I recently attended some training on “trauma-informed care.” It was quite eye-opening. Traumatic experiences in childhood are more common than we’d like to believe. Research indicates that more than 60 percent of adults experienced some form of trauma in childhood, events such as the divorce of parents, ongoing drug use in their home, physical violence, or sexual abuse. I learned that one out of four girls and one out of six boys experience some form of sexual abuse before age 18.
With each new day, the sun rises and it’s a blessing – God’s way of saying here is another day to do good and share friendship and love. My mother and I watched the sunrise the day before we left for home and looked back on this amazing trip, the people we met, and the most important reason, to continue our pilgrimage of our Catholic faith in our ancestral homeland of Sicily.
Twenty-nine percent of the population in Brooklyn and Queens is over 65 years of age, higher than any other borough of New York City. The needs of our seniors are widespread and complex, ranging from loneliness and depression to the physical and financial challenges to living independently.
The Holy Innocents Society of St. Matthias parish in Ridgewood, celebrated its 60th anniversary in February of this year.
“I wish we didn’t have to talk about this.” What parent hasn’t thought or uttered these words, taking a deep breath before jumping into a hard conversation with their child? Whether a crisis at home, a conflict at school or an atrocity in the news, tough subjects are unavoidable in families.
The thing I remember most about St. Mother Teresa, whose feast is Sept. 5, was her joy. I met her three times in my life. Once when we were giving talks on the same program; once at a Vatican Seminar on Family Life, and once when she asked me to give a week-long retreat to her contemplative novices on joy. She founded two distinct orders, the one she picked for me was her cloistered contemplative community in New Jersey.
I lost my first pregnancy to miscarriage in the late 1980s. The memory is hazy, clouded by the roller coaster of emotions and hormonal changes that a woman experiences when she loses a baby. I remember Joe and I watching the ultrasound machine anxiously and excitedly, waiting for the heartbeat that never came. I remember the doctor taking over from the technician and delivering the tragic news. And I remember crying.
Why would the government ever legalize another addictive drug? Maybe someone should ask – or rather challenge – this governor on that very issue. After all, it was not in his political platform when he ran for governor. So, why now? More importantly, how can we stop him?
Mary turned Jesus’ hesitation into a character-building moment. She knew His true talent and encouraged Him to share it with everyone. So don’t compare yourselves to others; everyone is special in his or her own way. God has gifted us all with unique talents. Let’s make them shine in each other, like Mary did for Jesus.
St. Jean Vianney is a “hard act to follow.” As a parish priest for most of the last 38 years of my priesthood in the Diocese of Brooklyn, I have never spent as many hours as he in the confessional. I may never have ‘run away’ from my parish, but I do take my weekly day off every Friday. I may have gotten better grades in the seminary than he, but I certainly would never compare myself to him in holiness.
