stceceliastgabriel

God-Given Rights

Last week, journalist Heidi Przybyla of Politico caused a stir when she expressed grave concern about “Christian Nationalists,” those whom she says “believe that our rights as Americans, as all human beings, don’t come any earthly authority. They [believe our rights] don’t come from Congress, they don’t come from the Supreme Court, [rather] they comeContinue reading “God-Given Rights “

Wrath

Over the past month, Pope Francis has been giving a series of talks on the Seven Deadly Sins. In a recent reflection on wrath, our Holy Father described it as “a vice that destroys human relationships.” If left unchecked, anger over an incident or action often will end up aimed at the other person himself.Continue reading “Wrath “

Confident Abandonment

During this season of Lent, we take up the three disciplines of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. As concepts, fasting and almsgiving seem less appealing than prayer, but are relatively easy to do. Prayer, on the other hand, is something most people would like to do, but find difficult. For Lent, I’ve been re-reading a bookContinue reading “Confident Abandonment “

February 14

February 14 is St. Valentine’s Day. But not this year. This year it’s Ash Wednesday, the annual kickoff of the 40-day season of Lent. So, instead of chocolates and candy hearts, romantic dinners by candlelight, or champagne and caviar, this Wednesday we will be observing a fast, which includes abstaining from meat, and wearing ashesContinue reading “February 14 “

St. Paul Mikki

In 1596, less than 50 years after St. Francis Xavier brought Christianity to Japan, the emperor Toyotomi ordered all Christian missionaries arrested. He did not like what he saw as the growing European influence in his empire, and worried that western powers would seek to rule Japan as they did the Philippines. Among those arrestedContinue reading “St. Paul Mikki “

Interesting Conversations

Someone recently shared with me a video of an interesting conversation between Bishop Robert Barron and Fr. Joseph Fessio, SJ. Many of you are probably familiar with Bishop Barron, who has become well-known as the founder of Word on Fire Ministries and for his evangelization work on YouTube and other social media platforms. Fr. FessioContinue reading “Interesting Conversations “

Reshaping Culture

The ancient custom of foot binding originated in China about 1000 years ago. Somehow it had become fashionable among elite women of Chinese society to have small, dainty feet. To achieve this aesthetic, the feet of girls four or five years old were broken and then tightly bound. The binding of the feet intentionally preventedContinue reading “Reshaping Culture “

The Temptation of St. Anthony

The temptation of St. Anthony has been the inspiration for some truly bizarre artistic masterpieces by artists of different periods over the centuries. To be clear, the St. Anthony I’m referring to is not the 13th century Franciscan renowned for his preaching and his uncanny ability to help us find our lost car keys andContinue reading “The Temptation of St. Anthony “

Baptism

The most important day of my life was July 18, 1976. That was the day my parents took me to Sacred Heart Church in Suffern, NY to have me baptized. On the drive over to the church, I was my parents’ child, their lifeblood flowing in my veins which made me their son. But withContinue reading “Baptism “

Queen of Peace

We always begin the new year with Mary, the Mother of God. In the ancient world, to those who objected to the title “Mother of God,” the Church responded definitively that she who is the mother of Jesus must also be the Mother of God, since Jesus is God and there is no division inContinue reading “Queen of Peace “