A Reflection for Holy Thursday Today is the Passover of the Lord. When Jesus celebrated the Passover with his disciples for the last time, it was different than all the other Passovers he had celebrated. There were no bitter herbs...
Several years ago I gave a talk about the Presentation of the Lord that included a reflection Cardinal Ratzinger. I just happened to stumble across it again yesterday and it struck me in a new way this Holy Week. Ratzinger...
Eleven years. We are just beginning to realize the great mercy that God has showed us by giving us a Universal Shepherd who invites us daily to personal conversion, to social fraternity, and towards the necessary reform of the Church....
The Word is living, being, spirit, all verdant greening, all creativity. This Word manifests itself in every creature. St. Hildegard of Bingen I’d like to begin this reflection on the royal priesthood of the faithful with Paul’s letter to the...
I returned late Monday from a ten-day trip to Rome, which began less than two weeks after a short trip to Lourdes. I used most of my Tuesday morning sleeping off jetlag, and then I dedicated the late afternoon and...
Welcome to Lent! The Catechism says of this season that “By the solemn forty days of Lent, the Church unites herself each year to the mystery of Jesus in the desert” (CCC 540), and fittingly, every year the Gospel for...
Anthony (not his real game) was the fifth child in a family of seven kids, with the eighth on the way. He was extroverted, bright, and imaginative. At “meet the teacher night,” his mother warned me that this second grader...
Lent always raises a few all-familiar questions, “What are you doing for Lent?” or, “What are you giving up for Lent?” Answers to questions like these often indicate a Lent that is primarily driven by us. We plan our Lent,...
For Mardi Gras, also known as Shrove Tuesday in English Christianity, and in preparation for Lent, we present this poem by the great George Herbert (1593–1633). The Collar I struck the board, and cried, “No more; I will abroad!...
If we were to take a time machine and travel to any part of the world, at any time in history, we will see that for that particular period, that particular culture, there is always a minority group that is...
Recently while visiting the sick I spent some time in a section of the hospital for dementia patients waiting to be transferred to a nursing home. It is one of my favorite sections to visit. On this particular day, a...
The Holy Father’s recent series of General Audience addresses has covered virtues and vices, during which he has spoken about many topics, including the importance of forgiveness, guarding against nurturing anger, and resolving conflict in families. The Church has given...
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