Posts Tagged

December 2021

My brothers and I, who normally don’t get along, prayed together. My last chemo treatment is done. We are going to figure out a way to help your child at school. I’m finally able to fly and see you after having to cancel twice because of the pandemic. He got …

I traveled to Iceland in August. After years of wishing, planning and saving, I was at last on board a 757 headed east to Reykjavik, to start a six-day solo trip across the Icelandic south coast. During my years of preparation, the trip became a beacon of hope. When overwhelmed …

“Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” (Luke 1:38) With her fiat, Mary of Nazareth said “Yes” to God, agreeing to be the mother of our Savior, and forever changing the world. Advent and Christmas are especially great opportunities …

Together they gave a combined 35 years of service to Chaminade Julienne Catholic High School (CJ). But Judi MacLeod and Ann Szabo were much more than their work for the school community — they exemplified Catholic faith and were pillars in the Dayton area. Szabo passed away on Sept. 15, …

Most 13-year-olds stay busy with schoolwork, after school activities and social life. Ella Buckley, who attends St. James School in White Oak, is doing all of those successfully and has another achievement she can add to her growing list of accomplishments: becoming a published author. Buckley said she’s loved writing …

The Bible is full of passages on hope. Paul’s letters alone constantly return to this theme. This is expected since the Bible tells the story about the foundation of our hope – “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Col. 1:27) – and Paul is the great Apostle of Hope. …

I heard that during Advent’s final days the “O Antiphons” are prayed as part of Evening Prayer. What are these antiphons? As Catholics go through the liturgical year, no day is the same as another. As you mention in your question, one example of this variation is the “O Antiphons,” …

THE SYNOD ON SYNODALITY’S GOAL & PURPOSE In last month’s Catholic Telegraph, Father Earl Fernandes wrote about synodality as it pertains to Beacons of Light. Synodality means walking together as a community on the pilgrim journey that we live on earth. By virtue of our baptism, we are all called …

In the U.S., we often refer to the time frame spanning Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day as “the holidays.” In reference to Thanksgiving and Christmas, it is indeed appropriate to think of the two holidays as joined by a common leitmotif of giving and receiving. Thanksgiving is, obviously, the day …

One of our great treasures as Catholics is the rhythm of the Church calendar in which the hopeful message of God’s great love for us is renewed each year in a way that is familiar yet always new. A new Church year has just begun with the First Sunday of …