Thank heavens Lent is over, and not just because I can eat dessert again. I recognize the value of some deep reflection on my sins and what leads me to sin. However, too much makes me nervous. I suspect that when Satan can’t stop us from praying, he tempts us to spend all our prayer […]
Father John Catoir: Fear is the enemy of joy
Spiritual joy is a gift from God. Its enemy is fear. Jesus warned against fear over and over. Jesus came to earth so that our joy may be full. In the Bible, he repeatedly tells others to let go of fear. Controlling our fears is a spiritual duty, just as it was for his first […]
Viriditas: Father Yohanes (Yanto) Budiyanto, Congregation of the Sacred Hearts
The courage to move on Last year I had the great privilege of accompanying a group of youth and young adults from Our Lady of Sorrows Church, Wahiawa, to Kalaupapa, Molokai, for a retreat. I never imagined that I would actually be able to go to the place where St. Damien de Veuster had lived […]
Msgr. Owen F. Campion: Second Sunday of Easter
Meeting Jesus, face to face Acts 2:42-47 1 Peter 1:3-9 John 20:19-31 With faith-filled excitement the church continues the celebration it began a week and a day ago of Easter, the Lord’s resurrection and final victory over death and sin. As is the case in almost every Mass of this season, the first reading this […]
Father Kenneth Doyle: How do you explain the cross to a child?
Q Recently, I took my 4-year-old grandson to Mass. Above the altar, we have a very large crucifix and I noticed that, while looking at it, the boy was visibly shaken and quite upset. How does one explain Jesus on the cross to a 4-year-old? (Davenport, Iowa) A Recognizing that I know precious little about […]
Viriditas: Sister Herman Julia Aki, Congregation of the Sacred Hearts
Leave it to Jesus When I visit the homebound with the Sacred Hearts Secular Branch on Molokai, we make it a point to do whatever those whom we are visiting would like us to do for them. If they want us to dance, we bring our ukuleles and instruments along with us. If they want […]
Father Kenneth Doyle: Why fish, but no meat?
Q Why is it OK to eat fish on Fridays during Lent, but not other animals? Isn’t fish meat as well? Is shellfish, like lobster and shrimp, considered fish, and does the church allow its consumption on meatless days? (It seems to me that lobster is extravagant and shouldn’t be eaten during a season when […]
Msgr. Owen F. Campion: Palm Sunday
The Passion begins Matthew 21:1-11 Isaiah 50:4-7 Philippians 2:6-11 Matthew 26:14-27:66 This weekend observes Palm Sunday, recalling with great reverence the Lord’s traditional entry into Jerusalem, beginning the drama and depth of Holy Week. The liturgy includes two readings from the Gospels. The first occurs at the blessing of the palms and as the procession […]
Kathleen T. Choi: I am the church
It usually happens when I’m at a party with lots of drinking and laughter. One fellow starts joking about dumb haoles. As the cracks get crueler, other guests look nervously at me. “Not you, Kathy,” they assure me. “You’re different.” That bothers me somewhat. I’m just as representative of the white race as whichever Caucasian […]
Kathleen T. Choi: Is being rich a sin?
We hear a lot lately about “income inequality.” The implication is that the rich are forcing everyone else to live in poverty. Several Bible passages appear to support an anti-wealth bias. A closer reading, however, shows that it is the misuse of wealth that brings condemnation, not its possession. Indeed, other verses suggest that God […]
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