Improve your 'moral goodness' by listening to Jesus
The Gospel reading for Feb. 19 is Matthew 5: 20-26. It begins this way: “Jesus said to his disciples: ‘I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the Kingdom of heaven.’” Webster’s simple defini...Read full story »
Thursday, February 18, 2016
'Listen to them; they can teach us'
In his homily during the Feb. 3 Mass to celebrate Catholic Schools Week, Bishops Charles C. Thompson mentioned comments from Pope Francis about what we all must do in reaching out to help those most in need – including the homeless and others “in the margins.” He included the foll...Read full story »
Thursday, February 11, 2016
Do you see it? Mercy surrounds us
Seriously … do you see it? Mercy really does surround us. And this week – the week of Jan. 31 through Feb. 6 – provides all the evidence we need to see the God’s mercy everywhere … virtually every day. We have two landmarks over these seven days: The closing of the Yea...Read full story »
Wednesday, February 03, 2016
Research sometimes belies the truth
The headline above says it all – research sometimes belies the truth. The highly respected Pew Research Organization recently provided a perfect example. The Message Twitter feed recently included a graphic that quickly reported the results of Pew research into religion. Its headline read, &#...Read full story »
Wednesday, January 27, 2016
Where do we go from here?
This issue of The Message includes an envelope you can use to renew your annual subscription – or start a new one. We hope you will consider one of those options as you look through this issue and get a feel for what our Catholic community newspaper brings into your home. Recently, I read an...Read full story »
Thursday, January 21, 2016
Harden not your heart
The Gospel reading for daily Mass on Jan. 6 ends with two sentences that ought to give all of us pause. After recounting the story of the loaves and fishes, which is the Gospel for Jan. 5 Masses, Mark tells us (on Jan. 6) of Jesus calming stormy seas as he climbs into the apostles’ boat. The...Read full story »
Wednesday, January 06, 2016
Take mercy with you … and use it often
Here we are … about 10 days into the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy. Christmas is around the corner, and with it opportunities to spend time with friends and family. Having said that, I hope you will give me a chance to explain why I believe this is such a great time to practice the Spiritual...Read full story »
Thursday, December 17, 2015
Standing at the threshold of a memorable year
As we conclude the first week of the new liturgical year, it already has become clear that the coming 12 months will be memorable for a number of reasons. Let’s look at a few of them. In just a few days, on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, Pope Francis will begin the Extraordinary...Read full story »
Thursday, December 03, 2015
Mercy walks among us
Back in September, Pope Francis wrote about the upcoming Jubilee Year of Mercy in a letter to Archbishop Rino Fisichella, President of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization. “I have asked the Church in this Jubilee Year to rediscover the richness encompasse...Read full story »
Monday, November 02, 2015
A perfect time for a great prayer habit
Now … a month removed from our Holy Father’s apostolic visit to America … is a perfect time for all of us to begin a great prayer habit. Let’s all commit to praying daily – with and for Pope Francis. The Apostleship of Prayer can and will help us. Based i...Read full story »
Monday, October 19, 2015
