Author Archives: stceceliastgabriel

posted 6/15/20 There was a book that came out in 2006 by Mark Kurlansky, entitled: The Big Oyster: History on a Half-Shell, that chronicled the history of the oyster beds that used to proliferate in New York Harbor. “Before the 20th Century, when people thought of New York, they thought of oysters.” The mollusks wereContinue reading “The Clean of Heart”

posted 6/12/20 On September 6, 2018 a 26-year-old man named Botham Jean was shot and killed in his Dallas apartment by his neighbor, Amber Guyger.  Guyger, an off-duty member of the Dallas Police Department, claimed that she entered Jean’s apartment thinking it was her own, and that she mistook Jean for a burglar.  Initially charged only with manslaughter, Guyger was later charged and convicted of murder for a crime that had racial overtones, with theContinue reading “The Merciful”

posted 6/11/20 For my senior year of college, my friends and I rented an apartment just across the street from campus.  When my parents came to visit at the beginning of the year, my mother told me how much she liked my apartment, and she spent the evening in the kitchen making a big senior year celebratory dinner forContinue reading “Righteousness”

posted 6/10/20 When I was an undergraduate at the University of Dallas in the 1990s, the city of Waco was known for three things: 1) Baylor University, 2) fire ants, and 3) Branch Davidians.  Fast forward 20 years and suddenly Waco is the center of the “home improvement” movement, with Chip and Joanna Gaines basically transforming Waco into an interior design destinationContinue reading “The Meek”

posted 6/9/20 Dr. Michael Brescia is a co-founder and the Executive Medical Director (emeritus) of Calvary Hospital in the Bronx.  Calvary Hospital was founded to be a place that would provide palliative care to those with advanced cancer and other terminal illnesses.  For Dr. Brescia, who is a well-respected physician and devout Catholic, it was essential that the hospital be a placeContinue reading “Those Who Mourn”

posted 6/8/20 The gospel reading for today’s Mass is St. Matthew’s account of the Beatitudes.  Everyone is familiar with the Beatitudes, but what actual effect they have on our lives is unclear.  They can seem poetic and obscure – beautiful, but not really helpful in a practical sense.  It’s a lot easier to “get” the 10 Commandments, which seem straightforward. Continue reading “Poor in Spirit”