What Is Lent?

  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...
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Get Singing!

  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...
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Keep Praying

    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...
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“Life Must Not Be Played With”

    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...
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Rested and Ready

  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...
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The Power of Perseverance

    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...
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Thy Will Be Done

  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...
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Easter Triumph, Easter Joy!

  At the Lamb’s high feast we sing, praise to our victorious King, Who has washed us in the tide flowing from His piercèd side. Easter triumph, Easter joy! This alone can sin destroy; From sin’s power, Lord, set us free, newborn souls in You to be.  The beautiful...
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Lent: A Time for Humility and Honesty

    The sacred season of Lent, when we join in spirit with Jesus in his forty days of fasting in the desert, is upon us. We are called to contemplate the misery our sins, but more importantly, our hope in the One who died for all mankind. The reality of our sinfulness...
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Our Fellow Pilgrim

    The death of Pope Benedict XVI on December 31, 2022, brought an end to the earthly pilgrimage of this great servant of the servants of God. Joseph Ratzinger’s sacred journey to eternal life began at the baptismal font of his parish church in Marktl, Bavaria, on...
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