IT’S A FUNNY THING, kryptonite. The phrase has entered into our popular lexicon and comes from the one element that can depower the comic book character Superman. Actually created for the 1940s radio series, “The Adventures of Superman,” even before being introduced into the comics, kryptonite is a mineral from the now destroyed home planet.

USUALLY THE GOSPEL teaches us a spiritual message that directs us toward living for the Kingdom. Today is no exception. However, the message today, as heaven-oriented as it may be, has to be lived out in the here and now, in our neighborhoods and homes. Imitation of the example of Christ in today’s Gospel must be lived with those people we see from day to day, hour to hour. To imitate Christ in today’s Gospel means to love the people around us.

By Msgr. Joseph P. Calise ONE OF THE most important tools of the spiritual life is a spiritual director. As an old saying goes, “we all need somebody to talk to.” One day, I was speaking with one of the Passionist priests at the Bishop Molloy Retreat House in Jamaica Estates about something that was […]

THE PARABLE OF THE mustard seed presents us with an interesting paradox. The smallest of seeds becomes the largest of shrubs. That comparison, along with the introductory analogy of the Kingdom of God being like a seed that is planted and left to grow by God’s grace, presents us with not only an interesting perspective on the Church, but also a challenge to our daily lives.

By Father Anthony F. Raso MANY YEARS AGO, during my seminary years, I saw a short film – one of the “Insight” series, which were used at that time in religious education programs – that attempted to “illustrate” the Holy Trinity. Up there in Heaven, the Father was depicted as a late-middle-age man, an “old […]

By Father Anthony F. Raso IF I REVEALED my mother’s age in the pages of The Tablet, I might never be able to go home again – maybe. Let’s just say that since I will be 67 years old this coming Tuesday, my mother is now well over 39 years of age and we’ll leave […]

I AM PARTICULARLY happy today to have the opportunity to offer this column to you because today is my 40th anniversary in the priesthood. I was ordained by Bishop Francis Mugavero on Saturday, May 10, 1975 in the Church of SS. Simon and Jude, Gravesend, where I had been serving as a deacon.

BARNABAS IS AN unsung hero of the New Testament – or at least one who is not “sung” enough. Finding himself in a similar place to one in which we often find ourselves, his response is a whole lot more satisfying than the response we all-too-often give.