When Christmas Preparations Truly Matter
It all began the day after Thanksgiving, on Black Friday. Navigating the sales and offers for material goods, many of which will be discarded the next day I was buried in the confusion of the season which hadn’t even started yet. The police were on high alert as the potential for violent clashes at retail outlets across the country was high.
Extra, Extra! Read All About It – In More Ways Than One
Times change. The institutions that seemed to be enduring without extinction are, in fact, showing a new face. The free press is a necessary piece of the social political structure in a democratic representative society. Newspapers and broadcast news were traditionally the trusted sources of information, and a window to the events of the world. Everything evolves, and as change can be unnerving to some, it must be looked at as inevitable and, in some cases, exciting. I remember the big three networks as the only source of major broadcast news, with a few local channels in large cities. Cable TV and talk radio began the downward spiral of influence for these legacy institutions. The introduction of the news channels with their 24-hour cycle brought constant coverage which also led to fatigue.
Peace is Found in Unity – Which Comes from God
St. Paul said that we are going to win. Our Lady promised that in the end her Immaculate Heart will triumph. Like most of us I look around and wonder how this will come about. Doom and gloom are fed to us daily. By watching the news and following the flow of pessimism that rules the day it is easy to understand why despair is on the rise. A priest once suggested that I stop watching the news. It is said that “no news is good news.” I often think of former Vice-President Spiro Agnew’s famous depiction of the press, referring to them as the “nattering nabobs of negativism.” Obviously, we cannot totally ignore world events, but obsessive focus on things that we cannot directly affect is counterproductive. Strong devotion leading us to proper action is how we effect change.
The Rule of God and the God of Rulers
We saw the new motion picture “Reagan” last week. It brought me back to the time of my own political coming of age in the 1970s. The first presidential election in which I participated was in 1976. The United States was reeling from the disruption of both a presidential and vice-presidential resignation. The country was in the hands of two appointed men in the executive branch of our nation. In 1972, by an overwhelming majority, Richard Nixon and Spiro Agnew were reelected. Two years later, Gerald Ford and Nelson Rockefeller held the offices of president and vice-president. The political and social turmoil of the time was redefining the United States.
Pray, Hope and Sleep Peacefully in the Arms of God
We were sitting having dinner the other evening. Outside on the deck on a patio chair was one of our neighborhood cats. She was curled up, peacefully asleep, unaware of the turmoil that defines our present day. I commented to my wife that this reminds me of the Scripture passage when Our Lord states:
“Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one hour to his life?” (Mt 6:26)
A Sign from Our Lady? News from the Pilgrim Virgin Tours
There have been a number of reports of supernatural manifestations stemming from the International Pilgrim Virgin Statue of Our Lady of Fatima, during her visitations to parishes, particularly in the dioceses of Youngstown, OH this past week, and Rockville Center, NY in May.
In Memoriam: Father Charles Fanelli
On July 17, 2024, the World Apostolate of Fatima USA/Our Lady’s Blue Army lost a long time member when Fr. Charles Fanelli passed away.
Heroic Forgiveness and the Sacraments
Last month I was in Krakow, Poland, with my wife, who is Polish-born. We arranged and accompanied the Magnificat Choir from St. John Cantius Parish in Chicago on their sacred music pilgrimage. While there, we attended Sunday morning Mass at beautiful St. Mary’s Basilica. For his homily, the priest read the letter from the Polish Bishop’s conference decrying the attempts by the European Union to mandate the legalization of non-Catholic practices such as abortion across the region. All this, of course, to bring the country out of the “dark ages” of Christian morality! As the bishops stated in that letter, “true democracy is for everyone to have the right to life.” Do these efforts to impose a secular rule on society sound familiar? Evil is everywhere and never rests. The extent of this can never be underestimated.
Direction of a Just Nation
Liberty and freedom in a disordered world are often misunderstood. The American experiment has been one of great accomplishments and great dichotomies. The underlying foundation of our national identity has been self-determination. Detractors will argue that the words in the Declaration of Independence “that all men are created equal” falls short when we acknowledge that slavery was allowed in several states. The practice, in fact, pre-dated the 1776 Revolution and much blood was shed correcting this injustice. A truly just nation corrects itself.
Anything But “Ordinary” Time
Pentecost Sunday, the birthday of the Church, marks the end of the Easter season. Leading up to this day we completed the Novena to the Holy Spirit which began on Ascension Thursday; “Come Holy Spirit fill the hearts of Thy faithful and enkindle in them the fire of Thy Love.” Although many dioceses transferred the feast to the following Sunday, most of us began the nine-day prayer on the traditional day. This was a great preparation for the mission ratified when the Holy Spirit came upon Our Lady and the Apostles. It is the time when the Holy Spirit comes upon us and fills us with the gifts needed to carry on our mission as Catholics. On Pentecost the Church was born.
