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I have a friend who has condemned herself for over 30 years for her abortion. Jesus’ resurrection means two things for her. Let me reflect on two resurrection Scriptures. First, Jesus came to forgive her sins. St. Paul writes that Jesus was raised because we have been justified... Read More →

Holy Week begins today—the most solemn season of the Church’s year. The gospel readings for Tuesday and Wednesday of this week (John 13:21-33, 36-38 and Matthew 16:14-25) portray the scene of Jesus announcing to his disciples that one of them would betray him. Judas is, of... Read More →

  Robert Cardinal Sarah offers this challenging answer to what faith demands in his book God or Nothing: A Conversation on Faith with Nicolas Diat: “The man who believes agrees, like Abraham, to become the prisoner of the invisible God; he agrees to let the Father possess... Read More →

  Today, the desire to control—in both public and private spheres—seems to be intensifying. Consider the pandemic. When it began, the public-health establishment told us the goal was to “stop the spread,” suggesting that officials believed they could control the virus by... Read More →

  It’s hard for the pro-life movement to meet the high standard the world sets for it. Pro-choicers and even agnostic bystanders, irritated by the social and political conflict, are tempted to use any reason they can find to dismiss us as crackpots and cranks. We are... Read More →

When ashes are imposed at the beginning of Lent various words are spoken, but the traditional ones are “Remember, O man, that dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.” These reach back to the first human being, the Adam, into whom God breathed life after forming him from... Read More →

  “There was a funeral at school today.” I don’t suppose that’s something you often hear, but that was how my youngest son answered a recent “How was school?” query. Usually, since he’s sixteen, his response is mundane, often a little cynical. Why describe the school day... Read More →

  On Ash Wednesday of 1996, at Santa Sabina Basilica in Rome, Pope John Paul II placed ashes on my forehead while repeating the familiar words, Remember, man, that you are dust and to dust you will return. (Genesis 3:19) In his homily, the pope had asked, “Why does the... Read More →

For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the... Read More →

The Season of Epiphany should help the Church to see God’s work in the world.  On the Epiphany of the Lord, on January 6, the Church celebrates God the Father revealing God the Son to the first gentiles (in this particular incident Wise Men from the East).  This event... Read More →