathered for worship realizes the Scriptures are being proclaimed for them.
Vatican Media Aims to Spread the Word
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – A new papal commission is looking at how Vatican media outlets can better communicate the Church’s message “of healing, of love, of hope, and of generosity of spirit,” said the panel’s leader.