The popular T.V. series, “The Andy Griffith Show” had many memorable episodes. One episode that was quite funny was entitled “Aunt Bee the Warden”. There was an overflow crowd at the Mayberry Jail and Otis is forced to be in the custody of Aunt Bee, instead of the jail.

This wasn’t supposed to be my column for this month, but then I’ve got it pretty good. I wasn’t hurt or killed in the Boston Marathon explosions, and neither was anyone I know. But three people are dead, and more than 140 are hurt as a result of senseless violence. …

By Father Timothy P. Schehr Easter Sunday: Acts 10:34-43; Colossians 3:1-4; 1 Corinthians 5:6-8; John 20:1-9 Easter comes quietly in this Sunday’s Gospel. We hear the sound of footsteps running to the tomb, hearts beating wildly, gasps for breath. It is so very different from all the trumpets and alleluias …

March and April used to bring a flood of phone calls to the office of an editor in the upper Midwest, where I spent much of my career. I used to call it the great battle of the bobbin’ robin. We would get literally scores of calls from people wanting …

Question of Faith is a Q&A column by Father Earl Fernandes A reader asks: Dear Father: “Will the new Pope make changes in Church teaching because he’s a Jesuit and Jesuits tend to be more liberal? Will I have to take three steps to the left?” Dear reader: Catholics should give …

“The outlook wasn’t brilliant for the Mudville nine that day: The score stood four to two, with but one inning more to play.” Just about any baseball fan or English major is familiar with those famous lines from the Ernest Lawrence Thayer poem Casey at the Bat. The poem resonated …

 It’s a word the Catholic Church has long avoided being associated with — scandal. Far from it to be a cause of disillusionment or a stumbling block against faith. In the past, the very mention of scandal being a possibility was, depending on the activity, enough to get someone to …

“There’s something happening here, what it is ain’t exactly clear.” Now that you may have the Buffalo Springfield song in your head, in a world where we see so much change daily, there’s something happening. This is the Year of Faith, of a New Evangelization, a new Holy Father. One …

As the first days of Pope Francis’ term of office dawned, there was a great deal of excitement about who this stranger from a far land was, what is going to be his main focus, what new initiatives will he bring to the life of the church? The research started …

The tomato wars are about to begin. Hundreds of local gardeners have their starts under grow lights and can’t wait to plant their little seedlings. It isn’t sugarplums they dream of. It is big, juicy tomatoes, straight from the garden on a warm August day. The dream includes a “mater-sandwich:” …