I wish to express my deep appreciation to all who have served this country. You are not just a group but a unique collective bound by shared experiences and an unparalleled spirit of service and sacrifice.
Up Front and Personal
Fighting Hunger: A Vision Made Real
Before I converted, God gave me a mission, which soon became the idea for my nonprofit, The Solution to Hunger, Inc. I could see how all the components began to fit together to create something innovative and new that could truly become the solution to world hunger. I felt like God spoke to me then. The problem was I didn’t know how to make the vision come to life. So, I got to work on what I could do.
Confirmation’s Impact On the Youth
These days, we bishops (in Brooklyn) average 10-12 celebrations of confirmation in the spring season and 4-6 in the fall. For the past 12 years, since my ordination as a bishop in 2012, one of the most joyful experiences I have encountered is the celebration of the sacrament of confirmation.
Carrying on My Family’s Knights of Columbus Legacy
he upcoming beatification of Father Michael McGivney (below), founder of the Knights of Columbus, was a poignant reminder of my family’s history in the Knights during its infancy in New Haven, Connecticut. My paternal great-grandfathers — Hugh Augustus Burns and William J. Fitzgerald — were members of that first council. Both had Brooklyn roots and lived in Ansonia, Connecticut, on the outskirts of New Haven, where the Knights began.
The Missions of Sts. Simon and Jude
Oct. 28 marks the Feast of Sts. Simon and Jude, Apostles. Tradition holds they were martyred together in the first century while preaching the Gospel in Persia, and their remains were later moved to St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, where a single tomb commemorates them to this day.
My Mitzvah: Returning This 40-Year-Old Ring
Why am I, a secular Jewish girl, the product of an interfaith marriage (Jewish mother, Catholic father), so concerned about a class ring from a defunct Brooklyn parochial school dating back to before I was born?
My Inspirational Queens Pilgrimage
Like everyone coming out of COVID, I was going stir-crazy. Tired of staring at the walls of my house and watching my daughters do their schoolwork, I decided to get out and about as much as possible. It was the summer of 2021. Many restrictions were still in place, and many venues remained closed. So what could one do?
Parallels Between Dogs, Divine Loyalty
When I visited the Jasna Góra Monastery in Częstochowa, Poland — a shrine dedicated to the Virgin Mary — I was struck by a series of paintings depicting the stations of the cross by the late Polish painter Jerzy Duda-Gracz.
A Celebration of Faith and Sobriety
For many of us involved in 12-step recovery programs, protecting our anonymity is crucial for several reasons. The most obvious is the stigma surrounding addiction; many people do not understand its nature and may judge those trying to overcome their struggles.
Helping Others Find Addiction Solutions
In “The Divine Comedy,” Dante places a sign at the gateway to hell that reads, “Lasciate ogni speranza, voi ch’entrate.” Translated, it reads, “Abandon all hope, ye who enter here.”