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 […]
Viriditas: Sister Lourdes Fernandez, Maryknoll Sisters
The energy of the grace of God Mission is adventure. When the U.S. bishops, through the LCWR (Leadership Council of Women Religious) invited religious of different congregations to volunteer to go to Albania in the 1990s, I said, “Yes.” I had the openness and the enthusiasm to go. I had never been to Europe or […]
Kathleen T. Choi: Home sweet Rome
I was a Protestant for 40 years and have been a Catholic for 29. (There’s no need to do the math.) I consider my conversion a great blessing. Here are a few reasons why: The sacraments. I could rattle off a definition of transubstantiation, but I don’t really understand it. I don’t understand how dipping […]
Manaolana | Christina Capecchi: Door-to-door seminarian finding new roads
Going door to door to tell strangers about Catholicism and his plan to become a priest had to be the most daunting assignment Neil Bakker had ever received. The 34-year-old from Austin, Minn., had never done anything like it — never gone door to door to sell coupon books or magazine subscriptions, let alone the […]
Viriditas: Sister Fidelia Villa, Sisters of St. Paul of Chartres
Rediscovering faith, discovering purpose God works in so many ways. I see him in everything. Without a personal relationship with God, to whom could I run? Of course, God sends people to help me. However, when I wrestle with him like Jacob, sometimes he wins, and sometimes I do. I complain of course, but I […]
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