REVEREND CHARLES IRVIN was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on January 6, 1933. He was raised and educated there, graduating from the University of Michigan's Law School. After a brief career as an attorney he entered the seminary and was ordained a priest in 1967. Shortly thereafter he began an eleven-year ministry at St. Mary's Student Chapel in Ann Arbor. A rich variety of ministries followed including appointments to many advisory positions in the Church and three other pastorates. In the early 1970s he began writing columns for several Catholic newspapers in Michigan. In 1999 he was appointed founding editor of Faith magazine, published by the Diocese of Lansing, Michigan. Today, the magazine serves seven dioceses. Fr. Irvin passed into eternity on February 11, 2021. May God rest his soul.
What I want to say to you is that you are significant in God’s great scheme of things. Let me point out two things about each one of you. Each one of you has his or her own completely unique DNA coding. No one who ever was, or who is living now, or...
Time is a problem for us. We live lives filled with multiple options with an array of many things to do and opportunities to engage ourselves in any number of tasks. Sometimes, maybe most of the time, we have so many things to do we don’t know which...
In the Acts of the Apostles (6:1-7), we hear about the first deacons. They were ordained by the overburdened Apostles who needed their help in caring for and providing services for the growing number of Christians in their communities. It’s...
The sixth chapter of St. John’s gospel takes us to the core of our Church. Everything and anything Catholic flows from the Real Presence of Jesus Christ here in the Blessed Sacrament. Christ’s Presence among us in the Blessed Sacrament...
Many Christians around us today do not accept the truth of Jesus’ words about His Body and Blood. For us as Catholics, however, along with Eastern Orthodox Christians, this teaching of Jesus is central to the very nature of the Church. Without the...
The account from St. Matthew’s gospel (2:1-12) is rich, so rich that it requires symbols in order to carry its weight. Using the language of science or history or other secular sources simply cannot carry the burden of the message. The gravity of...
All of the shopping, all of the rushing about, all of the busy-ness of Christmas is now over. Today the streets are deserted. A quiet and peaceful stillness lays over all. Now the religious meaning of Christmas is allowed to emerge from beneath all...
Plans. All of us are familiar with plans. There are family plans, school plans, plans at work, travel plans, game plans, and all sorts of other plans. Our days are lived out in them. Even our fun times are planned… sometimes over-planned. Some...
