Author Archives: stceceliastgabriel

The Human Heart

posted 6/2/20 When he was arrested in February 1945 on a trumped-up charge of having committed crimes against the Soviet Union, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn was forced to march along with several other detained Soviet soldiers and a German civilian from the jail where they had been processed to the prison which would be their new home.  Solzhenitsyn, an officer in the Soviet Army, wasContinue reading “The Human Heart”

Mother of the Church

posted 6/1/20 There’s a couple I’ve known for many years – I’ll call them Fred and Jane.  They met each other not long after the untimely deaths of their first spouses.  Jane had children with her first husband, and Fred also had children, including a young son with severe disabilities.  I remember a conversation with Jane when she told me about the time she first metContinue reading “Mother of the Church”

The Gift of Fear of the Lord

As a kid some of my favorite books were C.S. Lewis’ series, The Chronicles of Narnia.  If you’re familiar with the stories you know that the greatest of the characters in the novels is, of course, Aslan the Lion.  The philosopher Peter Kreeft has said that Lewis accomplished something remarkable when he created a literary character who makes the reader feel likeContinue reading “The Gift of Fear of the Lord”

The Gift of Knowledge

posted 5/28/20 Several winters ago, my sister went to a place called White Horse, Canada with her husband.  While they were there, she took a bunch of photographs, including some of the Northern Lights, which were on full display.  She had a copy of one of the photos blown up and framed, and it now hangs on the wall ofContinue reading “The Gift of Knowledge”

The Gift of Fortitude

posted 5/27/20 Maximilian Kolbe was a man who demonstrated great courage and charity throughout his life.  Born in Poland in 1894, he went on to be a Franciscan priest.  He established several monasteries and was also a very successful publisher of religious pamphlets promoting devotion to the Blessed Mother.  When Nazi Germany invaded Poland in 1939, Kolbe used his publishingContinue reading “The Gift of Fortitude”

The Gift of Counsel

posted 5/26/20 When a priest hears confessions, there are occasions when he hears himself say something to the penitent that surprises him.  When that’s happened to me, I think to myself: “Whoa! Where did that come from?”  There have also been times when I’ve gone to confession and the priest says something that seems to express exactly theContinue reading “The Gift of Counsel”

The Gift of Understanding

posted 5/25/20 The last full-length novel that Mark Twain ever published was his book The Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc.  And of all the great stories he ever wrote, he thought this one was his very best.  Twain was not Catholic, he grew up in the South at a time when there was much anti-Catholicism there, andContinue reading “The Gift of Understanding”

On the Mass

posted 5/24/20 As we make preparations for the resumption of public Masses this weekend, it’s hard to believe that it’s been 62 days since the last public Mass in our parish and throughout the Diocese of Bridgeport.  Perhaps now is a good time to consider why, in the absence of the faithful, priests continued to say Masses over these past three months – not just in front of a camera, butContinue reading “On the Mass”

The Gift of Wisdom

posted 5/23/20 “For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.” (1 Cor 1:25)  Two months before she died from tuberculosis, one of the nuns in her community said to the 24-year-old Sr. Therese of Lisieux, “you are a saint.”  In response, Therese pointed to the tops ofContinue reading “The Gift of Wisdom”