Recently, I received a phone call that two lovely friends I knew had passed away. I called them Madeline Sr. (the mother) and Madeline Jr. (the daughter).
Up Front and Personal
Giving a Dollar to the Homeless Isn’t Enough
I was always told that giving to the poor was an essential part of being a Christian. Knowing this, it would make sense for me to give to people on the street who were begging for money.
Abstaining from Meat – A Year-Round Practice
For many Catholics, abstaining from meat products is no longer limited to Lent but has become self-sacrificial and health-enhancing throughout one’s lifetime.
Road to Mercy Leads to A Life of Adventure
by Tony Rossi Kerry Weber’s adventurous pursuit of practicing mercy has made her life anything but boring. She volunteered with the Special Olympics in college and taught special education at a Navajo reservation through the Mercy Volunteer Corps after college. It was the idea of practicing all seven corporal works of mercy over the 40 […]
Mother Drexel Assisted Diocesan Black Ministry
by Msgr. Paul W. Jervis The weekly Saints for Today’s column in the March 1 issue of The Tablet noted about St. Katharine Drexel, whose feast was on March 3, that, “she established 145 Catholic missions and 12 schools for Indians and 50 for African-Americans.” The saint was very closely involved in our diocese through […]
Pope’s Advice to Engaged Couples
by Paul Morisi and Alison Laird On New Year’s Eve 2013 at 8:30 p.m. under the Ben Franklin Bridge in Philadelphia, we got engaged. As if we weren’t excited enough, Ana Puente, the coordinator for Marriage Ministry for the Diocese of Brooklyn, arranged for us to partake in a St. Valentine’s Day event at the […]
Saying Thank You to Our Parish Volunteers
by Mary Ann Todzia If we check Wikipedia for the definition of “volunteering,” we will find the answer as follows: Volunteering is generally considered an altruistic activity and is intended to promote goodness or improve quality of life. In return, this activity can produce a feeling of self-worth and respect. There is no financial gain […]
Catholic Schools Have a Nurturing Effect
by Justin Brannan When you’re a kid and life is about breaking the rules and questioning the answers, it’s not easy to appreciate being raised a Catholic. For me, it wasn’t until I grew up that the merits became apparent. And when it did hit me, it hit me like a ton of bricks. For […]
Not So Fast to Commend UN Committee Report
by Sister Mary Ann Walsh Sexual abuse of a minor is a sin and a crime, and no organization can become complacent about addressing it. The Catholic Church has certainly done more than any other international organization to face the problem, and it will continue to lead in doing so. In the U.S., the number […]
Learning from Those in Consecrated Life
by Father John Cush Last weekend, on the feast of the Presentation, the Church celebrated the gift of consecrated life. It is a true gift that those who live the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity and obedience in religious communities and other forms of vows (like those who have committed to be consecrated virgins or […]