Just up the street from Sacred Heart rectory in the Pleasant View section of Pawtucket there was a decent-sized Syrian community, some of whom came from the old country and most of whom were born in … more

In the very ancient Church Mass was often celebrated over the tombs of the martyrs. A wooden platform similar to a table was placed over the martyr’s remains to hold the paten and chalice required … more

Sometime ago this e-mail message was received at St. Ambrose Church in Albion where I have been helping with week-end Masses since retirement. The communication reads: “To whom it may concern: … more

Rather than concelebrate the Paschal Vigil this past Easter, I decided to attend the service at a local church to experience this solemnity from the pews. I checked the times for the nearest churches just over the Massachusetts line from Woonsocket. more

The evidence in Scripture for the primacy of the Office of Peter within the Universal Church frankly is overwhelming. All four Gospel accounts record the celebrated confession of St. Peter as he speaks for the other eleven apostles and acknowledges Christ to the Messiah. “You are the Christ!” St. Peter professes tersely in St. Mark’s Gospel. “The Messiah of God,” are the few words St. Luke places on St. Peter’s lips in his narrative. Much more solemn are the phrases found in St. Matthew’s account, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” And St. John, for his part, closes his profound teachings on the Eucharist with these intense words: “Simon Peter answered him, ‘Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God.’” more

Eighteenth century English author Henry Fielding wrote about a woodcutter forced to act as a doctor, owing to a prank played on him by his wife. more

The once familiar prayer to St. Michael the Archangel recited after Low Mass in the old rite is gently and increasingly making its way back into Catholic piety. Quite reminiscent of the old days, … more

A local politician explained his stance on same-sex marriage by saying, "If two people love one another, who am I to stand in the way of their marrying?" The truth is that marriage is about much … more

Marriage in Western Civilization and in virtually every society in the world and certainly within the Judean-Christian tradition has been the indissoluble union of one man and one woman open to the procreation and education of children. more

Jewish history was rarely a glorious enterprise. The Jews knew some triumphs under David; they experienced some splendor during Solomon’s tenure; a brief freedom was earned by the Maccabees. But … more

Just about everyone who reads or hears the Parable of the Merciful Father and his prodigal son has a bit of sympathy for the elder son who very dutifully stays by his father’s side, works hard, and … more

A familiar expression among Catholics that continues to linger from the old Latin Mass is the reference to the presentation and preparation of the bread and wine at Mass as the “offertory” of the … more

Unlike most of Judea’s geography, Jericho is an Israeli city of natural springs. Water flows liberally through cobble stone gutters washing away refuse and cooling the neighborhoods. And there … more

Every Roman Catholic might not observe all the traditional, religious practices associated with the death of a loved one. And, chances are, every Jewish believer does not carry out each prescription … more

Providence College presents an annual interfaith dialogue among representatives of the Catholic community, and most often the Jewish community. A Catholic religious sister who spoke this year reflected that the common division of the Bible into the Old Testament and New Testament could seem to slight present day Jewish society by implying that their relationship with God was antiquated so God need no longer be true to his promises. more

Although St. Matthew’s “Sermon on the Mount” and St. Luke’s “Sermon on the Level Stretch” closely parallel one another, St. Matthew’s account stretches to … more

After 20 centuries of Christianity, the edge has been somewhat taken off St. Matthew’s insightful designation for Jesus Christ: “... and his name shall be called Emmanuel, which is God with us.” The reader should also note that this description of the nearness of God through Christ neatly concludes St. Matthew’s Gospel as well. The ascending Jesus Christ proclaims to his puzzled Apostles: “Behold I am with you always until the end of the age.” So the nearness of God, the presence of God, the closeness of God to his people through Christ is fundamental to the Gospel message. more

Ponder the threats to traditional marriage that contemporary society is experiencing nowadays. more

In last Sunday’s Gospel, St. Luke presented his readers with down to earth examples of practical charity. Through the words of St. John the Baptist, the evangelist provided a program of care and compassion. more

Every October the Diocese of Providence requests from each parish a “mass count,” a census of exactly how many Catholics are attending Mass on a given Sunday. Bishop Thomas J. Tobin has noted in these pages that 17 percent of Rhode Island Catholics attend Mass on any given Sunday. more