Perspective
What I learned on the pond: Reckoning with winter
The snow has begun. It is expected to last 18 hours, piling 9 inches high and crippling weekend plans. The streets are emptying, the collective dash to the grocery store […]
Columns Archive
Perspective
Lent: another step toward ‘enough’
“What is enough for you?” was a question posed to my husband and me by our financial adviser. Many factors competed for consideration: the desire to not be a burden […]
Bishop's Column: In Truth and Charity
With Catholic Relief Services in El Salvador Part 2
I have always wanted to visit El Salvador. At my first assignment as a priest in York, Pennsylvania, I worked part-time at a Latino parish. One of the parishioners tutored […]
The Sunday Gospel
Followers of Jesus are a light unto the world
Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time Matthew 5:13-16 The Book of Isaiah’s third section is the source of this weekend’s first reading. Scholars believe that this section was written perhaps in […]
Perspective
Let the good times roll
The natural world has days of abundance and scarcity. Autumnal harvest days bring bountiful crops of apples upon apples, while winter’s lean days offer a ravenousness search for any sight […]
Perspective
Spending time with my spiritual father
I write these words from the Eternal City of Rome, whither I’ve come with my brother bishops from Region 11 — California, Nevada and Hawaii — for our ad limina […]
Perspective
Hold the Botox
I get my picture taken a lot. I’m not particularly photogenic, but as president of The Catholic University of America, people expect me to be in the frame for a […]
The Sunday Gospel
Recognizing Jesus and understanding God’s will
The Presentation of the Lord Luke 2:22-40 Under other circumstances, the liturgy for this weekend would be that of the Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time. Instead, however, this weekend the […]
Perspective
Miracle in D.C.
In August 2018 a beautiful young lady living in Washington, D.C., experienced a sudden and excruciating headache. Seconds later she fell unconscious to the floor. Her dog, Lacey, sensed something […]
Perspective
Exercising my right to choose
I was cleaning the kitchen, the TV on in the background, the faces of glitz and glam celebrities flashing across the screen, the sounds of applause filling the room as […]
The Sunday Gospel
Sin is no match for God
Third Sunday in Ordinary Time Matthew 4:12-23 The Book of Isaiah supplies this weekend’s first reading. It offers us a powerful lesson. When this part of Isaiah was written, God’s […]
Perspective
A study of sloth in the life of Lot
In Bible study in my parish, we have been reading through Genesis. On Jan. 12 we read of Lot and the horrifying results of his decision to pitch his tent […]