by Father John Catoir
The late Bishop Fulton Sheen explained that there are two kinds of truths: “Outer truths, which we master, like the distance of the Sun from the Earth; and inner truths, which master us; for example: God is merciful to the penitent. Inner truths affect a person’s destiny, like a vocational calling; they are matters of conscience.”
by Rita Piro
November is well known as the time of year when the Church remembers her dead. Right on the heels of the joyous All Saints Day, Nov. 1, comes the more somber All Souls Day, Nov. 2, when we remember those we love who have been called home to God.
As old as the poem “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” is, its lesson is very apropos for our technological age.
by Father John Catoir
To some, the devil is nothing more than a silly Halloween costume. Nothing could be further from the truth.
by Father John Catoir
Everyone agrees with Jesus, “What God has joined together, let no man put asunder” – Mark 10:9. When a marriage case comes before any Diocesan Tribunal, the question before the Chief Judge is this: Was this marriage joined together by God, or not? In other words, the presumption of validity can be challenged.
by Carol Powell
Prior to a year ago, if anyone asked me what nationality I was, I would have said, “I am American of Italian descent.” That was before I sent a sample of my DNA to Ancestry.com.
by Kathleen M. Gallagher
My friend Mary is one-of-a-kind. She is a retired police lieutenant from suburban Long Island, where we both grew up. Today Mary has relocated to a rural hamlet in the northernmost county of New York State. She owns a 300+ acre farm that includes goats, cows, horses, a donkey, two dogs, and lots of chickens, some of whom occasionally roam through the farmhouse.
by Father John Catoir
Robert Louis Stevenson wrote: “Most of us reflect our surroundings. However, men (and women) with quiet minds cannot be perplexed or frightened; they carry on in times of fortune or misfortune at their own private pace, like a clock during a thunderstorm.”
This Oct. 4, the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi, I intend to make a pilgrimage. Not to any famous Franciscan shrine, but to a place that has meaning for me and my family: Webster Hall on East 11th St., Manhattan. Though recently closed for major renovations, the hall is where, at a closely chaperoned dance 70 years ago, on Oct. 4, 1947, an 18-year-old Rosie Lusardi met an ‘older man,’ 24-year-old Clemente Ferrari. Within 10 years, this young couple would be married and have three of their eventual four children. I am the second offspring of their union.
by Richard Slizeski
The first Labor Day was held in New York City on Nov. 5, 1882. Its purpose was to celebrate the labor movement’s social and economic achievement that contributed to the strength, prosperity and well-being of our country.
