This week’s “Parish Table Talk”: Join the Gospel Choir for the Ecumenical and Interfaith Prayer Service; Ministry with Young Adults; Equip Courses in Spanish; Good Friday Way of the Cross; Synod on Young People, the Faith, and Vocational Discernment; Beauty and Evangelization; Sister Jean and the Sweet 16
Hope was the theme of this year’s Mid-Atlantic Congress. This theme came alive in an unforgettable way in the words of Cardinal Tagle, 32nd Archbishop of Manila in the Philippines. His “keynote homily” had the over 1,500 participants sometimes laughing, sometimes wiping away tears, as he unpacked the true meaning of Christian hope. We’re happy […]
Dear friends, From all of us in the Department of Evangelization, we wish you and your families a very happy, holy, and grace-filled Christmas! As we gather with families and friends to celebrate this great feast of our Lord’s birth, let’s be mindful of those who do not enjoy those same blessings and let’s share […]
It seems that every year, before the Thanksgiving turkey is fully digested, we are suddenly surrounded by the music, decorations, and sentiments of Christmas. Along the way, almost every advertiser taps into the “magical” quality of the holiday season and encourages us to do one thing: buy stuff. And my inner curmudgeon always responds with […]
This post corresponds to the Mission Priority “Send” Not too long ago, I was speaking with some folks who worked at a parish. They were eager to discuss this whole evangelization thing. Suddenly, in response to what I thought was an innocent question, one of them exclaimed: “Wait a second! What if we do go out […]
“Do you have the Christmas spirit yet?” As Christmas drew near, this is the question we asked one another as children. The “Christmas spirit” was something tangible and unmistakable: we knew if we had it or if we didn’t. Mounting excitement at the immanent arrival of Santa Claus and his sack of toys? Okay, yes, perhaps. But there […]
From all of us to all of you: a very Merry and Blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year! We pray that this Christmas season be a time of grace and renewal for you, a time of joy and gratitude for the Lord’s saving gift of His only Son. May the hope and new life […]
Corresponds to Question 19 and 20 of the survey Everyone’s faith journey is unique. But I have to confess that in one respect my own journey could not be more average: when I stopped practicing the Catholic faith it was the result of gradually drifting away. My parents took us Mass every Sunday, we dutifully “got […]
Corresponds to Question 27 of the survey. We just returned from our annual visit to see my wife’s family in Spain. As she does every year, my mother-in-law brought the whole family together for lunch. (By “lunch,” I mean a feast lasting an entire Sunday afternoon.) Everyone had already visited with us individually; but make no mistake: […]
One of the joys of Easter is witnessing the entrance of new sisters and brothers into the Catholic Church. Just like beaming newlyweds remind older married couples of when they first fell in love, these new Catholics remind us what a precious gift our Faith really is. But what happens when the celebration fades into […]
“Are you throwing snow for the dogs to play?” asked my three-year old son, Samuel. I stopped shoveling, straightened up with my hand on my sore lower back, and looked around, dumbfounded. “Well, yes, I guess I am.” When Jesus said, “unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven,” He […]
In 2007, Archbishop Jorge Bergoglio of Buenos Aires gave an interview to Sefania Falasca for the journal, 30 Days. There, he said something that would prove a hallmark of his future papacy as Pope Francis, something that poses a profound challenge to us today: “precisely if one is faithful, one changes.”