by Father John Cush It’s been quite a year at the Vatican, to say the least! Who would have thought that for the first time in centuries, we would have a pontiff resign his papacy? Who would have thought that we would have the first pope elected from the Americas? Who would have thought that […]
Sunday Scriptures
Turn the Other Cheek? Every Time? Count on It!
by Father Anthony F. Raso Sinner that I am, I have always found it fun to go into a classroom of children and tell them what the Lord is telling us in the Gospel this weekend, especially that part about “…when someone strikes you on your right cheek, turn the other one as well.” The […]
Salvation, Simply Put: Trust God; Avoid Talking Snakes
by Father Anthony F. Raso I have realized for many years now that I walk, as the saying went when I was a teenager, to a “different drummer.” This manifests itself most clearly in the fact that I find some things to be funny which no one else, perhaps in all of history, has found […]
Responding to the Call to Conversion and Discipleship
by Father Robert Lauder Seventh in a series There are several insights that I like in the essay “Are We Relating to God in a New Way?” by Father Gerald M. Fagin, S.J., which first appeared in the Review for Religious, (November-December, 1993). In the essay, which has been the subject of my columns for […]
Choose the Light Over the Loopholes
by Father Anthony F. Raso Years ago, long before Vatican Council II, there was a “rule” – and I don’t know how “official” it ever was – that if you arrived at Mass before the Offertory and stayed at least until right after Communion, then you had technically attended Mass. Even at that time, in […]
Our Messiah Makes No Empty Promises
by Father Anthony F. Raso Nostalgia is certainly a two-edged sword. Looking back over time, we’ll remember some wonderful things that happened, but there are also some heartbreaking events that our memories will recall. Both the joyful and the sorrowful memories, as our Blessed Mother learned well, are part of our lives and have made […]
Walking in the Presence of The Power of God
Msgr. Joseph Calise MICHAEL YORK gave one of his most brilliant performances as John the Baptist in Franco Zeffirelli’s film, “Jesus of Nazareth.” He showed the strength, determination and power of the prophet who prepared the way for Christ’s coming. In the few times we actually hear of him in Scripture, John leaps in his […]
Come, O Come Emmanuel
by Sister Karen M. Cavanagh, C.S.J. TODAY THE CHURCH gives us one Word .. one Name… in Hebrew, it is a sentence. “They shall name Him, Emmanuel…” which means, “God is with us.” We are also presented with two men at very decisive moments in their lives. For each of them, the moments seem to […]
Now Is the Time to Change Our Ways, to Turn Our Lives Around
by Sister Karen M. Cavanagh, C.S.J. THE RITE of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) process is such a wonder-filled experience. Accompanying members of a parish community on their pathway to baptism can be a blessed teachable moment for the candidates (the elect) and for teachers and parishioners who journey with them. One December evening during […]
Readying Our Hearts and Spirits
by Sister Karen M. Cavanagh, C.S.J. “IT’S A BROOKLYN thing!” In my day (that’s a giveaway), children dressed as ragamuffins on Thanksgiving morn. We visited neighbors, knocking on doors and begging: “Anything for Thanksgiving?” We received an apple, an orange, walnuts in their shell or maybe some pennies. We imagined the experience of those who […]
