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Late Advent

By Mary Beth Bonacci
So, I heard a weird rumor at Mass last weekend. The deacon said that it was the third Sunday of Advent. Of course, we all know that couldn’t be true. Advent just started a few days ago, right? And in the meantime life has been crazy. My 200-plus Christmas cards just went out yesterday, after […]
12/17/24
Reading Time 4 min

Meno male

By Fr. Richard Miserendino
Lk 3:10-18 In general, there are two strategies to make something better: Decrease the bad or increase the good. The two are not identical. For instance, making something taste less bad is not the same as making it taste good, clothes that don’t stink aren’t necessarily clean, etc. One of my favorite phrases in Italian […]
12/14/24
Reading Time 3 min

A gift for yourself

By Christina Capecchi
Growing up on a small farm, vacations were rare for Liz Gilbert. But one summer her parents enlisted a neighbor to tend to their goats and chickens so the Gilberts could retreat to the beach for a week.
12/13/24
Reading Time 3 min

When Advent is short

By Elizabeth Foss
The notes ring out, sweet and clear as we light the second of two candles on our dining table Advent wreath. For Christians whose rhythms are matched to the liturgical calendar, it is a new year, bright with hope. Everything sparkles with promise: the promise of Christmas. It’s right around the corner.
12/12/24
Reading Time 3 min

HAL and friends

By Russell Shaw
For those whose memories may not go back that far, HAL (Heuristically Programmed Algorithmic Computer) was the murderous artificial intelligence machine in Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 film “2001: A Space Odyssey.” Based on stories by Arthur C. Clarke, the movie contains a segment in which HAL deliberately causes the deaths of several astronauts in outer space.
12/12/24
Reading Time 3 min

December Busy-ness

By Lucia A. Silecchia
Every year, as Advent and Christmas approach, I seem to have the same conversation with one of my students.
12/11/24
Reading Time 3 min

Into the desert

By Fr. Steven Oetjen
DEC. 8 — Lk 3:1-6 Every year during Advent, the figure of St. John the Baptist is placed before us. He calls out to us with that same urgent message of repentance: “Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.” Today, let us reflect for a moment on the place in which he […]
12/7/24
Reading Time 3 min

Christ is coming

By Fr. Jack Peterson, YA
DEC. 1 — Lk 21:25-28, 34-36 If God the Father had plans to lovingly and sacrificially send his only begotten son to take on our human flesh and dwell among us on this earth, it only makes sense that he would properly prepare the world for such a world-changing event. The Father did indeed carry […]
11/30/24
Reading Time 3 min

Love as equals

By Mary Beth Bonacci
Let’s talk about love. Specifically, let’s talk about love as St. John Paul II understood it in his brilliant “Theology of the Body,”  which we started discussing last month. As you may recall, we went back to the book of Genesis to explore the creation of man, in order to better understand ourselves and our […]
11/28/24
Reading Time 4 min

Giving thanks for a hard year

By Elizabeth Foss
This year, Thanksgiving feels different. The table may be set with the familiar bounty of fried turkey, mashed potatoes, and cranberry orange relish, but I can’t help but notice the weight of what lies behind this day — of the challenges and the struggles that have marked the months leading up to it. It’s been […]
11/26/24
Reading Time 3 min

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