The Dispatch
“You have come and revealed Yourself, O Inaccessible Light.”
A Scriptural Reflection on the Readings for Sunday, December 7, 2017, the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord […]
Jesus Christ
The Dispatch
The Holy Innocents and the Church’s pro-life witness
The Church, “expert in humanity” (as Pope Paul VI put it), knows that the mystery of Christmas (like that of Easter) is so great that it cannot be adequately plumbed – let alone celebrated – […]
The Dispatch
On relics and the “lost” feast of St. Stephen, Proto-martyr
We lost the feast of St. Stephen this year because it coincided with a Sunday within the Octave of Christmas, the feast of the Holy Family, December 26. As the Christmas carol informs us: “Good […]
The Dispatch
“Why were you looking for me?”
Readings: • Sir 3:2-6, 12-14 or 1 Sm 1:20-22, 24-28 • Ps 128:1-2, 3, 4-5 or Ps 84:2-3, 5-6, 9-10 • Col 3:12-21 or 1 Jn 3:1-2, 21-24 • Lk 2:41-52 Being lost isn’t always […]
The Dispatch
Joy! Anticipation! Fire?
Readings: • Zep 3:14-18a • Is 12:2-3, 4, 5-6 • Phil 4:4-7 • Lk 3:10-18 “Great joy,” wrote G. K. Chesterton, “has in it the sense of immortality…” Joy, like love, hope, and goodness, cannot […]
The Dispatch
A Thanksgiving challenge to Catholic fathers
Every father should get to the point when it comes to Thanksgiving Day and acknowledge, even on his knees, what it is that he is almost certainly most thankful for regarding his earthly circumstances: his […]
The Dispatch
A secretary of Padre Pio remembers the indefatigable Saint
Most of us know the saints through written accounts of their lives. Many of the saints became saints themselves by reading the lives of saints. In a letter to her aunt, Saint Thérèse wrote: “I […]
News Briefs
Pope Francis: Read, reread, and be passionate about the Gospel
Pope Francis delivers his Angelus address at the Vatican, Oct. 31, 2021. / Vatican Media.
Vatican City, Oct 31, 2021 / 06:30 am (CNA).
Pope Francis on Sunday urged Catholics to read, reread, and be passionate about the Gospel.In his Angelus addr… […]
The Dispatch
Faith-filled love and the greatest commandment
Readings: • Dt 6:2-6 • Ps 18:2-3, 3-4, 47, 51 • Heb 7:23-28 • Mk 12:28-34 What is the most common subject of popular music? Answer: love. The Beatles claimed “All You Need Is Love.” […]
Essay
A Letter to a Priest in Crisis
A number of years ago, my spiritual director, a priest, went on a leave of absence because of various troubles. He was considering leaving the priesthood. I wrote a heartfelt letter to offer my thoughts […]