From the Friars: Pentecost It’s harvest time! Today we celebrate the Solemnity of Pentecost. Pentecost comes from a Greek word meaning fifty. The Jewish Festival of Pentecost (called Shavuot or “weeks” in Hebrew) fell on the fiftieth day (“a week of weeks”) after the Passover. Shavuot was the celebration of the early wheat harvest, which…
From the Friars: Mary in the Upper Room The mystery of motherhood is a marvelous gift! Mary is Mother of Christ and Mother of the Church. After my own mother’s visit to the Shrine to celebrate my one-year anniversary to the Priesthood, I have a renewed understanding of how this marvelous gift—motherhood—is something for us…
From the Friars: Homesick At the end of June, I will be making my annual visit to my family in Michigan where I grew up. It is always a joy to see loved ones and to go back to the place that for me will always be home. At the same time there is a…
From the Friars: A New Saint We find in today’s Gospel, Judas filled with the very darkness into which he fled and Jesus preparing His apostles for His ultimate sacrifice. He affectionately addresses these grown men as ‘children’ and commands them to “love one another; even as I have loved you.” John 13:34, the new…
From the Friars: Mother of the Good Shepherd Years ago I was in the hospital room when my sister was in labor with her first son. She was complaining loudly to my mother for not having warned her about how painful giving birth actually was. It was a difficult situation, so like the Apostles, I…
From the Friars: Follow the Leader Alexander the Great was a bold warrior who, unlike most generals, literally led the charge into battle. His courage and skill inspired great loyalty in his followers. Once his army was slow to take a well defended enemy fortress. So he personally grabbed a ladder and climbed up and…
From the Friars: Seeing Jesus In today’s Gospel, we read about the apostle Thomas’ encounter with the risen Lord the Sunday after the resurrection, also known as Divine Mercy Sunday. Thomas was not present when Jesus first appeared, and he doubted the testimony of the other apostles. So, when he appeared a second time Our…
From the Friars: Easter and Tattoos “Father, is it okay to get tattoos?” I was at a Young Adult Retreat and some of the young men and women were discussing the pros and cons of getting tattoos. Some thought that there was nothing wrong with it, others recalled some Biblical injunction against tattoos. “So, Father,…
From the Friars: The Price of Redemption We all have painful memories of events in our lives where we wish we could go back and do something over again, or somehow make up for a failure or humiliation. When I was a young boy, I came home one afternoon to find on the dining room…
From the Friars: Understanding God’s Law When children are young parents have to put many restrictions on them so that they don’t hurt themselves. They put protectors on the electric outlets, safety latches on the sharp knife drawer and other such things because the little ones do not yet understand the real dangers in the…