THIS PAST SUMMER, my wife Carol and I were fortunate to discover, in the “Around the Diocese” section of The Tablet, some marvelous dramatic musicals, specifically, ”Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” at St. Margaret’s, Middle Village and ”Beauty and the Beast” at Holy Child Jesus, Richmond Hill.
by AnnaMarie Prono
I NEVER EXPECTED shingles to hijack the last few weeks of summer, but it did. The good news is that it typically only strikes one side of the body. In my case, it was the right side. I could draw a line over the center of my scalp and down my face, and the blistering sores never crossed over to the left side. The bad news is, shingles is ugly, extremely painful and it doesn’t leave soon after the medication starts.
DURING THE LONG Lent of 2002, Sister Betsy Conway, who lived in the Bostonian epicenter of the clerical sexual abuse crisis, spoke for many self-identified progressive Catholics when she told syndicated columnist Michael Kelly, “This is our Church, all of us, and we need to take it back.”
by Christian Rada
SINCE I ENTERED marriage ministry two years ago as coordinator of marriage, family life, and respect life education for the Diocese of Brooklyn, I have met with countless couples that are preparing for matrimony.
“Be thou my vision.” The ancient Irish words capture what I want for myself and my children: to keep the vision of God at the center of our lives. But how? Some days it feels helpless and hard enough to cling to my own faith, let alone foster theirs.
WHEN THE SECOND volume of my John Paul II biography, “The End and the Beginning,” was published in 2010, I thought I was finished with John Paul book-making. I hoped I’d done my best in bringing to a global audience the full story of a rich, complex life that had bent the curve of history in a more humane direction.
by Sister Marie Mackey, C.S.J.
ALL STATES OF life well-lived are a source of joy for the individual and for the community at large. Whether the vocation is to marriage, single life, the priesthood or consecrated life, we all can identify when someone is truly happy and is a “good fit” in his or her ministry.
CNN IS NOT the customary locale-of-choice for a catechesis on Catholic social doctrine. But that’s what Paul Ryan, speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, offered viewers of a CNN national town hall meeting on Aug. 21.
AS I RECENTLY celebrated the second anniversary of my ordination to the priesthood, two things came to mind. In one sense, I felt that my ordination took place only yesterday and in another, it seemed as if I have been a priest my whole life. Hence, the mystery of the priesthood! In a priest’s life, no two days are ever the same. While your identity as a priest of Jesus Christ is unchangeable, your encounters with the people of God each day renew that identity.
LAST YEAR, I saw nearly 500 young people gather on a Saturday morning, carrying signs about the mercy of God. They were getting ready for their annual procession around New York. But in this procession, prayer was intertwined with joyous dancing and upbeat singing about how God’s love and mercy are for all.
