“If I knew things would no longer be, I would have tried to remember better.” That’s a line from the 1990 movie “Avalon,” which comes to mind every Christmas season because it’s a time of year that prompts me to reflect on the past and the best gift I ever received.
One of the eighth-grade Confirmation students that I teach religion to made a startling statement. She said, “I think there is more evil in the world than good. Look at all the wars, all the hatred, all the killing.” I had to agree that this is how it appears. But I noted that often only negative events get into the news, not the myriad acts of love and service many people perform daily.
Is there anything more misunderstood by Catholics about something that goes on in their own Church than annulments? First of a three-part series on what an annulment is and is not.
Although he has been dead for more than five years, he is still so very present to me. Not a week goes by that I do not see his name in print somewhere. And a common name it is not: “Clemente.” My father, born in Brooklyn in 1923, was named after his paternal grandfather, whom Dad never met. My sister handed the name onto my nephew Christopher as his middle name. And I come across the name every few days, sometimes even several times a day.
Patricia Riggen, the Mexican-American filmmaker who directed the upcoming movie “The 33” about the Chilean miners’ rescue in 2010, said Warner Bros., the studio releasing the film, made no attempt to get her to downplay the role of faith in the miners’ story.
While many are beginning to make plans for the busiest time of the year, Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio, Father Patrick Longalong and others are also getting ready for a pilgrimage to the Philippines for the 51st International Eucharistic Congress, Jan. 28-31, 2016.
It is a wonderfully frightening time to be a Catholic. These past weeks the Synod of Bishops meeting in Rome is grappling with difficult questions that touch upon all our lives.
It was another typical heart-to-heart ministry party in June in Sullivan Hall at North American Martyrs parish, Bayside – prayer, good food, special needs individuals and small groups from all over the diocese, music, more prayer and dancing flowing together naturally, plus a couple of bishops (Bishops Chapetto and Valero) and, of course, a Beatles song by Father Tom Pettei. “A good time was had by all” would be an understatement because all the love and joy of any Heart-to-Heart gathering was even more intense in this quasi-liturgical celebration.
For the first time in a long time, it’s trendy to be Catholic. For the past week, we’ve listened to the secular media struggling – with mixed success – to understand and explain the basic tenets of Catholicism.
Reflecting on my time as an undergraduate at St. Joseph’s University, a Jesuit school in Philadelphia, Pa., there have been many absolutely unforgettable moments. After every single milestone in my college career I have thought to myself, “nothing can top this, it can’t get any better than this.”
