In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.’ … But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, ‘You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit worthy of repentance. –…
As we look back over 2015 — good, bad, and ugly — there’s no question that it’s been quite a year. It’s time for us to withdraw into the peace and joy of the coming of the Christ child, to spend time with friends and family, to feast, to drink good wine, and to play…
It’s that time of year again, when the word “tradition” is heard more often than at a “Fiddler on the Roof” audition. Whether it’s in the music we are subjected to in the mall or choose to listen to on our radio, or the food and treats we make, or the decorations in and around…
I discovered this beautiful poem by Fr. Abram J. Ryan, an American priest-poet, while researching my article about the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. Fell the snow on the festival’s vigil And surpliced the city in white; I wonder who wove the pure flakelets? Ask the Virgin, or God, or the…
Halloween snuck up on my family again this year. A new baby, a child entering college, a late start to homeschool, and the ever-present demands of work and family just about pushed the whole thing out of our minds. We were going to do a family theme: the Skojecs as the Avengers for Halloween. It was perfect.…
Thanksgiving has been one of my favorite holidays since I was a child, and it hasn’t changed much over the years. It may seem like the focus is on food more than thankfulness, but as a parent you don’t have to fight terribly hard to help your children remember what it’s all about. Cut out…
The Feast of Corpus Christi — of the Eucharistic Body and Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ — finds its origins in the 13th century. It came about almost entirely through the persistence of St. Juliana, a nun from the town of Liège in Belgium. Orphaned at the age of five, she was placed with the convent…
This Sunday in the Latin Church is the feast of the Most Holy Trinity (the first Sunday after Pentecost in both the ordinary and extraordinary forms of the Roman Rite). With this post, I share some thoughts (assembled from homilies and jottings over the years) on this, the central mystery of Christian faith, the mystery…
