From the vault: my homily from January 1, 2008. + Years ago, my wife and I decided, just once, to spend New Year’s Eve in Times Square. We weren’t brave enough to stand outside in the cold with noisemakers and funny hats. Instead, we got a package at the Marriott, and had dinner in a ballroom overlooking the square, and at midnight, the whole place went crazy. The confetti, the balloons, the blizzard of paper cascading outside our window, the... Read more

From CNS:  More than 3.2 million pilgrims visited and attended papal events, liturgies or prayer services at the Vatican in 2015, the Vatican said. The statistics, released Dec. 30, were compiled by the Prefecture of the Papal Household, which coordinates papal events and distributes free tickets to papal audiences and liturgies. The prefecture said more than 3.2 million people attended a papal event in 2015. The total was a significant drop from the 5.9 million visitors received by Pope Francis... Read more

From Vatican Radio: Pope Francis received the Pueri cantores on Thursday morning in the Paul VI Hall in the Vatican. The international young choristers’ organization has been holding its annual meeting in Rome this week, six days of festivities, culminating on New Year’s Day with some of them participating in Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica. The motto of the Congress this year is Cantate spem vestram! “Sing out your hope!” – a theme on which Pope Francis reflected extensively in... Read more

From ESPN: When they put Sister Rosalba Garcia in the hospice section of the Salesian Sisters at Provincial House on the west side of this diverse Texas city, the chaplain came to visit. “All his questions were pertaining to her,” explained Sister Martina Ponce, “but all of her answers were on the Spurs. And she kept saying how [Gregg Popovich] was such a good coach because he guides and he helps. “She was describing just what happens on that court.... Read more

A remarkable exchange has unfolded in the pages of The Springfield State Journal-Register newspaper. John Freml, of Call to Action, wrote a letter to the editor, to wit: In the wake of the recent Synod on the Family, in which bishops from around the world debated the church’s treatment of divorced and gay Catholics, I believe it is important that local Catholics are aware of some positive developments. Archbishop Blase Cupich of Chicago recently gave an interview to Chicago’s ABC7,... Read more

Details:  A top Catholic has called for the creation of atheist schools . Peter Kearney, the Scottish Catholic Church’s official spokesman said “secular humanist” schools are needed to satisfy society’s desire to cater for all beliefs. In the Herald, Mr Kearney also called for an expansion of faith-based schools , claiming there was a “scream for conformity” within Scottish education. Mr Kearney said: “Why should tax-paying parents who follow a secular humanist belief system be denied the opportunity to have... Read more

From The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel: A former Catholic church and school in South Milwaukee has been sold to a Muslim congregation for use as a mosque. The former St. Adalbert’s property, near the corner of 16th and Minnesota avenues, was sold last week for $600,000 to Masjid Al-Huda, said the Rev. Bob Betz, the pastor of Divine Mercy Catholic Community of South Milwaukee. Masjid Al Huda is currently located at 5075 S. 43rd St. in Greenfield. Leaders of the mosque could... Read more

I’ve posted in the past about some curious word changes in popular Christmas hymns and carols. This, from 2010: Visiting a parish in Maryland this weekend, I was surprised that the recessional hymn at today’s mass wasn’t altered for political correctness. But no: to my amazed ears, they actually sang “God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen.” The reason this surprised me was because the entrance hymn, on the other hand, was changed from “Good Christian Men, Rejoice” to “Good Christian Friends, Rejoice.”... Read more