In a homily given to the College of Cardinals before he was elected pope, then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger famously coined the phrase, “the dictatorship of relativism.” Commenting on St. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, the future pope spoke about how we...
This has been a tumultuous week in America. January 6, 2021 will remain etched in the annals of American history as a day of shame and revulsion. Americans, and indeed the world, witnessed scenes of lawlessness and anarchy unprecedented in...
A reflection on the Sunday readings for January 3, 2021 — the Epiphany of the Lord Is your Christmas tree still up? Have you taken down your Christmas decorations yet? When I was a child back in India, our tradition was...
We sat in the car, my husband and I, still stunned, trying to eat a quick dinner before we drove to the hospital. I was avoiding looking at the medical building we had left earlier, the one with the unfamiliar...
Each year at Christmas, I have a difficult time reconciling the hard realities that must have surrounded Jesus’ birth and how it has been romanticized over the centuries. The Annunciation, the Visitation, Joseph’s dilemma, Quirinius’s census, Mary and Joseph’s travel...
Early in Advent, a line of Scripture struck me strongly and has stuck with me ever since: “I am ‘the voice of one crying out in the desert’” (Jn 1:23). This Advent brought more revelations about the abuse scandals in...
I want to begin my Christmas 2020 reflection with the first four stanzas of the poem Esperanza by Alexis Valdés, a Cuban-American poet based in Miami, Florida. When the storm passes and the roads are tamed, and we are the...
O man, do you not realize by what means Christ pursues you in order to call you back? Saint Peter Chrysologus wrote this in the 5th century as a part of a reflection on the Nativity. These words remind me...
The Covid-19 pandemic has upended our society in nearly every way imaginable. Many people are out of work and unable to feed their families. Others have been evicted from their homes. Some lay in ICU beds, gasping for air or...
This is a reflection on the Mass readings of Sunday, December 20, 2020. Today’s readings present us with two stories. The first is the story of David, the second King of Israel. Through his extraordinary efforts, David had finally brought...
The lack of the unity in the Church in recent years has given rise to more than just a penchant for irrational scientific beliefs and moral dogmatism. It has also allowed the sin of vainglory to flourish and find new...
Today, December 13, 2020, marks the 51st anniversary of Pope Francis’s ordination to the priesthood in Buenos Aires. He has often reflected on priestly ministry and vocation, and his reflections reveal a life of prayer and closeness to Jesus which...
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