So you’ve fallen? That’s the acknowledgement of Lent. We’re all sinners. But the biggest gift of Lent is God’s overwhelming and enduring love for us. So welcome to the rest of Lent, which beckons with many graces.

As long as I have been involved in ministry, which is more than 50 years, there has been The Tablet newspaper. Even before I had my first choir or became a leader of song, The Tablet was visiting parishes around the Diocese of Brooklyn, reporting events to help us all feel more connected to one another.

It is important to attend to sacred marital vows because Satan and the ways of the world try to destroy everything that is holy. The evil one purposefully lays traps. Renewing vows gives us the courage to keep our union healthy, holy, and shining brightly as a witness to God’s unconditional love for us. 

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is a popular and proven therapy created by Marsha Linehan, who emphasizes the importance of “mindfulness.” In mindfulness, according to DBT, we’re never the same person. We’re one person for our co-workers, another person for our partners, another for our friends. 

When my husband Arthur and I travelled to Iceland to visit our friend Father Damian Wyzkiewicz, he took us on a tour to show us the local sights. While we experienced many memorable things, the most profound part was finding Mary in the wilderness.

After recently retiring with 32 years of service at the Suffolk County Police Department (SCPD), I am grateful to God for all the dedicated priests, sisters, teachers, and coaches who provided faith-based education, guidance, and encouragement through my Catholic school years at St. Mary’s (Blessed Virgin Help of Christians School) in Woodside, Cathedral Preparatory High School in Elmhurst, and St. Joseph’s University in Brooklyn.

The Holiday Darty was not only an event, but a model, one that shows how intentional outreach can remind young people that the Church is not something they outgrow, but a community that begins with them and grows alongside them. 

As a Catholic and someone who has seen what harm to others — inmates and officers — looks like inside of Rikers Island, it’s hard to “pick a side” on Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s push to discontinuing solitary confinement.

Pope Leo XIV calls refugees “missionaries of hope.” The epistle on Dec. 28 tells us we are to don compassion, kindness, and more.

Polish tradition states that when the first star appears in the sky on Christmas Eve, the family can commence their holiday feast.