Dear Friends in Christ, With this Fifth Sunday of Lent, the Church enters the final part of Lent: Passiontide. From today until the Vigil of the Resurrection in the night of Holy Saturday, crosses and statues are veiled and the sacred liturgy of each day takes us more deeply into the heart of the Paschal…

Dear Friends in Christ, On Divine Mercy Sunday, 27 April 2014, Pope Francis will canonize two of the most beloved Bishops of Rome of all time: Pope John XXIIIand Pope John Paul II. John XXIII was born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli on 25 November 1881; he was the fourth of fourteen children, and his parents were poor sharecroppers. After…

Dear Friends in Christ, The Amish, a community formed in the 17th century by a schism within the Mennonite movement in Switzerland, are famous for their radical separation from the world: they will not use modern technology, they dress differently from their neighbors, they cease formal schooling after the 8th grade, they refuse to serve…

Dear Friends in Christ, 1. Three hours of Confessions remain for those who have been away from the Sacrament of Penance for a few months or years. From 5 to 6 pm on the next three Thursdays (20 and 27 March and 3 April), the door is open just for those who are reluctant to…

Dear Friends in Christ, Ecclesia semper reformanda. The Church is always in need of being reformed because Christians are always in need of being reformed. The Church is also always holy because the Holy Spirit dwells within her and gives her life as the soul does in the body. This dual dimension of the Church’s…