I have a quarrel with nativity scenes. St. Francis created the first Christmas crèche to encourage our devotion to Christ. He put real straw in a real manger and brought a real ox and donkey to a rocky crevice in the hillside. They illustrated his sermon on poverty and humility. In today’s nativity scenes, the […]
Viriditas: Father John Fredy Quintero
Dios, esta aqui con nosotros* There was a time when I wanted to give up saying Masses in English and doing hospital visitations. Being from Colombia, Latin America, English is not my first language. I was so afraid of not being able to fulfill my responsibilities well in English. However, over time I realized that […]
Manaolana | Christina Capecchi: Waiting for a baby: on Advent and adoption
For years folks told Mike and Maria Slavik that their blue colonial-style house looked like a Christmas card. Maria would be out mowing the lawn in the middle of July and someone would stop to say he loved the way it was decorated for the holidays. So they decided to make it into a card, […]
Kathleen T. Choi: What’s the big deal?
I’ve become a papal junkie. Every day I hit the Internet for Pope Francis’ latest interview, homily, photograph or video. I’m not alone. Few popes have so quickly and effectively captured the interest and affection of both church members and non-Catholics. This both pleases and saddens me. It saddens me because Pope Francis isn’t saying […]
Msgr. Owen F. Campion: Second Sunday of Advent
Make our hearts a fitting dwelling place Isaiah 11:1-10 Romans 15:4-9 Matthew 3:1-12 Indicating the importance of Advent and the message of these readings, the church this weekend celebrates the Second Sunday of Advent, rather than the great Feast of the Immaculate Conception. (This feast will occur this year on Dec. 9.) This weekend’s reading […]
Mary Adamski: Battlelines drawn
Stories and images of fighting the enemy to his knees or his death, smiting those who oppose us, making them feel the hurt, are imbedded in our brains, whether you tune into the world news, are a movie buff or play video games. Smash them, thrash them, count the wins, count the bodies. For a […]
Viriditas: Sister Norise Kaiser, Sisters of St. Francis of the Neumann Communities
Roses and tea I have been in Hawaii 30 years, and it took me 20 years to get here. Ever since I met the Hawaii Sisters early on in religious formation, there was a great desire to come to the islands. When I was ready for mission and each year given a form to fill […]
Msgr. Owen F. Campion: Feast of Christ the King
The embodiment of God’s endless love 2 Samuel 5:1-3 Colossians 1:12-20 Luke 23:35-43 The Second Book of Samuel furnishes the first biblical reading for this feast, marking the close of the church’s year. Once the two books of Samuel composed a single volume. In time, editors divided the volume into the two books now seen […]
Kathleen T. Choi: Spotting the blessings
A few years ago, I added a new element to my evening prayers. I now begin by thanking God for five blessings. The rule I made up is that the blessing must be something that happened that day. For example, I only thank God for my husband if he did something particularly thoughtful that day. […]
Msgr. Owen F. Campion: Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time:
Without God, we are doomed 2 Maccabees 7:1-2, 9-14 2 Thessalonians 2:16-3:5 Luke 20:27-38 This weekend, observed by the church as the Thirty-Second Sunday of Ordinary Time, has as its first reading a section from the Second Book of Maccabees. Maccabees, First or Second, rarely appears as a reading at Mass. These books are late […]
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