In his message for this year’s Lent Pope Francis said: “It is good to contemplate more deeply the paschal mystery through which God’s mercy has been bestowed upon us. Indeed, the experience of mercy is only possible in a ‘face to face’ relationship...
Many have believed that St. Francis of Assisi lived more like Jesus Christ than anyone else ever did. His identification with Jesus was so great that he developed the Stigmata, the five excruciating wounds Christ bore when he was crucified. Francis...
“Hear my voice, O God, as I complain.” Psalm 64 has one of my favorite opening lines. The Holy Spirit inspired the Psalmist to give us words that tell us it is alright to complain to God, to be angry with him at times. Psalm 44 also reads, at...
Faith is like a great cathedral with beautiful stained glass windows. Standing outside we cannot see or imagine the beauty of those windows, but standing inside every ray of sunlight reveals a harmony of multifaceted, unspeakable splendors...
For quite some time I have been graced by accompanying Padre Pio’s prayer groups within the various friaries I have been sent to by my Capuchin superiors. These prayers did not occur in a vacuum. They are intimately connected with Saint Pio of...
The newspaper gossip columnist and radio news commentator, Walter Winchell, once said: “A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out.” This beautiful quote by Winchell aptly describes who a friend really...
The subject of the homily in a Church near my own parish was prayer. The homilist declared that praying for Aunt Louise’s cancer to be cured or for one’s prodigal son to mend his ways is pointless and therefore immature. The only meaningful...
The prayer of the lowly pierces the clouds. I am already being poured out like a libation. To Him be glory forever and ever. Amen. In these 3 verses from Holy Scripture we have summarized the core of our worship i.e., the genuine prayer of praise...
