JUST A FEW years ago, when I was in my first parish assignment, I celebrated the funeral Mass for one of our most active parishioners, Alban Brown. He was a member of the Knights of Columbus, Holy Name Society, usher and to top it off, a retired NYPD officer. He was a man filled with the spirit of the Lord. You could always call upon him, day or night to help with events or activities happening in the parish.
Sunday Scriptures
We Belong to Christ
We cannot fall into the concept of just giving ourselves to Jesus on Sunday mornings. Our Lord wants an undivided heart.
Guard the Faith Against Darkness
In his jealously of humankind, Satan is out to distort the reality of the Lord’s creation. Indeed, he is out to turn things upside-down, telling us that we are in charge, not God; urging us to put ourselves first, not God and the things of God.
Recovering Our Awe For the Eucharist
THE WORDS UTTERED by Our Lord in today’s Gospel, taken from the Evangelist John’s “Bread of Life Discourse,” are utterly true. The Lord Jesus says: “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day.”
Living in Communion Transforms the World
ROD DREHER’S BOOK, “The Benedict Option” (2016) has been the source of much discussion in both the Catholic and secular press. Dreher, a conservative columnist, is a man of faith. He was raised Protestant, then converted to Catholicism, and in 2006, after the clerical sexual abuse scandal in the U.S., decided to convert to Eastern Orthodox Christianity.
Acts of the Spirit Guide the World
LET’S LOOK AT the recent history of our Church: On a chilly winter day, Jan. 25, 1959, Angelo Roncalli, guiding the Barque of Peter known as John XXIII, stood at the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls, gathered members of the Roman Curia and called for a Second Vatican Ecumenical Council.
Follow the Road to Self-Discovery
by Msgr. Joseph P. Calise
I can still remember how excited I was in the mid-1960s when my family bought our first color television set. “Gilligan’s Island” was the first show we watched in color.
We Need Others, And They Need Us
by Msgr. Joseph P. Calise
PROBABLY THE MOST famous of all the parables is the parable of the Prodigal Son.
Faith and Purpose Inspire Action
by Msgr. Joseph P. Calise
MOTHER’S DAY HAS a very interesting history. The idea was first proposed by Ann Jarvis who held a memorial in 1905 for her mother, Ann Reeves Jarvis, to pay tribute for all she had done to help the wounded on both sides of the Civil War.
Everyone Receives a Divine Call from God
DURING HIS HOMILY at the Chrism Mass on Holy Thursday, Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio announced a Year of Prayer for Vocations. I am sure that we can all understand the need for more priests, deacons and religious men and women. Our dwindling numbers have been a cause of concern for many years.
