As the Universal Church glories in the election of a new Supreme Pontiff, the awesome reverence with which St. Peter, the first head of the Apostolic College, was regarded is worth recalling. more

The solemnity of Pentecost is often commemorated as the birthday of the church. more

When Pope Benedict visited the United States last April, he spoke to the bishops of this country assembled in Washington’s Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. more

The season of Advent rightly draws the attention of the believer toward the second coming of Christ, the final judgment and the world to come. These eschatological moments in salvation history are integral to a full appreciation of the Gospel message. Christians profess Sunday after Sunday that Jesus Christ “…will come again in glory to judge the living the dead.” Worshippers regularly profess that “…of his kingdom there will be no end.” They roundly acknowledge that they “…look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.” Rightly then does the Church reserve the four weeks preceding Christmas as a time to ponder and appreciate the final event of history: the dawn of the Daystar, the rising of the Sun of Justice, the return of Christ in glory. more

Elijah, also known as Elias, was a distinctive Hebrew prophet whose exploits are recounted largely in the First and Second Books of Kings. Elijah is familiar to Christian believers through his close association with John the Baptist and through his appearance with Moses at the transfiguration of Christ. Elijah was one of those rare Old Testament figures who, like Enoch, did not die but was taken up into heaven on the fiery chariot noted in the celebrated Negro spiritual. Lack of a recorded death possibly indicates a Jewish belief in Elijah’s continued influence over Jewish history and even his eventual return into history. The Jews of Jesus’ era certainly anticipated Elijah’s return and were only too anxious to see Elijah in the person of St. John the Baptist. more

The first chapter of Genesis clearly states that God has given mankind “dominion” (Gen.1:28) over all the earth. In his recent encyclical, Laudato Si’, Pope Francis acknowledges that this … more

Clearly Jesus was not the first Biblical personality to spend 40 days and 40 nights in the Judean desert. In fact, Biblical scholars cite at least 24 times when the number 40 can be cited in the … more

Readings: Wisdom 6:12-16; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; and Matthew 25:1-13 more

Perhaps the most curious words in the New Testament are the anguished cry of Jesus Christ hanging on the cross proclaiming, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” This single line reported … more

During the months one hundred years ago that Our Lady of the Rosary was appearing to the three Fatima children, the young Lucy asked the Virgin Mary on July 13, 1917 “to work a miracle so that … more

Henry David Thoreau’s fame rests largely on his wilderness experience along the shores of Waldon Pond in Concord, Massachusetts. Actually Thoreau’s cabin was less than a mile from the center of … more

At time of this writing, the prospect of so-called marriage between same-sex couples is being hotly debated in the state’s legislature, in the press, and on the Internet. more

Surely it no coincidence that the first words out of the mouth of the resurrected Christ in St. John’s Gospel are a challenge to the Eleven Apostles to continue the ministry of reconciliation that Jesus had just inaugurated by his death on the cross: “The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. more

Every American is familiar with the words of 19th century poetess Emma Lazarus mounted on the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor. Her memorable phrases are a portion of a longer poem entitled “The New Colossus.” Miss Lazarus wrote earnestly: more

The Blessed Mother is highlighted twice in the Gospel according to St. John. The miracle at Cana, to be proclaimed this coming Sunday, places Mary at the very beginning of Christ’s public life and St. John’s narrative of the crucifixion locates the mother of Jesus at the very last moments of Jesus’ public life. more

The American Thanksgiving holiday and the quickly approaching universal festival of Christmas have become and perhaps always have been opportunities for giving. In late November parish halls are … more

One Sunday last spring, St. Francis Parish in Warwick celebrated First Communion at a 12:30 p.m. Sunday Mass, welcomed a newborn with the sacrament of baptism at 2 p.m. and then witnessed Bishop Robert E. Mulvee confirm 22 young people at 5 p.m. more

It has been fifty years since the Latin Mass of our youth began its transformation into the vernacular Mass of the present day. This alteration of Catholic worship did not take place all at once. First the old Tridentine Mass was translated wholly into the world’s languages except for the Roman canon which was still prayed in Latin. Then the Novus Ordo, the new order, often known as the Mass of Paul VI, with wider readings, a selection of Eucharistic prayers, and other assorted additions and eliminations, became the Church’s regular liturgy. One especially notable revision was the broadening of the former offertory into the more expressive presentation and preparation of gifts. more

The solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin in the womb of St. Anne should be both a festive and a reflective celebration for Christians of the 21st century. The young girl Mary … more

The oldest church building in the city of Woonsocket is, oddly, not a church at all. The Quaker Meeting House on Smithfield Road, just at the edge of the city line, facing Union Cemetery in North Smithfield, is intentionally just a meeting house where individual believers gather for prayer, song and Biblical inspiration. The Society of Friends, as the Quakers are officially known, shuns formal worship. more