|
The Hebrew Scriptures have a segment of seven texts called “The Books of Wisdom.” The seven traditional volumes are Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Wisdom and Sirach. The Book …
more
Fr. John A. Kiley
|
2/28/19
|
|
“See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God. Yet so we are.” With these beautiful words from Scripture (1 Jn. 3:1), the U.S. Catholic bishops introduce …
more
Tony Magliano
|
2/28/19
|
|
“Be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Mt 5: 48) There are lots of challenging passages in the Bible, but this saying of Jesus must surely be among the top ten.
The command to …
more
2/21/19
|
|
St. Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount, comprising chapters 5, 6 and 7 of his Gospel, contains possibly the most famous Scripture passages within the New Testament — with the possible exception of the …
more
Fr. John A. Kiley
|
2/21/19
|
|
Whenever we make small exceptions to universal moral rules, we shouldn’t be surprised that the rules themselves can be quickly undermined. Establishing an “exception” in one case makes people …
more
Rev. Tadeusz Pacholczyk, Ph. D.
|
2/21/19
|
|
While in my local drugstore recently, I was looking to buy a new toothbrush. Not as simple as it sounds!
The number of available options made my purchase a daunting, irritating task. There were, …
more
2/14/19
|
|
“Women and children first” has been the motto of gentlemen perhaps since the chivalrous days of the Middle Ages and certainly since the era of stiff courtesy that marked the nineteenth century. …
more
Father John Kiley
|
2/14/19
|
|
Jesus must have been pleased upon returning to his home town of Nazareth to find his opening words delivered on a Sabbath at the local synagogue to be well received by his neighbors and …
more
Fr. John A. Kiley
|
2/7/19
|
|
The Associated Press recently carried a story that I found both amusing and instructive.
It seems that in Florida, some folks observing last month’s lunar eclipse from their car, forgot to keep …
more
2/7/19
|
|
A long time ago, in a faraway diocese, at a public reception, a woman engaged me in conversation to lodge some complaints about the Church. Her particular grievance was that the religious education …
more
1/31/19
|
|
Brides and grooms, or perhaps mostly brides, thumbing through the Church’s preparation for marriage booklets will often select some early verses of chapter 13 of St. Paul’s 1st Epistle to the …
more
Father John A. Kiley
|
1/31/19
|
|
St. Francis de Sales was a bishop and eminent teacher of the faith whose life bridged the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. His most famous work, “The Introduction to the Devout Life” contains …
more
1/24/19
|
|
The Sunday collection! It’s almost an eighth sacrament! The weekly envelope dropped into the collection basket and the all too frequent “special collections” envelopes that support all areas of …
more
Fr. John A. Kiley
|
1/24/19
|
|
During the course of pregnancy, receiving an adverse prenatal diagnosis can be a tremendously jolting experience for parents. In severe cases, physicians may tell them that their unborn child has a …
more
Rev. Tadeusz Pacholczyk, Ph. D.
|
1/24/19
|
|
I have a working fireplace at home, a comforting convenience in the cold, dark days of winter. It’s not used often, but mostly during the holidays or when I have visitors.
A few weeks back, when …
more
1/17/19
|
|
We have before us the opportunity to dedicate a new year to the Lord; and amidst all the worthy secular resolutions, I would also recommend embracing anew the highest of religious duties—the call …
more
Genevieve Kineke
|
1/17/19
|
|
A speeding car hops the guard rail and tumbles down the grassy embankment. No one thankfully is hurt. “It was a miracle,” friends of the hapless driver and passengers celebrate. CT scans and MRIs …
more
Fr. John A. Kiley
|
1/17/19
|
|
Of happy memory. It’s a beautiful little phrase often used to recall, fondly, the life and legacy of a recently deceased loved one. And it’s the phrase that has come to mind these days as I’ve …
more
1/10/19
|
|
The Baptism of Our Lord has long been celebrated within the Catholic community. But for many centuries its observance was shared on the feast of the Epiphany with the arrival of the Magi at Bethlehem …
more
Fr. John A. Kiley
|
1/10/19
|
|
Like lots of other little kids, when I was growing up I had some pets at home. I have to confess, though, that I wasn’t very creative in naming them. In fact, I was pathetic. I had a little black …
more
12/20/18
|