In January of this year, Pope Francis advised worshippers at his daily Mass: “The greatest sin today is that people have lost the sense of sin.” His Holiness continued that therefore men and women have lost “the meaning of the kingdom of God” and in its place a “powerful anthropological vision” has emerged according to which people say, “I can do anything.” more

Pope St. Pius V was a member of the Order of Preachers who continued to wear his white Dominican habit during his pontificate, a custom continued by popes even to this day. Pope St. Pius served the church during the challenging years that have become known as the Protestant Reformation. more

Pious souls, Scripture scholars and dogmatic theologians have pondered through the ages exactly how much Jesus understood with his human mind that he was indeed a Divine person with a Divine nature. Did Jesus’ human mentality comprehend from birth that he was the second person of the blessed Trinity? Was Jesus the boy, the teenager or the man always aware that he was an eternal being of one substance with God the Father? Did Jesus’ Divine self-awareness grow over the years, or was he always cognizant of his exalted origin and lofty destiny. more

History does not exactly recall Jesus Christ as a rabble rouser, but Jesus did engage in provocative behavior. Twice, once at the beginning of his public life, and once at the end of his public appearances, Christ disrupted the business of the Temple by overturning the money changers’ tables and driving the pious dealers away with a whip. more

The Gospel according to St. John has no parables in great contrast to the Gospel accounts of Saints Matthew, Mark and Luke, which literally teem with parabolic lessons. This lack of parables does not mean that St. John offers no vivid images, no colorful sketches. In fact, St. John’s narrative employs not only graphic illustrations like the Lamb of God and the Good Shepherd, but more importantly, the fourth evangelist proposes a series of imaginative miracle accounts that rely greatly on lively dialogue, vivid symbols, touching humanity and, most significantly, sincere professions of faith on the part of each one of Jesus’ beneficiaries. more

Pope Francis’ most celebrated and most misunderstood remark certainly is his in-flight comment on homosexual persons while returning from Brazil. The Pope famously observed, “If a person is gay and seeks God and has good will, who am I to judge him?” His Holiness’ final words are well recalled, “Who am I to judge?” The Roman Catholic governor and the Roman Catholic attorney general of Illinois both cited these final words when signing into law the recognition of so-called same-sex marriage in the state of Illinois. The Advocate, the nation’s oldest homosexual publication, happily reported, “The brevity of that statement and the outsized attention it got immediately are evidence of the pope’s sway. His posing a simple question with very Christian roots, when uttered in this context by this man, “Who am I to judge?” became a signal to Catholics and the world that the new pope is not like the old pope.” Again, those final words are highlighted and the pope’s fuller context ignored. more

Warned by the death of St. John the Baptist, and then alerted by the antagonism that his own preaching and healing provoked, Jesus knew that tough times were ahead for himself and for his hapless disciples. more

Pope Francis raised hope in some quarters, and eyebrows in other quarters, when he took the world’s monetary practices to task in his first public exhortation, “The Joy of the Gospel.” The Pontiff had challenging words for those responsible for what he termed “an economy of exclusion.” The Holy Father decried “the new idolatry of money” and was certainly harsh on “a financial system which rules rather than serves.” more

The word “perfect” occurs only twice in the Gospel accounts, and both times it is St. Matthew who employs this superlative. In the account of the rich young man given a chance at discipleship, Jesus offers this challenge: “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” In this coming Sunday’s Gospel passage from the celebrated Sermon on the Mount, Jesus urges his disciples, “So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.” St. Luke for his part does include this last quote from Jesus, but in a slightly modified form. St. Luke recalls Jesus saying, “Be merciful, just as also your Father is merciful,” or, as another translation reads, “Be compassionate, as your heavenly Father is compassionate.” Assessing all these quotations together, the reader may easily conclude that perfection consists in sensitivity toward the poor. Here the poor indicates not only the financially and materially impoverished, but also the emotionally and socially deprived. more

Just about every culture on the face of the earth accepts some sort of Divinity. Christians happily acknowledge the Father, Son and Holy Spirit as the one true God, creator, redeemer and sanctifier. The Jewish community joins the Christian community in embracing the one, eternal God, revealed initially to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The Islamic world recognizes this common Semitic heritage when it worships Allah as the supreme and perfect being. more

This coming Sunday’s three Scripture readings combine the forceful words of the prophet Isaiah, the insightful phrases of the apostle Paul and the homely expressions of the Master Himself to communicate broadly the richness of the Gospel message. more

Forty-eight years ago, within weeks of my ordination to the priesthood, I offered a Sunday Mass in my home parish of St. Charles Borromeo in Woonsocket. After Mass, a young mother presented herself to me and asked to be “churched.” This was the only request for churching in my half-century of priestly ministry. more

Startled by the imprisonment of St. John the Baptist, Jesus leaves behind the religiously top-heavy area around Jerusalem with its temple liturgies, periodic pilgrimages, priestly ministrations and pious commercialism. Instead, Jesus returns home to Galilee, to the northern region of his youth, an area rich with both Greek and Jewish tradition. more

The nurse at the head desk at an area hospital said that there was a young lady who wanted to see a priest should one pass by. The young woman was not seriously ill, but rather somewhat apprehensive about a procedure that she was to undergo the following day. more

In a broad-ranging and now celebrated 80-minute conversation with journalists on the plane bringing him back from a weeklong visit to Brazil, Pope Francis said that the Roman Catholic Church’s ban on women priests was definitive, although he would like women to have more leadership roles in administration and in pastoral activities. Citing the authoritative statements of his predecessors, Blessed John Paul II and Benedict XVI, the pope closed any discussion on Catholic female clergy but opened widely and repeatedly further consideration on the role of women in the Church. more

The vilification of the bishop of Providence in news items, through published letters and over the Internet for his untiring defense of unborn life has been fostered by inter-faith clergy and by so-called “faithful Catholics” alike. The bishop’s defense of life along with other candid statements on moral issues has drawn attention from the New England regional press as well. While the pro-life and the pro-traditional marriage constituencies have cheered his Excellency’s observations on social issues, a number of commentators on local Web pages have accused Bishop Tobin of being “obsessed” with the topic of abortion. more

Following the lead of his predecessor, Blessed Pope John XXIII, our current Pontiff, Pope Francis, has determined that the name of St. Joseph should be included in all four standard Eucharistic prayers read at Mass. more

The season of Advent rightly draws the attention of the believer toward the second coming of Christ, the final judgment and the world to come. These eschatological moments in salvation history are integral to a full appreciation of the Gospel message. Christians profess Sunday after Sunday that Jesus Christ “…will come again in glory to judge the living the dead.” Worshippers regularly profess that “…of his kingdom there will be no end.” They roundly acknowledge that they “…look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.” Rightly then does the Church reserve the four weeks preceding Christmas as a time to ponder and appreciate the final event of history: the dawn of the Daystar, the rising of the Sun of Justice, the return of Christ in glory. more

A recent Inter-Faith convocation concluded with the familiar seasonal hymn, “We Gather Together.” The chorus began, “We gather together to ask the Lord’s blessing, To live in community seeking God’s Will.” more

The ancient Jews understood that God’s fidelity in the past was an assurance of his faithfulness in the future. The Jews had cried out from the anguish of Egyptian slavery and the Lord God heard their plea. Through Moses, God led the Jews safely if arduously through the wilderness for 40 years. more