Author Archives: stceceliastgabriel

Midnight Mass 

If you do a quick Google search of “Midnight Mass,” as I did this past week, your top results will likely be about some strange television series on Netflix. Apparently, the logarithm considers it the most relevant reference to Midnight Mass. Artificial intelligence, indeed.  Midnight Mass is, of course, the traditional celebration of Christmas Mass in the middle of the night. For most of the Church’s history, it was theContinue reading “Midnight Mass “

Practicing the Presence of God 

During a recent in-flight press conference, Pope Leo XIV mentioned a book of spiritual reading that was important to him. The Practice of the Presence of God, is a compilation of letters and sayings from a 17th century French Carmelite friar named Brother Lawrence. Pope Leo explained that the work “describes a type of prayerContinue reading “Practicing the Presence of God “

Nicaea and Unity 

After the homily at every Sunday Mass, the congregation rises to recite the Niceno-Contantinopolitan Creed, better known as the Nicene Creed. The Nicene Creed is a concise distillation of the foundational beliefs of orthodox Christianity. It has its origins in the Council of Nicaea which took place in modern day Turkey in the year 325Continue reading “Nicaea and Unity “

The Grace of Angry Prayers 

While his day job for the past 20 years has been chaplain to the students at the University of Minnesota Duluth, Fr. Mike Schmitz is best known for his work with Ascension Presents and his popular podcast “The Bible in a Year.” Full of enthusiasm, Fr. Mike is one of the great contemporary teachers ofContinue reading “The Grace of Angry Prayers “

The Gift of Dependence

Leah Libresco Sargeant is a writer who has been making the rounds promoting her new book, The Dignity of Dependence. In a recent interview with Church Life Journal, she said that her book is an attempt to debunk what she sees as a false idea of what we are as human beings, namely the idea that we are “autonomous individualsContinue reading “The Gift of Dependence”

Friendship 

In his opening remarks at the recent “Symposium on Young American Men” in Washington DC, Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly of the Knights of Columbus spoke about a growing crisis of loneliness and isolation among young men in our society.  “It’s increasingly clear that millions of men no longer have friends who they can count on and who can spur them on to excellence…. MoreContinue reading “Friendship “

Christ’s Soldier 

St. Martin of Tours (316-397 A.D.) was the son of an officer in the imperial army of Rome. As such, Roman law required him to enter the emperor’s service at the age of 15. By then, however, Martin’s sole desire was to be a servant of Christ. It was not easy to live as a Christian in the Roman legions. He was surroundedContinue reading “Christ’s Soldier “

Reviving the Art of Mourning 

Joe Pisani is a local writer who recently published an opinion piece in the Stamford Advocate (“An Obituary for the Art of Mourning,” Oct 2, 2025). In it, Pisani described his father’s ritual of perusing the obituary section of the daily newspaper, occasionally commenting to his wife when he noticed a familiar name. When someoneContinue reading “Reviving the Art of Mourning “