Dear Friends,   The season of Advent aims to prepare us for the coming of Jesus at Christmas. One path of preparation is through the readings at Mass, some of which speak of how Israel awaited a messiah. Today’s first reading from the Book of Isaiah is a case in ...

Dear Friends,   Thanksgiving is the time of gratitude and generosity: giving thanks and thankfully giving. I give thanks to God that even the secular calendar has marked this day as a meaningful time for families to gather, the Churches to collect pantry items for families in need, and the ...

Dear Friends,   The liturgical year culminates with the celebration of Christ the King, reminding the faithful that Jesus Christ is the eternal King. Every king has a throne. Our King reigns over heaven and earth, but he also reigns within the hearts of all mankind. Many years ago, I ...

Dear Friends,   Every day I will bless you, my God and King, and praise your name forever and ever… The Lord is faithful in all his words and gracious in all his deeds. —Psalm 145 The Psalms are the human heart’s great cry to God. Every emotion, every thought, ...

Dear Friends in Christ,   Today the Church celebrates the feast day of St. Charles Borromeo, one of the pivotal figures who helped to keep the Council of Trent on track. A son of noble parents, he grew up in a religious family and emulated that piety from an early ...

Dear Friends,   My elders make me look forward to being a child again. How is that possible? Their wisdom confounds me and brings me full circle to the simplicity of the spiritual life: being a child of the Father. I recently attended a Regnum Christi Morning of Reflection led ...

Dear Friends,   A framed print hangs in my office of Mother Teresa and her quote, “Sacrifice to be real must cost, must hurt, must empty us of ourselves.” I love Mother Teresa, but I often pass this frame, smile at her face, and twinge a bit from the words. ...

Dear Friends, I will not fail you or forsake you… Be strong and of good courage… For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. —Joshua 1:6-9 I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living! Wait for the Lord; ...