I was in the second grade, and my mother gave me a piece of yellow lined paper. She had written the words to a prayer on it. She told me to say the prayer 15 times every day starting on the first Sunday of Advent until Christmas Day.
Guest Columnists
Irish Faith and Culture Help Shape Diocese
As the new coordinator of Ministry to the Irish Immigrants, I look forward to building upon the good work of my predecessors. I hope to bring together all Irish Americans in Brooklyn and Queens through our heritage, our culture and above all, our faith of Jesus Christ.
Seeking the Grace of God Through All Generations
Prayer is – and always has been – a daily part of our family’s lives. I see it evident every day in the actions of our children and in the lives of our childrens’ children. Reflecting back, some of the happiest days and fondest memories of our family life are the days of receiving the sacraments. The Church forever present within us.
What’s Changed Since “Humanae Vitae”?
Rome’s Pontifical Gregorian University is hosting a lecture series to mark the 50th anniversary of “Humanae Vitae.” The series promises to examine problems that have emerged since Pope Paul wrote on the ethics of human love and family-planning. Yet the absence of “Humanae Vitae” proponents among the lecturers does not fill me with confidence.
The Ones Who Won’t Be Home For the Holidays
by Laura Kelly Fanucci
THIS SEASON SPARKLES with joy. We open our homes to family and friends, greeting each other at wreath-decked doors under twinkling lights.
A Museum For Which To Be Thankful
ON SEPT. 29, 1952, the publication of the complete Revised Standard Version (RSV) of the Bible was celebrated at the National Guard Armory in Washington, D.C., and the principal speaker was the U.S. Secretary of State, Dean Acheson.
Discerning the Priesthood
More often than not, that was the response I got when telling someone I was studying to be a Catholic priest. It was usually followed with, “You’re gonna be very lonely and miserable.”
As The Bard Might Say
FOUR CENTURIES AFTER his death, Shakespeare remains a peerless playwright because of his remarkable insight into the human condition. Love, ambition, fear, guilt, nobility, pomposity, patriotism, absurdity, sheer wickedness – you name it, Will grasped something of its essence. His work continues to help us understand ourselves better because whatever the changing of times and seasons, human nature changes very little.
Discover the Joy of God’s Salvation
IT IS ALWAYS a great joy and relief when a favor of something really needed shows up in the most unexpected moment. There is a sense of gratitude in the fact of being assisted and helped when you are trying to find out the best answer to your circumstances. Sometimes the best answer is that one that is according to God’s plan, and not what we have planned or thought.
Harassment: What’s Changed?
MANY YEARS AGO, I was a young history teacher in a small Catholic school. It was, in most respects, a wonderful place, that was graced by a bevy of competent Ursuline sisters.