by Father James Rodriguez
In timeless and typically beautiful language, the Gospel of St. John tells us that “in the beginning was the Word.” The book of Genesis speaks to us of the void in which the Word existed, how before God gave shape or form to the world, there was “darkness over the abyss and a mighty wind sweeping over the waters.”
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.
Sometimes people do painful things to others without intending or understanding it.
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 […]
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.
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.”
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.
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:
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.”
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”?
