The Sunday Gospel
The kingship of David is fulfilled in the Son of Mary
Fourth Sunday Of Advent Luke 1:26-38 The first reading for this weekend is from the Second Book of Samuel. Once, the two Books of Samuel were a single volume. Translations […]
Columns Archive
Perspective
Jesus is coming
My younger sister and I used to fight over who would get to blow out the candles of the Advent wreath. We’d light the candles at dinner, and as soon […]
The Human Condition
Needing and wanting
There are some things we want more than we need. And then there are things we need more than we want. Writing more than 1,600 years ago, St. Augustine observed […]
Bishop's Column: In Truth and Charity
A Christmas letter to all the faithful
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, “Behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all people. For today in the city of David a […]
The Sunday Gospel
The One who is to come is far mightier than we are
Third Sunday Of Advent John 1:6-8, 19-28 This weekend, the Church celebrates “Gaudete Sunday,” the name coming from the opening word of the Entrance Antiphon. In Latin, “gaudete” means “to […]
Perspective
Of mice and men: a saint for our times
“Synchronicity.” That’s the word one journalist used in a Nov. 3 Instagram post to describe the fact that Election Day fell on the feast day of St. Martin de Porres, […]
Perspective
Mary of Guadalupe, symbol of hope and renewal
The most popular Marian devotion among U.S. Catholics presently is the devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe. She is the most widely embraced Marian devotion in the entire American continent […]
Perspective
Doing some Advent spiritual work
We will never be adequately prepared for the coming of the Savior unless and until we feel in our bones that there is something we need to be saved from. […]
The Sunday Gospel
Make clear the way of the Lord by dedicating ourselves to Him
Second Sunday of Advent Mark 1:1-8 The second part of the Book of Isaiah provides the first reading for this Second Sunday of Advent. When this book was written, God’s […]
Perspective
A still small voice
This week, I took the train from Washington to New York. It was spooky. Union Station in Washington, usually bustling at 6:30 in the morning, was deserted. A man in […]
Perspective
If COVID-19 restrictions seem like a sacrifice, they have nothing on the rations of WWII
Tired of restrictions imposed to control the COVID-19 virus, facemasks, social distancing, reduced hours at stores and closed offices? Will it ever end? Americans have seen similar conditions and much […]
Perspective
Hold fast to the truth
The day after Donald Trump won the presidential election in 2016, I wrote a short column about the chief challenge that those who had voted for him would face over […]