Feb. 22 is Ash Wednesday, and for those who can, finding an Ash Wednesday service is a great way to mark the start of Lent. The ritual of receiving ashes on the forehead dates to the Middle Ages but contains symbolism rooted in the Old Testament, when ashes signified mourning, mortality and penance.
Wednesday, Jan. 25, is the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul. It’s a day that marks a monumental moment in human history, when a man caught up in hatred and violence was stopped in his tracks and set on a path to make God’s way of peace and love known to people throughout the world.
I’m one who finds long sermons difficult to sit through, so you might think I’d think twice about the following creative approach to celebrating a merry Christmas.
One of the most ancient problems in philosophy is the question of “the one and the many,” whether reality is ultimately a unity or a plurality and how these interrelate.
January opens with the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God, which serves as a joyous reminder that the Christmas season is still upon us.
The full story of how Jesus Christ came to be born includes elements that we do not easily imagine when we sing our Christmas hymns.
Our motherhouse is located on a large property in a tiny village in rural France. With its old stone buildings, expansive pastures, flower gardens and shaded pathways, it’s a gorgeously bucolic setting and the most peaceful place I’ve ever been.
Fifty years ago, on an overcast, cold, fall day in the gymnasium of the local public high school, I was ordained to the priesthood.
When I was a kid, I was fascinated by magnets. I loved to watch the little magnetic skaters glide across a mirror in our family’s Christmas village at the flip of a switch and I enjoyed doing science experiments with magnets and iron shavings in school.
The Second Vatican Council, convened by Pope John XXIII to address the role of the church in the modern world, was an epic event when it opened Oct. 11, 1962.
