Religious Education - Children
Catechist BlogLove your Enemies
In today’s Gospel we hear Jesus’ most difficult and challenging teaching: “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.” Jesus has already taught that God’s demand and will is summed up and focused in...
What Mary Has to Teach Us
Recently the administration of our Franciscan Province has initiated a “virtual wake service” for our deceased friars, where we friars can offer a reflection on the deceased friar’s life. This is what I wrote for Br. Vianney Justin… I always found Vianney to be one of...
What if….?
This, the 20th anniversary of 9/11, brings back memories of “Where was I on 9/11. ”Indeed it was one of the worst days in our history as a nation. So many lives lost. We lost one of our very own parishioners that day at the Pentagon, David Laychak. On 9/11 2011, I was...
Principles of Conduct
Our first reading is a letter from St. Paul to the community of believers in Colassae. It was a community begun by a compatriot of Paul’s; a man named Epaphras who visited Paul in prison to give him a report on the community. He reports to Paul that the community is...
Is it lawful?
What is lawful? This question is asked today in both our civil and religious society. What does the law require and even demand? We see this same debate between Jesus and the Pharisees in today’s Gospel. The Pharisees were a Jewish lay reform movement. Jews who...
St. Gregory the Great
Today is the memorial of St. Gregory the Great. The gospel reading, particular to the memorial is Luke 22:24-30 which recounts when “argument broke out among the Apostles about which of them should be regarded as the greatest.” It is an ironic selection for a man who...
Into Deeper Waters
Just as if it were yesterday, Jesus calls us to cast our “nets” into a sea that seems empty but is full of “fish” to be “caught.” Jesus said to Peter, “Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch.” Peter and his friends were experienced fishermen. They...
Revealing the Good We Can Do
Pope Francis has done a TV commercial. The Pope recorded the public service announcement for the “It’s Up to You” campaign launched by the U.S.-based nonpartisan, nonprofit Ad Council to increase people’s confidence in COVID-19 vaccines by reminding them that the...
Dealing with Demons
The story from the Gospel tells us that the people of that time believed in Evil Spirits. They also believed that in some way illness, physical or mental was caused by an evil spirit. In either case what we see in today’s Gospel is that Jesus cured the person. Are...
The Power of the Word and Human Need
On January 1st 1863 the Emancipation Proclamation was issued in the midst of the Civil War. Slaves who lived within the borders of the Confederacy remained in bondage. Most never heard about the proclamation until the last days of the conflict; some only heard well...