Posts by Fr Jay Scott Newman

Dear Friends in Christ, From today through Pentecost, we will be using the Apostles’ Creed at Mass instead of the Nicene Creed. This is a practice suggested by the Roman Missal because the text we call the Apostles’ Creed is so directly connected to the sacrament of Holy Baptism, the promises of which we renew…

Dear Friends in Christ, Lent begins this week with Ash Wednesday, and each one of us is called by the Lord Jesus to a deeper conversion as we prepare to celebrate the Passover of the Lord at Easter. During these 40 Days of fasting, prayer, and works of mercy, let us strive to live in…

Dear Friends in Christ, This Tuesday is the Feast of Saint Scholastica, the twin sister of Saint Benedict, father of Western monasticism. These two saints were born in the Italian mountain town of Nursia (Norcia in Italian) around the year 480, and Scholastica died on 10 February 547. To put their lives in the context…

Dear Friends in Christ, Christmas was 40 days ago tomorrow, and that is why tomorrow is the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord. According to Jewish custom, described in Chapter 12 of Leviticus, every woman who gave birth required a ritual purification from her flow of blood, and a sacrifice was to be offered…

Dear Friends in Christ, Although it is not observed liturgically because this year it falls on a Sunday, 25 January is the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul, the Church’s annual celebration of the day when Saul of Tarsus met the Lord Jesus on the Damascus Road — an event that changed Saul’s life…