Deep beneath the Eternal City of Rome is a vast maze of underground tunnels used by the first Christians who inhabited the ancient city. Known as the catacombs of Rome, these ancient spaces are … more

A friend of mine liked to quote a saint — I don’t remember which one — who said that food is God’s love made edible. In our first reading, the biblical authors indicate that … more

When World War II broke out in 1939, Karol Wojtyla, the future St. John Paul II, had just turned 19. At that point in his young life, he had lost his mother and his brother. His father would die soon … more

Our first reading contains a symbolic story in which a kind of Everywoman and Everyman face a basic human question: How will I live — God’s way or my way? In the story, the woman and the … more

Each year on Feb. 8, the church marks the feast day of St. Josephine Bakhita. Patroness of Sudan and victims of human trafficking, this saintly woman lived the meaning of today’s Gospel with … more

Today’s Gospel features parallel statements by Jesus. He begins, each time, with “you have heard that it was said ...” and follows this received wisdom with a correction: “But … more

The first Christian communities were made up of small groups of disciples of Jesus. After the staggering events of Jesus’ condemnation followed by his passion, crucifixion and death, the first … more

In a few months, God willing, my wife Louise and I will go to St. Joe’s Hospital, here in town, take the elevator to the maternity ward, put on temporary ID stickers, and head for the room … more

Michelangelo Merisi, known to the world as Caravaggio, was a celebrated painter of his generation. He lived in the late 16th century and completed some 40 masterpiece paintings during his young and … more

Lovely melodies have been written for today’s responsorial psalm (the response is “Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will”), which make for pleasant congregational … more