Opinion
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Like life itself, Lent starts out nice and slow. And suddenly, Easter is upon us. There may have been a Lenten midway point, or maybe as Holy Week began, we realized that Lent has sped by. We … more
"It is always possible to begin anew." "He is alive here and now." "Jesus, the risen Lord, loves us without limits." If you caught Pope Francis' Easter Vigil homily a year ago, you will recognize … more
Okay, I have a confession to make. I support the sale of contraceptives. I don’t want to, and I don’t like it, but I do. I’ll explain in a moment, but first, a little background. more
While much needed attention is being given to refugees flowing from war-torn Syria, one desperately suffering Middle East nation is barely a blip on the developed world’s radar screen. more
For the sake of our salvation, we need to pay serious attention, and act with purpose, to what Jesus teaches here in Matthew’s Gospel: “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne, and all the nations will be assembled before him. more
I’ve been a fan of the space program for a long time. I’m old enough to remember standing in the front yard of our home in Pittsburgh in 1957 watching expectantly for the Russian-launched Sputnik to pass overhead in the night sky, and also listening to the grainy beep . . . beep . . . beep . . . the satellite produced for radios around the world. more
We’ve just entered a beautiful liturgical season, surely not as prominent as Advent, Christmas, Lent or Easter, but a special time for the Church nonetheless. I speak of October, the Season of Saints. While the celebration of saints is scattered throughout the year, it seems that this month has a bounty of beautiful feast days that spark devotion and speak to the Catholic imagination in a particular way. more
As the first pope in history to address a joint session of Congress, Pope Francis, defending the human right of masses of oppressed and poor people to immigrate, said, “We must not be taken aback by their number, but rather view them as persons, seeing their faces and listening to their stories, trying to respond as best we can to their situation. more
I’ve never walked through a corn maze, but it looks like fun. more
Now that summer is winding down and another work year is upon us, one of the issues that we’ll be studying in the Diocese of Providence is the question of compensation for priests. Although our priests, along with the lay employees of the Diocese, have regularly received modest “cost of living” increases, it’s been a number of years since the basic compensation structure has been reviewed. Hence the current study seems to be warranted. more
How low can society go? When one considers the many ways countless human beings are treated like cheap disposable products – from children exploited by pornographers, to young sweatshop workers exploited by wealthy corporations – it’s hard to imagine how much worse it can get for the poor and vulnerable. more
Seventy years ago, on August 6, 1945, the single most destructive weapon ever unleashed upon human beings and the environment – the atomic bomb – was dropped by an American B-29 bomber on the Japanese city of Hiroshima, killing approximately 80,000 people. more
A few random thoughts before we take a little break for summer. more
Back in the mid-1980s, I was working as a director of religious education at St. Peter’s Catholic Church in western Maryland. more
After attending Sunday Mass in Florida not too long ago I came across the following admonition in the Sunday bulletin: “Please come to Mass early enough not to disrupt. Leave late enough not to insult. (The Mass does not end until the final blessing). Worship reverently enough not to distract. And dress proudly enough not to offend.” more
“The God of peace is never glorified by human violence,” wrote the famous Trappist monk Thomas Merton. more
We’ve just celebrated Memorial Day, a beautiful occasion on which we fittingly remember and honor those who have given their lives in the service of our nation and also those who have served and continue to serve in the military. more
Who would have predicted it? Who would have imagined on Feb. 3, 1977, the day of his appointment as archbishop of San Salvador, that the highly conservative Oscar Romero -- who was suspicious of the Catholic church’s involvement in political activism -- would die a martyr’s death for courageously defending his people against the murderous assaults of the Salvadoran government and military and their allied right-wing death squads? more
Keep your thoughts positive because your thoughts become your words. Keep your words positive because your words become your behavior. Keep your behavior positive because your behavior becomes your habits. Keep your habits positive because your habits become your values. Keep your values positive because your values become your destiny. (Mahatma Gandhi) more
A number of years ago while visiting one of our local parishes to participate in its annual festival, I met an older Italian woman, one of the true pillars of the parish. I respectfully saluted her with the traditional Italian toast, “Cent’Anni,” meaning, “May you live to be a hundred!” Somewhat defiantly, in her slightly accented English, she responded, “I certainly hope so; I’m already ninety-nine-and-a-half!” more
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