Saint of the week Patron saint of bishops, cardinals, seminarians, and spiritual leaders, St Charles Borromeo’s life of sacrifice, devotion to pastoral care, and reform is a model for bishops and clergy today of holiness. Through his efforts, priests and laity were inspired to live as true disciples of Christ. Born near Milan in 1538,…
Q: When I was evangelical, we said a ‘saved’ person went immediately to Heaven at death. In a recent homily our priest said most Christians, including himself, will likely go to purgatory at death. How can Jesus’ shed blood pay for a person’s sins, but they not go to Heaven at death? A: Your…
Fr Joshua J. Whitfield Dt 6:2-6 Ps 18:2-3, 3-4, 47, 51 Heb 7:23-28 Mk 12:28b-34 The theology of this passage from Mark matters. Obviously so does its place within the extended debates of rabbis and theologians, arguments now millennia old. “Which is the first of all the commandments?” the scribe asks Jesus (Mk 12:28).…
From Pierre Teilhard de Chardin we get these words: “Because, my God, though I lack the soul-zeal and the sublime integrity of your saints, I yet have received from you an overwhelming sympathy for all that stirs within the dark mass of matter; because I know myself to be irremediably less a child of Heaven…
I found that being in Ireland taught me a lot about what it means to be in search of our heavenly home says, Maura Collins Soon before I left California this August to live in Ireland for a couple of months, a woman in my Catholic community texted me an told me that she’d pray…
As a Lutheran priest, Dietrich Bonhoeffer would frequently offer this advice to a couple when he presided at their wedding, “Today you are in love and believe your love will sustain your marriage, but it can’t. Let your marriage sustain your love.” Wise words, but what exactly do they mean? Why can’t love sustain a…
The Sunday Gospel Jer 31:7-9 Ps 126:1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 6 Heb 5:1-6 Mk 10:46-52 Like so much of the gospels, Jesus’ encounter with a blind beggar this Sunday boils down to one simple question: “What do you want me to do for you?” If we met Jesus along the road, would we be able to…
Fr Martin’s life is a proof of the Church’s missionary spirit that continues to inspire priests, religious, and laity, says Renata Milán Morales “May that missionary spirit never decline in the hearts of Irish priests, whether members of missionary institutes or of the diocesan clergy or of religious congregations devoted to other apostolates,” said St John…
Brenda Noriega-flores Have you ever found yourself pondering the meaning of life? If so, you’re not alone! Most people, especially between 13 to 30 years of age, frequently wrestle with these big questions. Wonder is part of what it means to be human and, as St Thomas Aquinas wisely noted, it’s a deep desire for…
Jackie Whelan My brother, Paul McLeod, was diagnosed with a brain tumour at the age of twenty-five. He died eighteen months later, in March 1990. He was the youngest in the family, loved by everyone. We were totally devastated, but our parents’ faith was strong. They spoke about ‘God’s will’. I questioned how a loving…
Renata Milán Morales
Fr Ronald Rolheiser