Religious Education - Children
Catechist BlogThe Franciscan Crown Rosary
At our parish in Tampa we have a Gift & Book Store. After shopping in the store, a parishioner sought out the pastor. “Father, your gift store has rosaries that were made by someone who didn’t know the rosary. Were they made in China?” The parishioner had noticed...
Blessing and Biodiversity
Each year Catholics celebrate the Blessing of the Animals as part of the Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi observance. St. Francis, the Patron Saint of Animals and Ecology, loved all animals and all of nature, recognizing each animal as an equally miraculous work of...
Faithful Citizens: Pro Life
The 2021 Virginia elections are quickly approaching. You still have time to register - October 12th deadline for the November 2nd election! Thanks to the parish VOICE ministry for their recent voter registration drive. The U.S. Catholic bishops have updated their...
Abortion as Health Care?
As Catholics we are rightly opposed to abortion for the simple reason that it takes a life. Life, which St. John Paul II called “the most fundamental of human rights.” We celebrate life with the birth of a child; we mourn the loss of life and in that moment we...
What a mystery human freedom is!
Today, we contemplate Jesus talking about the people of certain towns of Galilee (Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum) where He had preached and performed miracles. These towns had also been a cause of great concerned to Him. Why? The sowing had been plentiful but the...
Word of God
Today’s first reading from Nehemiah describes a Jewish “Liturgy of the Word.” Since Christianity started out as a Jewish sectarian movement our Liturgy of the Word is very similar to what is described in this first reading. The Jewish people gathered in the Courtyard...
Under the Fig Tree
Today is the Feast of the Archangels with a reading from the Gospel of John in which Jesus encounters Nathaniel under a fig tree. It is only at the end of the reading that angels get a mention: “you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending...
Memorial of Saint Wenceslaus
Today includes an optional Memorial in honor of St. Wenceslas of Bohemia (which today we would understand as modern Czechoslovakia). The first reading for the memorial is from 1 Peter 3:14-17 and has what I think is one of the most foundational of Biblical and life...
What is your Election Plan?
Do you have a plan on where and how you will vote in upcoming November 2 General Election? The St. Francis of Assisi parish VOICE ministry has already sponsored a successful Voter Registration campaign on the weekend of September 25/26 - and now it is time to "Get...
Welcoming the Children
Yesterday at the 9:30 a.m. Sunday Mass I heard the voices of children. I love to hear them calling out during Mass even during my homily. It is always a sign to me that our parish is alive when we hear the voices and cries of the children. We always want to make...