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St. Valentine’s Day seems to have been taken over by the greeting card companies, the candy-makers and the florists. Even when we live with people who know we love them, there is something …
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2/13/20
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May the God of peace make you perfectly holy, and may you entirely, spirit, soul and body, be reserved blameless for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and …
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2/6/20
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When President Kennedy left the Massachusetts Senate for the White House in Washington, he advised his fellow senators, “We must always consider that we shall be as a city upon a hill – …
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2/6/20
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February 2nd marks a beautiful Feast Day in the Catholic Church, the Presentation of the Lord. When Mary and Joseph, in fulfillment of the law, presented Jesus in the Temple, it was a very special …
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1/30/20
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Within weeks of my ordination, after the celebration of Mass at St. Charles parish in Woonsocket, a woman approached me at the altar rail and requested the ceremony of “churching.” This …
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1/30/20
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Among the countless vulnerable human beings in our world, none are more vulnerable than millions of unborn babies threatened by abortion. Even a new-born baby is less vulnerable.Hardly anyone could …
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1/30/20
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It seems that lots of people avoid having their picture taken, in either formal or informal settings. They’ll do almost anything to avoid posing, even with family and friends – feign …
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1/23/20
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The Scriptural Holy Land, today most generally known as the Republic of Israel, was, in the time of Christ, easily divided into three portions. Judea, on the south bordering Egypt, was quite solidly …
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1/23/20
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A couple times a year I visit the ACI, our state prison. I always welcome the opportunity to do so, although the visits are as emotionally challenging as they are spiritually rewarding.During one of …
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1/16/20
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Certainly, St. John the Baptist had plenty of time and much family history to be able to proclaim in the very first chapter of the Gospel of St. John, “Now I have seen and testified that he is …
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1/16/20
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“Two wrongs don’t make a right.”Just think how much better each one of us and the world would be, if we held fast to this morally correct common sense proverb. But unfortunately, …
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1/16/20
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January 1 was the 53rd World Day of Peace in the Catholic Church. Having begun by Pope St. Paul VI in 1967, every Pope since then has continued the tradition of writing a pastoral letter on Peace on …
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Sister Patricia McCarthy
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1/16/20
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It’s a routine we go through every year as one year ends and another begins – the discarding of old calendars and the display of the new. I suppose it’s a little different for the …
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1/9/20
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In the 1820s a series of canals was built along the Blackstone River joining the cities of Worcester and Providence. A number of locks are still visible along the shore line. The canal system was …
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1/9/20
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Pope Francis has often spoken out against the use of superstitious, magical remedies to guide our lives. For example, in one of his addresses, he pointed to the example of St. Peter whose faith in …
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12/19/19
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St. Joseph’s name was added in 1921 to the Divine Praises, usually recited after Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, by Pope Benedict XV at the request of the Archdiocese of Quebec. St. …
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12/19/19
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It was Saturday morning, the day before the First Sunday of Advent. The usual impressive size crowd was at the 6 a.m. Mass. The priest was giving the homily in which he was reminding everyone that …
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12/19/19
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Advent is such a special season, a beautiful, grace-filled time in which the Church prepares for the Coming of the Lord — both at the end of time and in the present Christmas Season. And one of the …
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12/12/19
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The calendar of the ancient world followed closely the changing of seasons: the plantings of spring and the harvestings of autumn, the brilliance of summer and the gloom of winter. What started as an …
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12/12/19
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Two years ago, speaking before a Vatican-sponsored international symposium titled “Prospects for a World Free of Nuclear Weapons and for Integral Disarmament,” Pope Francis said we cannot …
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12/12/19
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