On April 30, 2000 Pope John Paul II recognized Mary Faustyna Kowalska as a saint, numbered among the souls in heaven. At the same time he fulfilled one of Saint Faustyna’s requests, that the second Sunday of Easter be reserved to honor and commemorate God’s infinite mercy. Why the secondContinue Reading
“Do not abandon yourselves to despair. We are an Easter people and alleluia is our song.” Pope John Paul II What does it mean to be an Easter people? Easter is the celebration of the risen Lord, it is also called Resurrection Sunday. It is the day the Lord walkedContinue Reading
Palms are an ancient symbol. For the people of the Old Testament they meant the righteous person who walks in the ways of God. To the Romans palms were a symbol of victory. Conquering generals would bring them back as souvenirs of distant lands. It became a Roman tradition toContinue Reading
“Eight little sailors went up to heaven, one looked back and now there’s seven.” That line is from an old sea chantey, a working song from the age of sail. It reflects the Christian attitude emphasized in today’s readings. A Christian always looks forward, not back. Our entire existence hereContinue Reading
In the parable of the prodigal son we are told of the younger heir and his wasteful spending of his inheritance. The word prodigal means to be recklessly extravagant, and the younger son is certainly that. He squanders his fortune and almost loses his life before finally realizing that heContinue Reading
There is a story about a woman who had a son. This son was about to be executed by Napoleon for some offence and the mother went before the emperor to plead for mercy. “Why?” asked Napoleon, “what has he done to deserve mercy?” “If he deserved it,” the motherContinue Reading
The idea of the Church as a pilgrim church is not new. It goes back at least as far as Saint Augustine and the fifth century. We do not live for the here and now, we live for the future. We are not content with what is, but struggle toContinue Reading
During Lent we prepare to celebrate the resurrection of the Lord. Traditionally we do this by prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. But today’s readings offer a way to start our Lenten observance, with a declaration of faith. A profession of faith accompanies Israel’s offering. By reciting, in a very abbreviated form,Continue Reading
There is a popular radio talk show host who was fond of saying “talent on loan from God.” It always puzzled me that his critics were so harsh on him for using this aphorism because of course we all have talent on loan from God. We are all chosen. WeContinue Reading
Shakespeare famously said, “truth is truth, to the end of reckoning.” Despite what our age of relativism would have us believe, there are transcendent truths. In a world of grays there are still things that are black and white. Much of our faith is like that, transcendent truths that areContinue Reading