As we are starting summer many of us will have an opportunity to take a break from school or work and make time for leisure activities.  As we make plans for leisure activities and travel, I will strongly encourage all of us to keep our focus on God.  The time for Mass and prayer should be included in our plans.

When attending Mass, especially during the summer months, I would ask all of us to exercise prudence and judgment in how we act and in what we wear.  (Read more…)

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…)

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…)

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…)

As disciples of Christ, we are challenged to set a good example for others and to truly and publicly live our faith.  We are therefore invited to prayerfully consider making time for the Lord by making the Mass the heart of our day, not just a small part of our day, each Sunday and each Holy Day of Obligation.  This is especially true as we make time for rest and recreation as summer approaches.

The third commandment of God is to remember to keep holy the day of the Lord, and keeping holy the day of the Lord is something that Christians of all faith traditions should strive to do.  In addition, the Catholic Church has issued certain precepts (or duties) for Catholics.  The first precept is to keep holy the day of the Lord by participating in Mass on Sundays and on Holy Days of Obligation.  I think it is fair to say that at times some of us struggle to comply with this precept. (Read more…)

This Thursday we celebrate the Feast of the Ascension of the Lord, commemorating that day when Jesus was taken up to heaven, to the glory of his Father – 40 days after he rose from the dead and 10 days before the Feast of the Pentecost.  What is so significant or important about this feast?

Once, I was asked, “If Jesus loves us and lives forever, why did he leave?”   It’s an excellent question.  If we consider the Ascension simply in terms of Jesus leaving us, then we might wonder why He did it.  (Read more…)