Several months ago a parishioner made me a CD with several songs. I enjoyed all the songs, but had difficulty understanding the words of the song I liked best. I enjoyed its smooth, prayerful and almost angelic sound even though I could only catch a few phrases of the lyrics. After hearing the song for innumerable times, I deciphered enough text to search for the song online. To my surprise, the song was not sung by women but by an... Read more

Several months ago someone sent me this article by Archbishop Dolan and I enjoyed it. He addresses the recent scandals in the Church through an encounter he had while at the airport. It’s excellent. An exerpt follows, click on the link below to read the whole article. [I asked the man,] “Pardon me for being so blunt, but you sure were with me, so, let me ask: when you look at yourself in a mirror, do you see a sex... Read more

Last weekend after I finished saying the expected announcents after Mass, I added one of my own: the world will not end on May 21st. People chuckled. I asked those who had heard about this May 21st prediction to raise their hands, about 20 to 30% of the hands went up. I was able to make this statement with certainty because Jesus himself says in the Gospel of Mark” Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not... Read more

[from my parish bulletin] During May, the month traditionally dedicated to the Virgin Mary, we had two Coronations of the Blessed Mother at our parish, one after a 9am Sunday Mass, the other during a school morning. Crowns are usually worn by kings and queens, so by crowning a statue of the Blessed Mother we are proclaiming her Queen. Mary is often honored as queen with various titles such as Queen of the Angels, Queen of the Apostles, Queen of... Read more

For some time I wondered what percentage of the Bible is proclaimed throughout the Church’s three-year reading cycle for Sundays and feast days and its two-year cycle for weekday Masses. I knew it would be an enormous and time-consuming task to figure out myself, so I never attempted it. Last Monday I mentioned my curiosity during a talk I gave and today a parishioner sent me a link answering my curiosity. Until the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s, a... Read more

[From my parish bulletin] Today the Church celebrates the 94th anniversary of the apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Fatima, Portugal to three young shepherds: Lucia Santos and her cousins Jacinta and Francisco Marto. Our Lady appeared to them every 13th day of the month for six months. During the last apparition, Our Lady delivered the promised sign: the sun danced around the sky and began to approach the Earth. Over 70,000 believers and skeptics gathered in Fatima witnessed... Read more

Even though these are late by a few weeks and we are now celebrating the Easter Season, I still want to share these pictures from the Live Passion at my parish. It happened the evening of Good Friday after the Veneration of the Cross. It was very well done. It’s an unmatchable experience to take part in the recreation of these events leading up to Jesus’ death. As we walked in a crowd across the parking lot praying, singing, hearing... Read more

I’ve had a few people ask me to comment on Osama bin Laden’s recent death. I hadn’t really thought much of it as a moral issue. He was the head of a terrorist group that openly declared war against the United States, so his enemy came to get him. May God have mercy on his soul. I do believe the celebrations over his death may have been uncalled for and the activities of the United States in Pakistan without the... Read more

I went to Warm Springs, Georgia to visit the famous Little White House of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. As I neared Warm Springs on the highway something didn’t seem right. All of a sudden it hit me, the storms from two weeks ago! A tornado passed through the outskirts of Warm Springs causing quite a bit of destruction, including the elementary school. The tornado seemed to have missed the Catholic Mission of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton by a short distance.... Read more

Last week I did a presentation at my parish on the history of the Veneration of the Blessed Virgin Mary. I presented a condensed version of this paper I wrote in seminary titled “The Marian Cult and the Second Vatican Council.” I hope you find it informative and don’t be afraid of the word cult, it simply means organized veneration. Introduction Since apostolic times, Mary, the virgin mother of God, has been greatly honored by Christians. The Second Vatican Council,... Read more