Father John A. Kiley
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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
Saint Luke must have had his tongue fixed squarely in his cheek when he presented the parable of the unjust steward to his readers. more
On July 13, 1917, during the third apparition at Fatima, Our Lady warned that if mankind did not repent God was going to punish the world for its crimes by means of war, hunger, persecution of the … more
A handy park bench flanked by garden urns with marigolds and petunias faces the freshly painted door of St. James Food Pantry in Manville. Every Thursday morning that bench as well as the bright … more
In St. Mark’s Gospel account, the measures for the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem on what later generations have understandably described as Palm Sunday are quite similar to the arrangements … more
Winston Churchill, certainly one of the great figures of the Twentieth Century, has recently been portrayed in two motion pictures concerning an epic event during World War II. About 400,000 British … more
An old adage instructs, “As we pray, so we believe.” On this Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ, it is certainly worthwhile to look carefully at the contemporary Church to analyze how … more
The Ascension of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ into heaven is perhaps, no, is definitely the most convoluted event in salvation history. All four evangelists take note of Jesus’ return to … more
My mother worked for many years as bookkeeper at the B & S Electric Auto Service on Front Street in Woonsocket. Even after I was born she continued to “do the books” at our home for this small auto repair business. more
There are no more scandalous lines in the sacred Scripture than the despondent words of the crucified savior, “My God, my God, why have your forsaken me?” Christians well know that Jesus Christ is indeed divine, that he is the second person of the Blessed Trinity, that he is God’s very own Son “… consubstantial with the Father,” as the new Roman Missal will soon proclaim. more
Occasionally in the Scriptures the reader will come across pre-existing hymns that were lifted, so to speak, by the sacred author and incorporated into the revealed word of God. Possibly, the first account of creation from Genesis with its very stylized first day, second day, third day, etc., arrangement was a poetic prayer read in the Jerusalem Temple. The Song of Songs was quite likely a secular love poem adapted for Temple use. St. Luke’s incorporation of songs placed on the lips of Zachariah, the Virgin Mary, the Bethlehem angels and Simeon might also represent some devotional material in use before that evangelist actually put pen to paper. more
One of the first historical developments within Christianity was the movement of pious Christians away from the moral tumult of the ancient world’s Greco-Roman cities into the spiritual solitude of the Egyptian desert. St. Anthony of the Desert and St. Mary of Egypt are still venerated as early believers who put aside the wealth and pleasures of the Mediterranean world to pursue their eternal destinies in Egypt’s secluded wilderness. Although these desert fathers and mothers went to Egypt seeking isolation, they actually encountered much company. The demons and devils that plagued Jesus during his public life gave these ancient hermits no peace in their quest for a deeper spirituality. And the piety of these early solitaries not only enriched them spiritually but actually drew a good number of disciples eager to learn their Christian disciplines. The barren desert was spiritually most fruitful. more
The angels’ Christmas invitation to the shepherds to hasten to Bethlehem to worship the newborn Christ was the first of many proclamations to outsiders in St. Luke’s narrative revealing to them … more
In the last 45 years, suicide rates have increased by 60 percent worldwide, according to the World Health Organization and other media. Currently youth suicide is increasing at the greatest rate. … more
The Catholic people of Rhode Island have annually displayed great generosity toward the retired priests of the diocese. Last year a total of $268,000 was donated by parishioners to the Senior … more
With all due respect, Jesus was a glutton for punishment. Jesus Christ exposed himself to the contempt of the Jewish leaders day after day, locale after locale. The Scribes, the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the Herodians and the Romans had nothing but scorn for the preacher from Galilee. more
Jesus paid intense attention to his twelve specially chosen disciples during his final meal with them the night before he died. more
A young priest of my acquaintance wrote his master's dissertation on the spirituality of the early Roman martyrs. more
Every student knows the tragic end of King Louis XVI of France and his Austrian-born wife, Marie Antoinette. The sharp blade of the guillotine made swift work of their necks. more
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