COMMENTARY By Sherry Hayes-Peirce In May we celebrate our Blessed Mother and our earthly mother. But it is also a time to celebrate our beloved St. Damien de Veuster, whose feast day is May 10. This year marks the 155th anniversary of the arrival of this great saint to Hawaii. Since the canonization in Rome […]
Msgr. Owen F. Campion: Heaven will be our reward
FIFTH SUNDAY OF EASTER Acts of the Apostles 15:21-27; Revelation 21:1-5a; John 13:31-33a, 34-35 Once again in this Easter season, the Acts of the Apostles supplies the first reading for the Mass. It reports some of the missionary activities of Paul and Barnabas. Although eventually they parted, Paul and Barnabas, Paul’s disciple, visited several prominent […]
Mary Adamski: Imagine Hawaii without immigrants
VIEW FROM THE PEW There was a piquant hint of exotic cultural flavor adding nuance to heavier undertones of current events that made our feast the successful fusion sought by its creative chefs. Oops, I was trying to mock the pretentious tone of a trendy foodie reviewer but that didn’t work. I should just say […]
Christina Capecchi: All the news that’s fit to print
Twenty Something “Wife Returned After Having Fine Funeral.” The headline of a 483-word story in the March 15, 1904, edition of The New York Times bore a sly nod to Tom Sawyer. A man named Ignacio Valente was charging the city with a funeral bill he had been wrongfully issued, according to the Times. It […]
Msgr. Owen Campion: ‘Peter, do you love me?’
THIRD SUNDAY OF EASTER Acts of Apostles 5:27-39, 40b-41; Revelation 5:11-14; John 21:1-19 Again this weekend, the church presents as its first reading for liturgy in Eastertime a passage from the Acts of the Apostles. The mere construction of Acts is a lesson. Actually, it is a continuation of St. Luke’s Gospel. Its underlying lesson […]
Mary Adamski: Consulting groundhogs and stars
VIEW FROM THE PEW “I don’t get this business about the groundhog; is it sacred or what?” I got that somewhat sarcastic comment from an island-born acquaintance who delights in challenging me to answer for all cultural quirks, puzzling rituals and inexplicable superstitions of the entire population of the entire continental USA. “And yet you […]
Msgr. Owen F. Campion: Love your enemies
7TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME 1 Samuel 26:2, 7-9, 12-13, 22-23; 1 Corinthians 15:45-49; Luke 6:27-38 The first book of Samuel supplies the first reading this weekend. Originally this book, and its companion, the Second Book of Samuel, were combined in one volume. In the third century BC, scholars translated the ancient Hebrew Scriptures […]
Laura Kelly Fanucci: Ten pockets of prayer
FAITH AT HOME January dawns, fresh and clean. The beginning of a new year. Although Advent is technically our new year in the church, January offers another jump-start — a chance to change and a renewed resolve to eat better, exercise more or waste less time online. Making time for prayer is a common resolution. […]
Greg Erlandson: Guardians of truth
AMID THE FRAY Fifty-three journalists were killed worldwide in 2018. Some died in war, but a shocking number died exposing corruption, covering protests or just doing their job. Time magazine called them and their harassed and persecuted colleagues “Guardians” of truth, and named them collectively “Person of the Year.” In the United States last June, […]
Father Eugene Hemrick: Celebrating Advent to the fullest
THE HUMAN SIDE How might we celebrate our best Advent? What might we do to experience its tranquility, while at the same time its intensity? Philosopher Josef Pieper would suggest spending contemplative moments during the season. And how might this happen? Some time ago, the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington had […]