Wednesday, April 15, 2009 By Sister Carol Gaeke, O.P. “God made man is His own image and man has returned the compliment,” quipped the French philosopher Voltaire. This tongue-in-cheek line reveals two sides of the Easter mystery. On one is the belief in God becoming human and then being taken …

Wednesday, April 15, 2009 By Father Timothy P. Schehr Acts 4:32-35; 1 John 5:1-6; John 20:19-31 This Sunday the apostle Thomas takes his famous misstep in faith. He needs absolute proof before he will believe his brother apostles have seen the Lord. It is a disappointing stance from someone who …

Wednesday, April 8, 2009 By Christie Hadley Christianity has always been a part of my life, but I knew I was searching for something deeper, something more — something to bring me closer to God. I found that something in the Catholic Church, and in a few days I will …

Wednesday, April 8, 2009 By Father Kyle Schnippel One saint stands out in a particular way among parish priests. Known for his own personal holiness, his doggedness in completing seminary and his dedication to time in the confessional, St. John Marie Vianney, the Curé of Ars, is called upon to …

Wednesday, April 8, 2009 By Father Timothy P. Schehr Acts 10:34-43; Colossians 3:1-4 or 1 Corinthians 5:6-8; John 20:1-9 John’s Easter Gospel is remarkable for its simplicity and its silence. John lets us discover the wonderful truth of the Lord’s victory over death by letting us see it for ourselves …

Wednesday, April 1, 2009 By Father Earl Fernandes In his online report March 20, John Allen of the National Catholic Reporter wrote: “It’s almost as if the pope has made two separate visits to Cameroon: the one reported internationally and the one Africans actually experienced. In the U.S. and many …

Wednesday, April 1, 2009 By Scott Mussari Three essentially obscure men — Gregory Bryant-Bey, Brett Hartman and Dismas — are separated by thousands of years and tens of thousands of miles, and yet are linked by one common distinction. All three were considered useless and worthless and deemed disposable by …

Tuesday, March 31, 2009 By Father Tim Schehr Palm Sunday: Isaiah 50:4-7; Philippians 2:6-11; Mark 14:1-15:47 Is there a way to make this Sunday’s “long Gospel” seem a little shorter? Try listening for the many spiritual lessons we can find in the lesser known characters in Mark’s account of the …

Tuesday, March 24, 2009 By Father Earl Fernandes I was delighted to read, “Local Ruah Woods to offer Theology of the Body programs,” in The Catholic Telegraph. The establishment of such a center is timely and necessary. Last November, the Notre Dame Center for Ethics in Culture sponsored a conference …

Tuesday, March 24, 2009 By Sister Betty Jane Lillie, S.C. Fifth Sunday of Lent 35: Jeremiah 31:31-34; Psalm 51:3-4, 12-15; Hebrews 5:7-9; John 12:20-33 Jesus called the hour of His death the hour of His glorification (John 12:23).  The kind of death he would die was indicated in Jesus’ own …