Lent has a way of sneaking up on all of us each year. It can be especially hard if you’ve recently lost a loved one.On Ash Wednesday two years ago, shortly after my wife died of uterine cancer, I was determined to get to Mass and receive the ashes on my forehead.
Lent is about renewal, change, conversion, turning more toward God. In fact, it began as a conversion experience for catechumens who were preparing to become part of the Church.
The discussion of Mario Cuomo and his Catholic faith often revolves around his speech at Notre Dame University. I feel this is most unfortunate and does not do him or his Catholicity justice.
By Bill Dodds “O Mary, Seat of Wisdom, intercede as our Mother for all the sick and for those who care for them!” Pope Francis offers that prayer near the end of his message for this year’s World Day of the Sick, to be marked Feb. 11, the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes. And, […]
By Shirley Lascano When the confirmation of Pope Francis’ trip to the Philippines was announced, Filipinos in Brooklyn and Queens received the news full of hope, a year after the most devastating typhoon Yolanda hit our homeland. The resiliency and strength of the Filipinos are rooted in the deep faith. They believe that God will […]
By Father John Cush On Jan. 1, a few hours after the inauguration of his son, Andrew, in his second term of Governor of the State of New York, former New York State Governor Mario Cuomo passed away. This son of Queens, was educated locally at St. John’s Prep High School in Brooklyn and St. […]
By Father John Catoir I don’t know about you, but year after year I find myself breaking my New Year’s resolutions. Having said that, I readily admit that as we approach New Year’s, we need focus. This is a good time to get serious about our future happiness. Am I on the right track or […]
Christmas is the feast of encounter, the celebration of God’s love and nearness. “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth,” we read in St. John’s Gospel. God became one of us! He united himself to every man, woman and child in every time and place in Jesus Christ, the sacrament of our encounter with God.
By Carol Glatz A new kind of ghetto needs the Church’s presence and people’s solidarity: the “digital slum” where cyberbullying and online pornography and abuse run rampant, said speakers at a Vatican news conference. Online harassment and abuse are “a new form of violence” against many young people and children, said Cardinal Peter Turkson, president […]
In September Pope Francis celebrated “the blessing of long life” with thousands of senior citizens and their families. In his homily that day he spoke about the Visitation of the Virgin Mary to her cousin Elizabeth, calling it “a Gospel of encounter.”
