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, Christmas was forty days ago this Tuesday, and that is why 2 February is the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord. According to Chapter 12 of Leviticus, every Jewish woman who gave birth required a ritual purification from her flow of blood, and a sacrifice was to be offered to…

Dear Friends in Christ, On the next two Saturdays, a total of 35 men from around the state will be ordained to the Order of Deacons for service in the Diocese of Charleston, and because there are so many ordinands, the bishop had to divide them into two groups for their ordination. The first group…

Dear Friends in Christ, “Be still and know that I am God.” This exhortation of Psalm 46 reveals the connection between sacred silence and being in the presence of the living God. Throughout Holy Scripture the prophets reveal the necessity of reverential silence as a condition for approaching the majesty and mercy of God, and…