Columns Archive

Although we have not seen, we believe Default Thumbnail
Columns

Although we have not seen, we believe

Second Sunday of Easter John 20:19-31 With deep faith and faith-filled excitement, the church continues the celebration it began a week and a day ago: Easter, the Lord’s resurrection and […]

Who put Christ on the cross? Default Thumbnail
Perspective

Who put Christ on the cross?

In art, the crucifixion of our Lord is almost always depicted showing the torture from asphyxiation on the cross, the nails, the wound made by the spear, the crown of […]

‘The Case for Christ’ and a stubbornly historical religion Default Thumbnail
Columns

‘The Case for Christ’ and a stubbornly historical religion

“The Case for Christ” is a film adaptation of Lee Strobel’s best-selling book of the same name, one that has made an enormous splash in evangelical circles and beyond. It is the […]

Before you buy your child that cellphone Default Thumbnail
Perspective

Before you buy your child that cellphone

Any parent of a teen or preteen knows that since smartphones were introduced in 2007, social life for children has changed dramatically.  Teen social life now takes place online far […]

Persecuted Christians and the Hope of Easter Default Thumbnail
Bishop's Column: In Truth and Charity

Persecuted Christians and the Hope of Easter

Sadly, Holy Week began this year with another attack on innocent Christians. Coptic Orthodox Christians in Egypt, like so many Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant Christians here in our diocese, gathered […]

Care for creation: A moral issue and a Catholic issue Default Thumbnail
Perspective

Care for creation: A moral issue and a Catholic issue

You need look no further than the rising sea waters threatening Miami or the erosion of coastal Alaska, where entire villages must be relocated in a state that’s becoming a […]

Counting ‘The Twelve’ Default Thumbnail
The Human Condition

Counting ‘The Twelve’

Jesus had numerous disciples; some of them known to us, most of them lost to history but not to the mind of God. From among those disciples (literally, “learners,” or […]

Evangelization by hitchhiking: How to find an on-ramp Default Thumbnail
Perspective

Evangelization by hitchhiking: How to find an on-ramp

The place infants nod off and teens open up is also where road-weary adults will probe their spirituality: in the car. That’s the secret behind a new religious community, the […]

Although evil exists, the Lord is almighty and victorious Default Thumbnail
Columns

Although evil exists, the Lord is almighty and victorious

Palm Sunday Matt 26:14-27:66 This weekend observes Palm Sunday, recalling with great reverence the Lord’s traditional entry into Jerusalem and beginning the drama and depth of Holy Week. The liturgy […]

‘The Look’: men, sin and mission? Default Thumbnail
Perspective

‘The Look’: men, sin and mission?

A kid can live and die by the look on his mom’s face! Her smile can light up his day, while her disappointment or anger can be a dark cloud. […]

The beauty and the power of the Chrism Mass Default Thumbnail
Bishop's Column: In Truth and Charity

The beauty and the power of the Chrism Mass

The Chrism Mass is one of the most joyful and intense liturgies of the year, in my experience as a bishop. It evokes the joy I feel when celebrating Masses […]

Recalling the apostles’ Good Friday weakness Default Thumbnail
Perspective

Recalling the apostles’ Good Friday weakness

Tenebrae, meaning shadows or darkness in Latin, is a Holy Week service that uses the simplicity of mostly darkness and some candlelight, along with psalms, prayers and music to reflect […]