Dear Friends in Christ, ‘Tis the season of elections here in the U.S. In recent years it has become a season when deep divides in opinions and beliefs have bubbled to the surface and strained friendships and family ties if not whole communities. Even in the best of times, democracy ...

Dear Friends,   This summer, a package of Dahlia seeds gave me food for thought about the nature of Christian maturity. Two years ago I received a gift: dahlia seeds. Being winter and knowing nothing about them, into the “everything” closet they went and were forgotten… until June of this ...

Dear Friends, Everything Jesus did in his earthly mission, he did for a reason. From the people he healed to the towns he visited to the men he chose as his Apostles: these were intentional actions. This week the church commemorates the Apostle Matthew. The Gospel tells us that many ...

And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord (Luke 1:45) The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your mercy, O Lord, endures forever (Psalm 138:8) Dear Friends, In J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Two Towers, Frodo and Sam ...

Dear Friends in Christ, Today’s memorial feast of Pope St. Gregory the Great (died 604) puts a spotlight on a man whose life holds lessons for a 21st-century Church. In his lifetime the barbarian Ostrogoths sacked Rome, while the Franks and Lombards did their best to harass the Italian peninsula. ...

Dear Friends, This week we celebrate the feasts of St. Monica on Aug. 27 and St. Augustine on Aug. 28. Two great saints for the Church today, whose lives were intimately connected as mother and son. Monica is there for all of us who pray for the conversion of a ...

Dear Friends, The First Amendment to the Constitution prohibits the government from favoring one religion over another and protects the people’s right to worship. It was never intended as an excuse for the faithful to ignore the Gospel values one holds true on Sunday when one enters the public sector ...