Independence Day

This coming Thursday we celebrate the Fourth of July, Independence Day.  On this day, we call to mind the birth of our nation. As Catholics, we are called to truly cherish in a very special way the many freedoms we enjoy in this country, freedoms not available to many people in other parts of the world.  Our bishops have called on us to reaffirm our commitment to appreciate and guard our freedoms, especially our right to religious liberty.  We are reminded that they should never be taken for granted. (Read more…)

Corpus Christi

Today is the great Feast of Corpus Christi, when the Church with joy celebrates the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament.

In 1247, the Feast of Corpus Christi was celebrated in France for the first time.  It gained widespread acceptance throughout the Church after 1300.  The Feast is generally considered to reflect the Holy Thursday Mass, but without its sorrowful connection to the Passion.

An outdoor procession has been an integral part of Corpus Christi since its beginning, and may have originated from the procession of the Blessed Sacrament to the Altar of Repose that is conducted on Holy Thursday.  After first appearing in 1279 in Cologne, Germany, the concept spread rapidly with the acceptance of the Feast. (Read more…)

Happy Father’s Day

I came across this article to share with you:

It was Theodore Hesbergh who said: “The most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother.”  In some ways this insight almost seems too simple.  After all, don’t we expect a lot of other things of fathers – namely, that they would provide, protect, and nurture?  Yet when we consider that marriage is the foundation of the family, then it follows that children need this solid foundation more than anything else a parent can give them.  (Read more…)