The size of the solemnity of Christmas should not dwarf the significance of the Feast of the Holy Family of Nazareth. And the reason is not a politically incorrect exaggeration but a simple reality check: our future as a Church and as a Nation hangs...
A priest once told me a story of being invited to the home of a young couple shortly after the birth of their newborn baby. Upon arriving at their home, he was greeted by the proud parents and asked if he would like to hold their baby. And, of...
I cannot think of any other institution, besides the Catholic Church, that gives so much weight to the traditional concept of family as to dedicate a whole Sunday to it. My dear friends in Christ, in case you have not noticed, let me tell you that...
Amid astonishing revelations, all laden with theological significance, the prologue of the Gospel of John, states also something very remarkable but that might slip below our “spiritual radar:” And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among...
The New York Times newspaper has an outdoors column called “Wood, Fish, and Stream,” and on one occasion the author of the column received a letter which said, “Would you tell where I could find a place to fish that is not more than five or six...
On the feast of the Holy Family of Nazareth, it is opportune for us to become aware of a prevailing feeling that we ourselves might harbor within. We might feel that, if we are loyal to the teachings of the Catholic Church, i.e. of Christ himself...
Blessed Cardinal John Newman once said this about holiness: “To obtain the gift of holiness is the work of a life.” (Miscellanies, 313) In pondering the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph there is a tendency to view holiness as something that...
After reading the Gospel of Luke (2:22-40), we should close our eyes and imagine how gently, how tenderly Mary and Joseph took turns holding Baby Jesus in their arms on the way to the Temple for the prescribed rituals of the Law. Then, once more, we...
