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 the…
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 prayer…
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 325…
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 of…
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 individuals…
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…. More…
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 surrounded…
Kids Need Saints
With the Solemnity of All Saints taking place this weekend (Nov. 1), author Amy Welborn tells us why young people must be introduced to the lives of the saints. “Kids need saints because the world they’re living in mostly lies to them about who they are, why they’re valuable, why they’re here, and where they’re…
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 someone…
Dilexi Te
A little over a week ago, Pope Leo XIV issued his first teaching document in the form of an apostolic exhortation called Dilexi Te. To be honest, I have not yet read it myself, only commentaries about it (always a dangerous thing to do). But among those who have shared their thoughts on the document,…
Living Rosary
Last Sunday we hosted a living rosary in our beautiful Marian Garden in anticipation of the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary (10/7). The living rosary devotion involves a group of at least 60 people (we had about 80), with each person representing one of the “beads” of the rosary. The group’s progression through…
Loving Our Little Plot
Last weekend at the cathedral, Bishop Frank Caggiano conferred the St. Augustine Medal on over 170 people in recognition of their exceptional service to parishes, schools, and Catholic Charities throughout the Diocese. Among the recipients of this year’s award was Eden Huang, who I’m sure is very upset with me as she reads this. If…
The First Tablet
A few months ago, I was at a (non-parishioner’s) wedding reception and found myself in a conversation with a group of people I knew, but not very well. The conversation took place at that point in the evening when guests suddenly feel relaxed enough to freely share their opinions on politics and religion. In due…
Seeking Saints
In a recent reflection on the feast of St. Gregory the Great (Sept. 3), Bishop Erik Varden writes about the saintly pope who served as Bishop of Rome from 590-605 A.D. One of the pope’s many accomplishments was a work entitled the Dialogues, in which he authored biographies of various saints, including a very famous…
Chasing Immortality
In a recent Wall Street Journal article, Naveen Jain summed up his life’s goal: “I want to make aging optional.” The tech billionaire is one of a growing number of ultra-wealthy entrepreneurs chasing immortality, including famous innovators such as Sam Altman and Peter Thiel. The article reports: “Thiel’s quest for longer life spans nearly a…
Pier Giorgio & Luigi
In the early hours of December 4, 2024, United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson was shot in the back and killed while walking to a local coffee shop in midtown Manhattan. Following a four-day manhunt, police arrested 26-year-old Luigi Mangione. The photogenic son of privilege was quickly hailed online by a large number of admirers as…
Summer Rest
This Tuesday (7/29) we celebrate the feast day of Sts. Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, a family of siblings who were close friends of Jesus. Our Lord would often stay at their home in Bethany when He was visiting Jerusalem. In St. Luke’s gospel (Lk 10:38-42), we hear about one such visit. Martha is “burdened with…
Building Happy Marriages
What is the secret to a happy marriage? According to experts, going on dates (with one’s spouse) is very helpful. Unfortunately, most couples rarely enjoy a date night together. Based on a nationwide survey of over 2000 married couples, 52% of married couples report either never or seldom go on dates together, with 48% reporting…
Apologetics
The term apologetics refers to a reasoned and systematic defense of a particular set of beliefs, and it has always had a place in the history of the Church. Many of the Church’s great saints engaged both fellow believers and non-believers in fierce debates over important questions of doctrine. St. Peter himself encouraged Christians to…
The Catholic Founder
This weekend, people across this proud land will gather together to enjoy hots dogs, watermelon, and fireworks as a way of celebrating Independance Day, the commemoration of the signing of the Declaration of Independence 249 years ago. There are many household names among its signatories, such as Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and John…
The Martyrs of Auriesville
I recently spent a couple of days in Saratoga, visiting my cousin and his family who have a home there. Not far from their place I noticed a church dedicated to the French Jesuit missionary St. Isaac Jogues. This gave me the idea to look up how far I was from Auriesville, NY, the place…
Jesus Among the Inmates
One night this spring, at the James A. Lynaugh Prison Unit in Fort Stockton, TX, a prisoner knelt in his cell and said a prayer. While it is not uncommon for inmates to pray, this prayer was very specific. The man asked God to grant him some kind of opportunity to deepen his faith, that…
Bartolo Longo
Blessed Bartolo Longo had a very unusual path to sainthood. Born in 1841 into a devoutly Catholic family, as a young man he went to study law at the University of Naples. The 1860s was a time of great social-political turmoil on the Italian peninsula, with a rising nationalist movement led by General Giuseppe Garibaldi,…
Confirmation
Confirmation season has arrived. This weekend, I will confirm four adults at the 11:15 Mass of Pentecost. Next Saturday, Bishop Caggiano will come himself and confirm 53 young members of our parish. Among the sacraments, Confirmation seems the most obscure; the other six seem much easier to understand. Baptism has to do with new birth…
The Promise & Peril of A.I.
Artificial Intelligence is a hot topic these days. While techno-utopians from Silicon Valley speak of it with great optimism, many others, including Pope Leo XIV, are much more circumspect about what its impact will be on civilization. A few years ago, Fr. Stephen Grunow of Word on Fire gave an interesting lecture on the issue…
A Few Announcements
This weekend our parish is happy to welcome Mr. Colin Firda who is a seminarian studying to be a priest of our diocese. Colin will be with us for a couple of months, during which time he will be helping out by serving Mass, writing a short weekly reflection for the bulletin, and moving heavy…
What’s in a Name?
As the Church gets to know its new pope, one of the things that is helpful to consider is the name that Cardinal Robert Prevost took upon his election to the See of Peter. It has been the tradition since the sixth century for popes to adopt what are called “regnal names,” and the name…
The Popes and Our Mother
The papal conclave of 1914 resulted in the election of Pope Benedict XV, who would reign during the intensely difficult period from 1914-1922. When the First World War broke out less than two months before Benedict’s election, many believed it would be a short, decisive conflict. But by the end of 1914 the sides had settled…
Tales of Conclaves Past
This week, members of the College of Cardinals of the Catholic Church will perform their most important function, which is to elect a new pope. The election takes place during what is called a “conclave,” which comes from the Latin words, con and clavis, which literally means “with key,” referring to a room with a…
Pope Francis, R.I.P.
The first time I heard the name Jorge Bergoglio was the evening of March 13, 2013, when he stepped out on the loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica as Pope Francis. I was a deacon, in my second-to-last year of studies in Rome, only months away from priestly ordination. Just weeks earlier I had been sitting…
Looking Up
In his Easter homily last year, Pope Francis reflected on St. Mark’s account of the resurrection, which begins with the women going to Jesus’ tomb at dawn. Having had to bury the Lord in haste on Good Friday before the start of the Passover Sabbath, they returned on Sunday to perform the proper anointings of…
Sanctified along the Way
“Hallow” is the number one Christian prayer app in the world. This Lent, it has featured daily readings from The Way, a spiritual classic first published in 1934 by St. Josemaria Escriva, the founder of Opus Dei. The Way is a book filled with short, paragraph-long meditations on various subjects. The intended audience for these…
Seeking What Is Hidden
This weekend you will notice that the statues in our churches are covered with violet veils. It is part of a very old tradition that on the fifth week of Lent images are veiled to mark our entrance into what’s called Passiontide, the final two weeks of Lent. Lent can seem like a disorienting time.…
Putting in the Work
Shannon Sharpe is considered to have been one of the best tight ends to ever play professional football. He won two Super Bowls with the Denver Broncos and one with the Baltimore Ravens and retired from the NFL in 2003 as league leader in receptions, touchdowns, and receiving yards at his position. These days, he…
Being Healed
This Friday (3/28) at 7pm we will be hosting what’s called a “Healing Mass” at St. Cecilia Church. While every Mass is a source of healing in a certain sense, this Mass will have a particular focus on the healing of the sick and the suffering. The main celebrant of the Mass will be Fr.…
The Greatness of St. Patrick
A priest friend of mine who grew up in the Chicago area once shared with me the story of his Confirmation. The bishop, upon arrival, decided he wanted to meet with the young men and women he would be confirming that afternoon, including my friend. He went around the room and shook their hands, asking…
Fasting for the Word
There are some years when Lent sneaks up on you. It has happened more than once in my life that I have found myself in the first weekend of Lent without a clear idea of what my Lenten discipline would be. Perhaps this has happened to you as well. And in those cases, if you’re…
Not Doing What We Can
At last weekend’s Masses, the Church had us reflect on a scripture passage about King Saul falling into the hands of David (1 Sam 26:2-23). Saul had been making David’s life miserable for years, trying to kill him out of envy. Suddenly, David has a golden opportunity to put an end to his ordeal by…
Drifting Apart, Marching Back
Last weekend our parish hosted a marriage workshop called “Adventures in Marriage.” Over the course of three days, 22 couples spent time learning how to constructively work through challenges together, and by all accounts the program was very well-received. I was able to watch parts of the presentation and witness some of the exercises that…
Tenderness in Small Things
In a recent article published on Word on Fire, author Leah Libresco Sargeant wrote about the second miracle attributed to Pier Giorgio Frassati that will lead to his canonization by Pope Francis this summer. Handsome, charismatic, and deeply religious, Frassati was known for organizing mountain climbing excursions with his friends, for encouraging his peers to…
Fairest of Them All
“Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all?” It’s the best-known line from one of America’s best-loved films, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), which ushered in the golden age of Disney animation and is considered an all-time classic. In a few weeks the Disney Corporation plans to release a live-action…
Candles
This weekend, Masses will begin a little bit differently than usual, with the blessing of candles for Candlemas. Candlemas is the feast on which we commemorate the presentation of the infant Jesus in the Jerusalem Temple 40 days after His birth. Historically-speaking, the Temple at the time of Jesus was known as the second Temple.…
Coach Freeman
It’s been a good year for head coaches who are serious about their Catholic faith. Last June, Joe Mazzulla coached the Boston Celtics to their franchise’s 18th NBA title and is still known to stroll around the parquet floor praying the rosary before home games. This winter, in only his third season at Notre Dame,…
Fires
Over the past few weeks, terrible wildfires have devastated the city of Los Angeles. As I write this, experts are forecasting more of the same Santa Ana winds that have fed and spread the destructive blazes. The fires so far have burned an area more than twice the size of the island of Manhattan, consuming…
Called by Name
In Tampa, Florida there is an all-boys Catholic high school where over 100 students were received into the Catholic Church between 2010-2023, including 22 students in 2021 alone. In a National Catholic Register profile, an alumnus of Tampa Jesuit spoke about how his experience there helped him to discover a vocation to the priesthood. “I…
The Gift of the Magi
There is a bar on East 19th St. in Manhattan called Pete’s Tavern which is always nice to visit this time of year for its Christmas decorations, which create a festive atmosphere conducive to the sharing of libations. In one of the booths, not far from the door, the author O. Henry composed one of…
Our Lady
When Philippe Villeneuve was 16 years old, he made a model of the Cathedral of Notre Dame, a building that had captured his imagination since he was a boy. “Little did I know, when I was a kid, building the cathedral out of cardboard and paper, that one day I would be working on the…
Protomartyr
The fourth week of Advent is usually cut short by the arrival of Christmas, which is the beginning (not the end!) of the Christmas season. One of the things I love about the first days of the Christmas season are all of the beautiful feasts contained in them. Right on the heels of the celebration…
Emmanuel
Advent brings with it great music. One of the classic hymns we sing during this season is “O Come, O Come Emmanuel,” which expresses the sorrow of those who live in exile combined with the joyful hope of redemption and restoration. The title of the song contains within it an interesting tension, if we remember…
Mother of the Redeemer
We find ourselves in the second week of a new liturgical season – the 4-week season of Advent. With the change in liturgical season come changes in the liturgy itself. First, the priest begins to wear violet-colored vestments, whereas before he wore green. Second, we don’t sing the “Gloria” at the beginning of Mass until…
Gratitude
Gratitude brought Dorothy Day to God. In 1925, Day was living in a bungalow on the beach in Staten Island. She had spent the past ten years working in Manhattan as a journalist documenting the radical political movements she supported, and living a bohemian lifestyle with artists, playwrights, and activists in Greenwich Village. An abusive…
Benefits of Belief
Do parents want what’s best for their children? Almost always. That’s why they work hard, sacrifice time and resources, and try to instill in them values and habits that will help them succeed and flourish. But what if, more than any other activity, regular religious practice is the most likely to help your kid succeed…
Altar of Repose
Our parish is blessed with two beautiful churches. St. Gabriel’s was built in 1964, originally as a multi-purpose space, serving as both church and school gym. When plans to build a free-standing church were abandoned, the space was designated permanently as a church, and a gym was included in the later expansion of the school…
Filial Piety
“Lee Corso is a mixture of Don Corleone and Yoda.” For those unfamiliar, Lee Corso is a sports broadcaster who co-hosts the show “College Game Day” on ESPN along with Kirk Herbstreit, who likes to describe his colleague this way. Back in college, my roommates and I would gather around the television every Saturday morning…
St. Charles Borromeo
This can be a busy and stressful time for young people who plan to go off to college next year. For those who are going through the process (and their parents), St. Charles Borromeo (1538-84) might be a fitting patron saint to turn to for help in making a good decision. That’s because St. Charles…
Reasonable Faith
Is it reasonable to believe in God? The Church at the First Vatican Council (1869-70), in its document Dei Filius, declared infallibly that “God, the principle and end of all things, can be known with certainty by the natural light of human reason from created things.” This means that human beings on our own can…
The Joy of Creating
Every Thursday afternoon in high school I would spend an hour with Mr. Guzzi, my piano teacher. Mr. Guzzi was a well-respected local jazz pianist, and I was interested in learning that style of music. During those lessons, he taught me things like music theory and chord progressions. He gave me drills to develop basic…
Surviving the Political Season
November 5 is election day, and the weeks leading up to it can be a very stressful time for people. Political rhetoric will surely intensify as Americans prepare to choose to whom we want to entrust the enormous power that comes with political office in our country. Aware of how this can affect us, Fr.…
Living Rosary
When I was a kid, anytime we would go on a trip in the car as a family, at some point my mother would blindside us with the announcement that it was time for the rosary. I rarely received the news well. “Ugh!” I’d think to myself, “It’s so long and repetitive and boring!” But,…
All About Angels
This is the time of year when the Church wants us to think about angels. September 29 is the Feast of the Archangels and October 2 is the Feast of the Guardian Angels. Angels are our fellow creatures, whom God created before the dawn of time. But they are a very different kind of creature…
Monsieur Vincent
In 1948, the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film went to Monsieur Vincent, which tells the remarkable story of St. Vincent de Paul (1581-1660). He grew up in a peasant family, studied theology at a university where fistfights among students were common, and was ordained a priest at 19. Five years later he was kidnapped…
Our Lady’s Gift
When Fr. Myron Miller built the current Church of St. Cecilia in 1956, moving the parish to Newfield Ave. from its original location on Weed Hill, he made sure to bring some things with him to the new church. One thing he brought was the beautiful statue of St. Cecilia that had stood since 1926…
A Good Doctor
Next weekend, at the 11:15 Mass at St. Cecilia’s, we will be welcoming the St. Robert Bellarmine Apostolate for Individuals with Down Syndrome to worship with us. This is an apostolate that gives prayerful support to individuals with Down syndrome, their families, and caregivers. They will host a lunch reception in the parish hall immediately…
Mary DeCarlo, R.I.P.
On the bulletin board in my office, I have posted several things that are important to me. There are some pictures of family, a couple of inspirational quotes about priesthood that I like, and then there’s a photo of a bespectacled gray-haired woman sitting with a Yankees mug at her kitchen table in front of…
Stay Hungry
In her recent address to the Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis, Sr. Josephine Garrett said that a Eucharistic revival will only move forward if built on a two-legged foundation. One leg is greater reverence for His sacred presence – above all in the Eucharist, as well as in our neighbor. The other leg, she said, is…
John 1:5
On March 30, 1981, a 25-year-old named John Hinckley attempted to assassinate President Ronald Reagan. Hinckley was a troubled young man who hoped that his crime would gain him notoriety and the attention of actress Jodi Foster, with whom he had become obsessed. Using a revolver, Hinckley shot the president in the chest from close…
(Mal)Formed by Technology
“Technology makes us different people – people who are less inclined to be Catholic,” writes Colin Miller in Church Life Journal. Miller insists he is no luddite. He is merely reminding us that, for better or worse, we human beings are shaped by our actions. Consider how repetition and practice allow us to become proficient…
An Exceptionally Normal Man
I have never been to Los Angeles. I have no desire to visit. I think that has something to do with having grown up rooting for the Boston Celtics. I was 10 years old in 1986, when Boston had its greatest team, whose best player was, of course, Larry Bird. Bird was always my favorite…
Munera
Ordaining priests is one of the great privileges of a bishop. Last Saturday, Bishop Caggiano ordained two new priests for the Diocese of Bridgeport – Fr. David Klein, and Fr. Jozef Ukaj. In his homily, Bishop Caggiano described their vocations as the fruit of God’s call, but also the good influence and example of their…
Bonfire
Next Saturday (6/22), immediately following our 5:30 vigil Mass, we will have our 2nd annual Parish Bonfire, in observance of the vigil of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist. Because the actual date of the vigil (6/23) falls on a Sunday evening, we are celebrating it a day earlier. This means we will be…
Encouragement
There’s a passage from the first chapter of the Book of Deuteronomy in which the ancient Israelites are encamped close to the border of the land promised to them by God. Moses tells them that the Lord wants them to go in and take possession of it. But the people are unsure. So, they send…
A Clearing in the Woods
St. Boniface (feast day 6/5) was an 8th century English monk who left his homeland to evangelize the region we now call Germany. There, he reformed the weak, ignorant, and immoral clergy who were notoriously disobedient to Church authority. His efforts led to the spread of Christianity before his martyrdom in 755 A.D. He is…
Curbside Sanctuary
Everybody knows that summer in Stamford officially begins with the Greek Fair at Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church on Newfield Ave. For many years, our next-door neighbors have provided rides, games, and lots of food the first weekend of June, and the crowds are reliably large. Visitors to the fair typically use the grounds of St.…
Time to Pray
When I was in college, I heard a priest preach about the importance of daily prayer. He said that the Catholic whose interaction with God was limited to attendance at Sunday Mass and nothing more the rest of the week was living on “spiritual life support.” His point was that, while Sunday Mass is foundational,…
Get Married
These days, marriage is often dismissed or overlooked as an important institution for human flourishing. But in his new book Get Married, Brad Wilcox, a professor of sociology at the University of Virginia, argues that “so many of the biggest problems across America are rooted in the collapse of marriage and family life.” In fact,…
White Garments
My father keeps on his desk a framed photo from the day of his First Holy Communion, 74 years ago at Sacred Heart Church in West Brighton, Staten Island. He’s posing in a white suit with short pants, white knee socks and shoes, with a big white ribbon on his sleeve. Very fancy. Nowadays it…
Restorative Images
Interesting things are happening in France. Adult baptisms are up 30%. There is unprecedented interest in the annual pilgrimage from Paris to Chartres. The reconstruction of Notre Dame Cathedral will be finished in time for Christmas. All this surprisingly good news was reported by The Pillar in the context of an interview of 27-year-old Frenchman…
Our Special Guests
Before you read any further, please mark this date on your calendar: May 21, 2024. At 8pm that evening, the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage will arrive to the Church of St. Cecilia. The National Eucharistic Pilgrimage is an initiative of the bishops of the United States. Four groups of pilgrims will be journeying from different places…
Eclipse
If you are reading this article, it means the world didn’t end last week. This, despite the occurrence of a torrential rainstorm, an earthquake, and a solar eclipse all happening within a fortnight of each other. Personally, I found the rain depressing, the earthquake unsettling, and the eclipse fascinating. I remember my first experience of…
Compunction & Divine Mercy
A few days before Easter, Pope Francis gave a homily about compunction to the priests of the Diocese of Rome. Though not a word one often hears, he said compunction is “essential” to the spiritual life. It’s related to the word puncture, referring to “a piercing of the heart that is painful and evokes tears…
“Freeing” Catholicism
Fr. Joshua Whitfield is the pastor of St. Rita Catholic Church in Dallas, TX where he has served since his ordination to the priesthood in 2009. In a recent post on Twitter/X, Fr. Whitfield shared his experience of talking with people who have come to him for advice about how they might have a deeper…
Palm Sunday
There’s something disorienting about Mass on Palm Sunday. When we arrive to church we are handed palm branches. The liturgy begins with the gospel. The Passion Narrative is read with the whole congregation’s participation, all of us kneeling in silence when Jesus expires on the cross. It’s tempting most Sundays to experience the Mass on…
Avarice
In a January 24 speech, Pope Francis described avarice, or greed, as “a sickness of the heart, not of the wallet,” that affects rich and poor alike. It is the attempt to gain control over the world by exercising mastery over the things of the world. But it is a false mastery, the pope says,…
Attraction to Distraction
Cultural critic Ted Gioia observes in a recent essay that we are rapidly entering into a “post-entertainment culture.” People are losing interest in movies, television, and music. “The fastest growing sector of the culture economy is distraction,” he argues, “Or call it scrolling or swiping or wasting time or whatever you want. But it’s not…
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 come…
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.…
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 book…
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 ashes…
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 arrested…
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. Fessio…
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 prevented…
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 and…
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 with…
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 in…
Christmas
Bishop Erik Varden of Trondheim, Norway is a spiritual writer who understands the nature of the spiritual malady that afflicts our age, a sickness that runs so deep within us that most aren’t even aware we have it. He describes it as despair, as a kind of spiritual sadness. We are sad, he argues, because…
No Double-Dipping
George Costanza is not a good role model. There are many reasons why this is true, including his propensity to double-dip. We first learned of the Seinfeld character’s bad habit in Season 4 during the episode when George tries to score points with his new girlfriend by accompanying her to Michigan to attend the funeral…
R.I.P. Shane MacGowan
The unusual Christmas song “Fairytale of New York” will be getting extra airplay this year. That’s because the unusual man who wrote it, Shane MacGowan, died this past November 30 at the age of 65. The song made MacGowan and his band The Pogues famous when it was released in 1988, and was the biggest…
Feels Like Home
When I was 25 I spent a year living in Spain. I was between jobs and unsure what my next move was going to be, so it seemed like a good (and fun) use of time as I contemplated my future. One of the most memorable parts of that year was the month I spent…
Apostle to the Greeks
Andrew was an unusual name for a first-century Jewish man. That’s because it’s not a Hebrew name but one that comes from the Greek word andros, meaning man. But St. Andrew lived in the region of Galilee, a place where the Greek language and culture was influential. Perhaps it was due to this that his…
Why Laws Matter
I recently watched a video of an exchange that took place in a committee meeting of the Irish Parliament about the legalization of physician-assisted suicide. The exchange was between a young Irish parliamentarian and an expert on medical ethics invited by the committee to testify. The parliamentarian was demanding that the expert explain on what…
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The Parish of St. Cecilia-St. Gabriel 