Recently I was in a Center City restaurant having lunch with a Saint John’s parishioner. We were talking about Saint John’s church business and activities. I overheard people at the table next to ours also talking about their own church […]
In 1963, the Capuchin friars of Saint John Church saw the plight of many homeless men in our neighborhood and decided to do something about it. They opened a hospice in a small building on a nearby street. That small […]
The Baptism of Jesus is the final day of the Christmas season. The next day, Monday, January 12, begins Ordinary Time, which continues until Ash Wednesday and Lent. The baptism of Jesus should prompt us to think about our own […]
Today we celebrate the Epiphany of the Lord. We remember the magi, the wise men from the East, who followed a star and found the infant Jesus with Mary his mother. They did not come empty-handed; they brought gifts of […]
In a few days it will be 2026. I was with my best childhood friend when 1979 turned to 1980. I remember him saying that it was hard to believe that it was already 1980. Now 1980 is history, the […]
On Christmas eve and Christmas morning, the Church proclaims the Gospel of Luke. We hear how Jesus was born in a stable and placed in a manger because there was no room at the inn. When God became human, he […]
In late November, Pope Leo made his first trip outside of Italy as pope, and t was to Turkey to commemorate a very important anniversary. 2025 marks the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicea. The anniversary of the Council […]
Pope Francis announced that 2024-25 is a Catholic Jubilee Year which began on December 24, 2025 in Rome and which will end in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia on the Feast of the Holy Family, December 28, 2025. Let me make […]
Hail and Blessed by the hour and the moment When the Son of God was born Of the most pure Virgin Mary, At midnight, in Bethlehem, in piercing cold. In that hour vouchsafe, O my God, To hear my prayers […]
I am amazed when I encounter someone who seems to have every reason to complain and yet they don’t. I have met people with severe injuries, terminal illness, hard luck of every kind, who remain positive, hopeful and concerned about […]