Caution: This Is Your Brain on Television

Perhaps the iconic public-service TV ad urging viewer to reject drugs will have to be changed to reflect the study’s findings: “This is your brain. … This is your brain on television.”

To Richmond Hill Parish, A Child Is Born

Father Christopher Heanue reflects on how God invited the people of Holy Child Jesus parish, Richmond Hill, to rejoice in the gift of life when a healthy newborn baby boy was left in the parish manger.

The Best Christmas Gifts I Ever Received

“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.

Carol Powell

Message of Advent Is That Good Will Win

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.

Fact and Fiction About Annulments

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.

A Father Continues to Call by Name

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.

Here’s a Movie About Practicing the Faith

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.

Come to Philippines for The Eucharistic Congress

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.

Synod Wrestles with Church’s Lost and Found

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.