Pope Francis has designated 2025 as a jubilee year, a year of hope and forgiveness. I have spoken of the jubilee in this bulletin column and will say more of it later in the year. Archbishop Perez has issued an […]
If you have visited my office you have seen prominently displayed two photos of me with Pope Francis, one taken in 2018 and the other in August, 2024, just last year. Because I attended twice the Capuchin General Chapter, I […]
Earth Day, 2025 I was in high school when I first heard of Earth Day, an annual commemoration about caring for the environment, for the earth which is our common home. It is held each year on April 22. We […]
When I was a boy, our family went to church late on Easter Sunday morning. I think we went to the Easter Vigil once, found out how long it was and never went again, at least not until I was […]
You may have noticed that the stained glass window broken by the burglar who took Mary’s golden crown has been repaired. I am still in regular contact with the police who are still working on solving the theft of the […]
As I write this bulletin column, I am in France, leading a pilgrimage of 44 mostly Holy Redeemer parishioners (and one Saint John’s parishioner) to holy places. The highlights of our journey will be for me the visits to Liseux, […]
Because we are conducting a capital campaign for repairs that are necessary for Saint John Church to remain open, I have had to explain why Saint John’s is worth supporting, why it is important that Saint John’s remains open. For […]
Almsgiving is one of the essential pious activities of Lent. Almsgiving means giving to the poor and to other good causes. Here at Saint John’s we are in the midst of a capital campaign to assure the survival of Saint […]
Brother James Gavin, who served at Saint John’s for many years and who is now deceased, did not like the way that Americans celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day. Brother James was born and raised in Ireland. He was appalled that Americans […]
People sometimes say to me, “have a good Lent”. I reply, in jest, “No, I hope that you have a miserable Lent”. After all, Lent is supposed to be grim, isn’t it? As a young child, we gave up something […]