Now it happened that as soon as Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leapt in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. She gave a loud cry and said, “Of all women you are the most blessed, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.” (Luke 1: 41-42) The simple, yet majestic […]
This third Sunday of Advent is referred to as “Gaudete Sunday”, meaning we should rejoice, that the new born Savior will be coming soon. On the advent wreath, a pink or rose-colored candle is lighted this day, signifying our joy in the coming Lord, who will atone for our sins and make salvation possible. Again, […]
“At that time, Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, “I praise you. Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned and revealed them to the little children” (Luke 10:21). Having a childlike faith is not about possessing some sort of adolescent or mindless […]
“The children of this age marry and remarry; but those who are deemed worthy to attain to the coming age and to the resurrection of the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage. They can no longer die, for they are like angels; and they are the children of God” (From Luke 20:27-40). In […]
As I was reflecting on this morning’s Liturgy of the Hours prayer, I was drawn to a sermon attributed to St. Augustine of Hippo, about prayer. Called “Let us exercise our desire in prayer”, St. Augustine explains that God knows what we want, but wishes us “to exercise our desire through our prayers, so that we […]
Last week during a morning Mass I was pleased to see Bishop Kevin Boland, who is emeritus bishop of Savannah. Boland was one of the many priests who came from Ireland to Georgia as missionaries in the late 1950’s through the early 1970’s. Bishop Boland taught briefly as St. John Vianney Seminary, which I attended […]
With the steady drum beat of new revelations of scandal and lack of accountability of the part of Catholic church leaders, the fatigue is palpable, with increasing numbers among the faithful wondering aloud, how long before the church is somehow purified and freed from this awful taint? While we hear from the hierarchy about an […]
Yesterday, we attended the funeral Mass for Father Jacek Shuster, Pastor of Most Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Augusta. His very untimely passing at age 47 due to the ravages of cancer was so tragic, yet his service and example to his parish community leaves a positive legacy. From all accounts, Fr. Jacek (Ya-zik) was […]
1968 was a tumultuous year in America, which affected us at St. John’s. I witnessed our seminary rector, Fr. Bill Coleman, being very distraught and wearing a black arm band following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King. We would later deal with the killing of Robert F. Kennedy, the riotous Democratic convention in Chicago, […]
As was the practice, on Good Friday afternoon, we spent three hours on our knees in the chapel, reflecting on the crucified Christ. At St. John’s, there were no pads on the kneelers, and sitting down really wasn’t an option, so we got to share just a bit of discomfort ourselves. For me, I began […]