Most people know St. Anthony of Padua as the patron saint of lost and stolen articles, but have you ever wondered why he is that particular patron saint? The Patron Saint of Lost Things. The reason...
Friar Reflection
The Voice of God
“Where is God?” “What is God doing?” I am sure that some of us have asked these questions as we face what seems to be one tragedy after another in our world and in our county. Or perhaps we have...
Making the Right Choice
Amanda Gorman is the young writer and activist who delivered her acclaimed poem “The Hill We Climb” at President Biden’s inaugural. Last week [May 28, 2022], The New York Times published her latest...
Elijah and Jesus: Building on and Fulfilling Tradition
In the reading today from the Old Testament the people of Israel had strayed far from a communal relationship with the God of the faith tradition. Many families had opted to recognize and worship...
Miracles in plain sight
The first reading today often focused on the miraculous: “For the LORD, the God of Israel, says, ‘The jar of flour shall not go empty, nor the jug of oil run dry, until the day when the LORD sends...
Mary, Mother of the Church
Today we celebrate the feast of Mary, the Mother of the Church. It is a Marian feast added to the liturgical calendar by Pope Francis in 2018. Yesterday, on Pentecost Sunday we celebrated the...
Forgiveness and Reconciliation
Sometimes forgiveness is easy but sometimes forgiveness can be difficult or even impossible. Jesus seems to find it easy to forgive while still taking seriously the offense. Peter’s offense is...
Living in Hope
In Barbara Kingsolver’s novel Animal Dreams, Hallie offers this advice to her struggling sister Cadie: “The very least you can do in your life is to figure out what you hope for. And the most you...
Oneness and Charity
“...so that they may be one just as we are one...” (John 17:11). The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) para. 811 holds that the four marks of the Church are: one, holy, catholic and apostolic...
How we think of her
Today we celebrate the Feast of the Visitation when the Blessed Virgin Mary visited her cousin Elizabeth. It is but one piece of the mosaic of this woman. Today’s gospel passage, the Magnificat is a...
What I Might Find Out
“In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world.” - such are the closing words of today’s Gospel. Now I have the odd problem, but if people asked me if I had...
St. Augustine of Canterbury
Today there is an optional memorial for St. Augustine of Canterbury. I think it is good that we know a little more about our ancestors in the Faith - especially the missionary one. It seems...