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Five minutes after Mass

By Soren Johnson
Let’s draw a line. A stark choice confronts every Catholic, every Sunday after Mass: to run, or to linger. Jesus Christ has, minutes before, entered our midst. Several moments of silence and peace hung in the air – sometimes the first quiet in seven days. Our prayers “arose like incense” as the Psalmist reminds us. […]
10/20/15
Reading Time 3 min

Confession and dementia

By Fr. Kenneth Doyle
Q. I am 87 years old, a Catholic all my life, and I have been diagnosed with dementia. My memory is terrible; my wife has to identify even relatives for me by name. How should I handle this problem in confession with a priest? Should I tell him my problem first? I have always used […]
10/14/15
Reading Time 2 min

Summoned by the Lord

By Fr. Robert J. Wagner
There is a moment in this Sunday’s Gospel when every one of the apostles is upset. James and John asked Jesus for places of honor in the kingdom of heaven, and He refused their request. It was a reminder that they should not seek worldly glory in the next life, but should instead seek to […]
10/14/15
Reading Time 3 min

St. Jude: A patron saint for impossible situations

By Thomas J. Craughwell
St. Jude as the patron saint of the impossible is an American phenomenon. In Europe, Catholics in desperate straits pray to St. Rita of Cascia. How St. Jude came to be associated with impossible cases is impossible to pin down, but we do know how devotion to St. Jude first spread in the United States. […]
10/14/15
Reading Time 3 min

Finding God in a day’s work

By Effie Caldarola
Sometimes you can find inspiration for prayer in surprising places. Parade magazine is a small publication that’s inserted into many Sunday newspapers. Recently, they profiled Hugh Jackman, the Australian actor famous for his signature role as Wolverine in the “X-Men” movie series, who made some surprising comments about faith and vocation. Jackman’s mom deserted the […]
10/13/15
Reading Time 3 min

A template for the synod

By Mary Beth Bonacci
A few years ago we had this pope. He was very popular. First pope to travel a lot. Huge crowds everywhere he went. He wrote extensively on marriage, family and human sexuality. His writings, his example and his holiness changed countless lives, including mine. Perhaps you remember him? Handsome guy. Charming Polish accent. His given […]
10/13/15
Reading Time 4 min

The shoes of the fisherman

By John Garvey
In 1968, there was a popular film entitled “The Shoes of the Fisherman,” about an archbishop from Ukraine – a former political prisoner who is elected pope. On the evening after his election, he sneaks out of the Vatican dressed as a simple priest to explore the city of Rome. He declines to wear the […]
10/13/15
Reading Time 3 min

The little ones

By Fr. Robert J. Wagner
Jesus uses an unusual prop to teach a lesson in this Sunday’s Gospel: a little child. His apostles had been arguing about who was the greatest among them. We likely have had arguments similar to this, whether with others or in our own minds. As a response to their prideful quarrel, Jesus takes a child, […]
10/8/15
Reading Time 3 min

What must I do?

By Fr. Stanley J. Krempa
Somewhere along the dusty road to Jerusalem, a man who was both young and rich approaches Jesus with the question of what he must do to be saved. Despite all the privileges which his wealth gave him, something was missing from his life. He comes to Jesus with his question born of both longing and […]
10/7/15
Reading Time 3 min

In every guest, we see Christ

By Elizabeth Foss
Hospitality scares me. You, too? Did you grow up in a home where everything had to be magazine-perfect when guests were coming? And now, when after a soccer game, your husband turns to the couple standing next to you on the sidelines and says, “Come by our house; let’s cook out,” you die a thousand […]
10/7/15
Reading Time 3 min

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