The Holy Family’s Example of Love

by Msgr. Joseph P. Calise

The preamble to Alcoholics Anonymous is a statement of who the group is and is usually read at the beginning of an AA meeting. It reads, “Alcoholics Anonymous is a fellowship of men and women who share their experience, strength and hope with each other that they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from alcoholism.

John the Baptist’s Call to Action

By Msgr. Joseph P. Calise There are two messages in today’s readings that strike me as particularly important. One is a perennial message, and the other — although always true — is especially pertinent to Advent. Once again, John the Baptist is at the center of the Gospel. This time, however, rather than being seen […]

John the Baptist And Reconciliation

by Msgr. Joseph P. Calise

While traveling through Manhattan, I occasionally encounter someone oddly dressed and proclaiming the nearness of the Lord. My natural tendency, and that of most other pedestrians, is to avoid getting too close.

Staying Ready For the Inevitable

by Msgr. Joseph P. Calise

One of the most popular games we played as children was hide-and-seek. The basic premise was simple: whoever was “it” had to cover his eyes and count while everyone else hid. His mission was to find everyone before they could return to home base and be safe. The warning signal to those in hiding was his post-counting battle cry, “Ready or not, here I come.”

Making a Choice For Christ

by Father John P. Cush

With this solemnity of the Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, we come on this Sunday to the end of the Year of Grace 2019. In order to understand this great feast, we need to put it into the proper context.

Coming Closer to the Final Judgment

by Father John P. Cush

Emily Dickinson, in her poem numbered 479, more commonly known by the first line of the work, “Because I could not stop for death,” writes:

Courage to Stand By Our Faith

by Father John P. Cush

In the first reading we proclaim today from the Second Book of Maccabees, a mother encourages her seven sons to remain faithful to the law of the Lord. One of the brothers proclaims: “We are ready to die rather than transgress the laws of our ancestors.”

Lessons From a Tax Collector

by Father John P. Cush

The Gospel we proclaim this Sunday features a rather enigmatic figure, one whom we read about only in this Gospel passage: Zacchaeus. What can we learn from this story of this “short-in-stature” man, a chief tax collector, a man who changes his life, who climbs a sycamore tree because he was “seeking to see who Jesus was”?

The ‘Winners’ Of God’s Mercy

by Father Jean-Pierre Ruiz

As I write these words, Major League Baseball’s postseason is in full swing, so to speak.