Fr. Gerald E. Murray

      Patriotism is a form of gratitude to God for the blessing of living in the land of our birth, or in the land that is our adopted home. We recognize that God has placed us in a particular place and calls us to contribute to the well-being of our society. This... Read More →

  Hope, together with faith and charity, makes up the triptych of the “theological virtues” that express the heart of the Christian life (cf. 1 Cor 13:13; 1 Thess 1:3). In their inseparable unity, hope is the virtue that, so to speak, gives inward direction and purpose to... Read More →

  Today the West lives as if God did not exist . . . This estrangement from God is not caused by reasoning but by a will to be detached from him. The atheistic orientation of a life is almost always a decision by the will. Man no longer wishes to reflect on his relationship to... Read More →

  What is Lent? The Collect for Ash Wednesday Mass gives us the answer: “Grant, O Lord, that we may begin with holy fasting this campaign of Christian service, so that, as we take up battle against spiritual evils, we may be armed with weapons of self-restraint.” This... Read More →

  The opening verse of Psalm 96 provides a fitting message as we begin the Year of the Lord 2024: “O sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth!” To sing a new song is to give voice to a new tune and lyrics. Something not heard before will now be offered to... Read More →

    The Church of the Holy Family, where I serve as pastor, is in midtown Manhattan, across the street from the United Nations campus. The church is open Monday to Friday from 7 AM to 6 PM. Day in and day out, I am impressed to see the many people who come in to pray... Read More →

    When I was a college undergraduate, I read Malcolm Muggeridge’s book Something Beautiful for God, a transcript of his remarkable BBC interview with Mother Teresa of Calcutta. Muggeridge, a British journalist, author, and television personality, was not the... Read More →

  Summer is a good time to reflect upon Our Lord’s words to his busy disciples: “‘Come away by yourselves to a lonely place, and rest a while.’ For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat.” (Mark 6:31) This reminds me of how the Marine Staff Sergeant... Read More →

    The celebration of Independence Day, the Fourth of July, reminds all Americans of the many blessings we have received as a nation. Freedom from Great Britain was won by the heroic persistence of the Continental Army led by General George Washington, and through the... Read More →

  The expression “he has the patience of a saint” is fitting praise for someone who puts up with difficulty, displaying noteworthy calm and grace when most of us succumb to exasperation and anger. In the way they live their lives, saintly people teach us that it is possible... Read More →