Two new books concerning Catholic New England offer compelling reading.
more
BY FATHER JOHN A. KILEY
|
4/11/08
|
Let us say once again: we need the greater and lesser hopes that keep us
going day by day. But these are not enough without the great hope, which
must surpass everything else. This great hope can only be God . . . God is
the foundation of hope: not any god, but the God who has a human face and
who has loved us to the end, each one of us and humanity in its entirety.
(Spe Salvi, #31)
more
BY BISHOP THOMAS J. TOBIN
|
4/10/08
|
Pious Catholics often speak of various spiritualities — the spirituality of the priesthood, the spirituality of the religious life, the spirituality of marriage.
more
BY FATHER JOHN KILEY
|
4/4/08
|
By the time you read this I will have celebrated what is euphemistically called a “milestone birthday,” a nice name for a dreadful event. Turning 60 is bad enough; doing so on April Fools Day is especially cruel.
more
BY BISHOP THOMAS J. TOBIN
|
4/2/08
|
Herman Melville, known to most readers as the author of Moby Dick, lived much of his writing life in Pittsfield, Massachusetts.
more
FR. JOHN KILEY
|
3/28/08
|
Readings: Acts 2:42-47
1 Peter 1:3-9
John 20:19-31
During the Easter season, the church's liturgy celebrates the life-giving effect of Jesus’ resurrection on the Christian community. …
more
BY PATRICK V. REID, PH. D.
|
3/28/08
|
Atonement for sin is a notion that pre-dates Christianity and probably even pre-dates Judaism.
more
BY FATHER JOHN KILEY
|
3/21/08
|
We stand in front of our future which closes and opens at the
same time . . . Return to each place where a man has died;
Return to the place where he was born. The past is the time
of …
more
BY BISHOP THOMAS J. TOBIN
|
3/19/08
|
The mid-century liturgical commission that revised the ceremonies for Holy Week was being subtly tongue-in-cheek or deliberately ironic when the members determined that Christ’s entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday should be described as a “triumph.”
more
BY FATHER JOHN KILEY
|
3/14/08
|
The resurrection of Lazarus by Jesus Christ was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Previously, the religious leaders were profoundly disturbed that Jesus Christ had exalted himself above the Sabbath.
more
BY FATHER JOHN A. KILEY
|
3/7/08
|
It’s very fitting that Holy Week occurs in the springtime since both speak to us of new life. While we welcome the new life that nature will soon bring, at the same time we celebrate the new life that comes to us through the passion, death and resurrection of the Lord.
more
BY BISHOP THOMAS J. TOBIN
|
3/5/08
|
The first recorded words, so to speak, from the mouth of God the Father were “Let there be light.” These words, while certainly familiar, are also a bit provocative.
more
BY FR. JOHN A. KILEY
|
2/29/08
|
One of the most authentic shrines in the Holy Land is the Samaritan well near Sechem where Jesus encountered the many-times-wedded woman who had come to draw water.
more
BY FATHER JOHN A. KILEY
|
2/22/08
|
You’ve probably heard the famous story about the priest who was hearing the first confessions of some second graders. “Bless me father, for I have sinned,” began the earnest young man. “I disobeyed my parents, I fought with my brothers and sisters, and I committed adultery.”
more
BY BISHOP THOMAS J. TOBIN
|
2/21/08
|
No one can blame Sts. Peter, James and John for wanting to prolong the Transfiguration experience. In his exhilaration, St. Peter blurts out, “Lord, how good it is that we are here.
more
BY FATHER JOHN A. KILEY
|
2/15/08
|
In 1973 American Psychiatrist Karl Menninger wrote a little book called “Whatever Happened to Sin?” The book caught the imagination of the American public and created a wave of dialogues and debates, stories and sermons about the same topic.
more
BY BISHOP THOMAS J. TOBIN
|
2/8/08
|
The National Catholic (the word is used loosely) Reporter recently praised the church in the Netherlands for its innovative response to the vocation crisis.
more
BY FATHER JOHN A. KILEY
|
2/8/08
|
Each beatitude proclaimed in this Sunday’s liturgy celebrates a deficiency. That’s right. Jesus, through the pen of St. Matthew, honors our brothers and sisters in faith who lack some portion of life and whom others might dismiss.
more
BY FATHER JOHN A. KILEY
|
2/1/08
|
Years ago, the last week of January was celebrated throughout the Catholic world as the Church Unity Octave. Beginning on the former feast of St. Peter’s Chair at Rome and concluding on the current feast of the Conversion of St. Paul, observers of the octave prayed for the unity of various Christian communities with the Church of Rome.
more
BY FATHER JOHN A. KILEY
|
1/25/08
|
Extension Magazine is the publication of the Catholic Extension Society, an organization that "exists to sustain and extend the Catholic Faith in poor and remote mission areas of the United States." In that context, then, I wasn't surprised to find recently an article about the Church in Alaska. The story was an eye-opener, though, and reminded me of how easy it is, how convenient it is to practice our Catholic Faith here in Rhode Island.
more
BY BISHOP THOMAS J. TOBIN
|
1/25/08
|