Jimmy Fallon has a new daughter. For the second time, the host of the “Tonight Show” and his wife turned to artificial conception and a surrogate mother for a baby. I grieve for any couple having fertility problems, but this method of realizing their dream troubles me. Any woman who’s ever been pregnant will tell […]
Father Kenneth Doyle | Let’s drop the holy days’ obligation
Q: When are we going to do away with holy days of obligation? We no longer live in medieval times when a whole village is closed down for the day. The only people at Mass now are the true die-hards. Please encourage the bishops to put the celebrations on Sunday or take away the obligation. […]
Father John Catoir: Let God guide your resolutions for life
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 enter the New Year, we need focus. This is a good time to get serious about our future happiness. Am I on the right track or not? To test […]
Kathleen T. Choi | Movies that matter
Even committed Christians have slumps. Prayer bores us. Scripture sounds like old news, and the saints remote and irrelevant. At these times, a work of imagination, such as a movie, may re-energize our spiritual practice. One New Year’s resolution might be to view a special film each month. Here are a few you might have […]
Msgr. Owen F. Campion | FEAST OF THE EPIPHANY: Guided by the star
Isaiah 60:1-6; Ephesians 3:2-3a, 5-6; Matthew 2:1-12 In Greek, “epiphany” means God is visible to humans. In celebrating the Feast of the Epiphany of the Lord on this weekend, the church offers us the lessons to be drawn from this great feast, namely that in Jesus, the Son of God, the almighty and infinite, literally […]
Effie Caldarola: The cry of the comfortable
As someone reminded me during this Christmas season, Jesus came to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable. Or, as a priest I knew used to say at the end of Mass many years ago, “May the unrest of Christ be with you.” I’ve been painfully aware of my status as one of the “comfortable” […]
Father Kenneth Doyle: I’ve been asked to scatter ashes
I’ve been asked to scatter ashes Q: I understand that, as Catholics, if we choose to be cremated our cremains are to be treated with dignity and must be buried or entombed. My husband and I have two family members who have asked us to arrange to have their ashes “scattered.” One is a Catholic, […]
Msgr. Owen F. Campion: Fourth Sunday of Advent
Drawn to the divine presence itself 2 Samuel 7:1-5, 8b-12, 14a, 16 Romans 16:25-27 Luke 1:26-38 The first reading for this weekend is from the Second Book of Samuel. The two Books of Samuel once were a single volume. Translations and editions over the centuries divided the one volume into two. David is the principal […]
Father William J. Byron, SJ: A father for those who need one
About 40 years ago I was able to offer pastoral assistance to a young woman who lost her husband, a former student of mine, in a fatal car crash. She was left with a 5-year-old daughter and relatively few friends in Pennsylvania, far from her native Midwestern home. I celebrated the funeral Mass, took care […]
Carolyn Y. Woo: Presence, not presents
Christmas is fast approaching. My thoughts, like those of many, have turned to Christmas presents. What would be fun and useful for my team members at Catholic Relief Services? What would not be merely shelved but stay in sight and mind and bring a smile? When would I have time to shop? What about my […]
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