Recuerdo bien una mañana de Pascua temprano mientras estaba en el seminario montar mi bicicleta con un grupo de amigos hacia la hermosa iglesia que se encuentra en lo alto de la famosa Plaza de España de Roma. Los religiosos y religiosas asignados a Trinità dei Monti entonaron una alegre melodía en francés varias veces a lo largo de la liturgia pascual: Il est vraiment ressuscité: Pourquoi chercher parmi les morts? Il est vivant comme il l’a promis, ¡Aleluya! Traducido al… Read more
I follow several Catholic organizations on social media. Many times I have come very close to unfollow all of them (and have already unfollowed several) – why? Because I get sickened by the comments people write on the posted articles. An example is the Facebook page of the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops (USCCB). The comment section usually descends into an embarrassing darkness that any secular person would be justified to question everything we profess to believe. No matter… Read more
Father Sergio Muñoz Fita, a priest currently serving at Saint Anne Parish in Gilbert, Arizona has issued a public apology in his name and in the name of the Church for having denied the Eucharist to God’s people last year during the peak of the pandemic. His words began with great sincerity, recognizing that when people see him, he represents the Church. His two minute address however takes a turn that I find difficult to understand based on my own… Read more
I recall an early Easter morning while I was in the seminary riding my bicycle with a group of friends to the beautiful church that sits atop the famous Spanish Steps of Rome. The women and men religious assigned to Trinità dei Monti chanted a joyful tune in French several times throughout the Easter liturgy: Il est vraiment ressuscité: Pourquoi chercher parmi les morts? Il est vivant comme il l’a promis, Alleluia! Translated into English: He is truly risen, why do you search among the dead? He… Read more
One of my seminary professors quoted the Jewish theologian Pinchas Lapide on Easter morning on Facebook. My professor Father Charles Morerod, OP, is now Bishop of Geneva and Fribourg in his native Switzerland. My best attempt at translating Lapide from the original French quote took me to these spectacular words: “how can we explain the astonishing change of the disciples of Jesus who had every reason to be afraid and to resume their lives discreetly, but rather they spread themselves… Read more
Tenebrae is a service that allows one to enter into the holiest days of Holy Week with greater intensity. Candles are extinguished as Psalms, Readings from Scripture and songs are pronounced. At the end, one final candle is hidden and a thunderous noise recreates the 3pm hour of Good Friday. Then in silence, the light reemerges to be placed on the altar as a reminder that Jesus Christ has vanquished the darkness (tenebrae) of sin and death. The Lamentations of… Read more
“Jesus is radical,” stated Pope Francis during the canonization Mass of Pope Paul VI and Archbishop Oscar Romero three years ago. “He gives all and he asks all: he gives a love that is total and asks for an undivided heart… Jesus is not content with a percentage of love: we cannot love him twenty or fifty or sixty percent. It is either all or nothing.” The Gospel of the rich man who went away sad after Jesus asked him… Read more
This morning as I got ready for Mass, I watched the Pope meet with people in the midst of a ruined Mosul. Where just a few years ago ISIS was killing and destroying, today people gathered to pray with Pope Francis. Light entered where darkness had spread. The Pope echoed his strong condemnation of the use of violence and terrorism for religious purposes. I watched the Pope drive through the streets of the Christian community of Qaraqosh and heard him… Read more
After a meeting with the Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani who is the highest leader of Shiite Muslims in Iraq, Pope Francis participated in an interreligious gathering in the Plain of Ur where he addressed those gathered. The chosen location for the gathering cannot be underestimated since it is the ancient homeland of our common Father in Faith, Abraham. After the beautiful chanting of the accounts of Abraham from both the Bible and the Koran, various speakers addressed the Pope, including… Read more
Franciscan University of Steubenville Friar Arraigned for Abuse
U.S. Catholic circles have been speaking and writing recently about the Franciscan University friar David Morrier. Yesterday evening I watched him enter a courtroom in Steubenville, Ohio dressed in a shirt and tie, quite different from when I would see him enter Christ the King Chapel at Franciscan University in his black Franciscan habit. Morrier has been accused of raping a student in the past and was arraigned yesterday morning. He entered a not guilty plea to rape and sexual… Read more