Imagine a time when the rich kept getting richer and the poor kept getting poorer. Imagine a time when taxes made it impossible to get ahead. Imagine a time when the big strong nations would invade and bully the smaller, weaker nations. Imagine a time when people with health issues had nowhere to turn to… Read More »

You are faithful in all you do for the brothers and sisters, especially for strangers; they have testified to your love before the Church. Please help them in a way worthy of God to continue their journey. Welcoming the stranger, treating the alien with compassion are Biblical commands in both the Old and the New… Read More »

The epistles of St. John, written late in the first century AD, testify to divisions that impacted the first generations of Christians. The theme of unity which was so prominent in the fourth gospel becomes the central concern of the epistles. St. John is not urging a “why can’t we all just get along kum-ba-ya”… Read More »

All the evidence suggests that Paul was a prolific letter writer but we have only one that was meant as a personal letter, to his friend Philemon. The Church preserved this letter and incorporated it into the Bible because its message can be applied to everyone. The situation: Philemon was a slave owner whose slave… Read More »

Today is the feast day of Mother Cabrini, the first American citizen to be named a saint. While in Italy she became aware of the plight of immigrants in the United States and brought the religious community she had formed, the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart, to the United States to care for them.… Read More »

When I was in leadership in the Missionary Servants one of my happy chores was to go to celebratory events — ordinations, professions, anniversaries and the like. The expectation was that at the end of the event I would say a few words of gratitude to those who were being feted and to those who… Read More »

In the epistle to the Corinthians, St. Paul describes the ministries in the church:  apostles, prophets, teachers, workers of miracles,  healers, helpers, administrators, speakers in various kinds of tongues (I Corinthians 12:28). Only a short time later, in the Epistle to Titus we find a very different understanding of Church ministries.  I left you in… Read More »

A chicken and a pig were walking down the road chatting when they passed a diner. In the window was a sign, “Special today: bacon and eggs.” The chicken turned to the pig and said, “Isn’t that nice. We’re featured today.” “Nice for you,” said the pig. “You only have to make a contribution; I… Read More »

The origins of today’s feast is the dedication of a church — the Lateran Archbasilica (officially, Cathedral of the Most Holy Saviour and Saints John the Baptist and the Evangelist in Lateran), the oldest public church in Rome and the seat of the Bishop of Rome, the Pope. (St. Peter’s is in Vatican City, which… Read More »

Their minds are occupied with earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven. Okay, St. Paul, our citizenship might be in heaven but we still have to pay the bills, go to the doctor, worry about politics, deal with the family, drive to work. We might be citizens of heaven but we are residents of… Read More »