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.
Separation of Church and State is an Impossibility
By David M. Carollo – Kennedy v. Nixon My earliest recollection of politics goes back to 1960 when John Kennedy faced Richard Nixon in the presidential race. The overwhelming subject seemed to be the fact that one candidate was Catholic, the first in the history of the nation. As a young child, I had no […]
The sacrifice of those who follow Him
By David M. Carollo – In the liturgies following Christmas we commemorate the feast days of some who gave all for the Faith. We remember St. Stephen, the first person martyred for preaching the word, the Holy Innocents, slaughtered by Herod in hopes to kill the newborn Savior, and later in the week, St. Thomas […]
The times call for reparation and strong leadership
by David Carollo – Looking at our divided nation today, some will argue that this time is no worse than the time of the Civil War, but I disagree. Today we find ourselves in a battle between good and evil, between God and the devil. Our political dilemma is a result of the spiritual decay, […]
Announcing 2021 a Year of St. Joseph
by David Carollo – Someone said to me, “I am very uneasy about the present situation in our country.” I responded that we are all disturbed during times of such uncertainty, but if we focus on the issues that cause this anxiety, we understand that it is rooted in our lack of acceptance of God’s […]
The battle for God’s kingdom involves our decisions
by David M. Carollo – Next week we will exercise our civic duty and select our representatives at all levels of government from the president on down. As I have always done, I downloaded the list of candidates endorsed by the pro-life groups to use as one of my guides for voting. From the top […]
The time to choose
by David Carollo – Last year we participated with the Knights of Columbus and Catholic Action for Faith and Family on tour with our International Pilgrim Virgin Statue, visiting the missions founded by St. Junipero Serra and his companions from San Diego to San Francisco. On Sept. 11, 2019 at noon we held a rally […]
Are you in it for the long haul?
By David Carollo – When there is difficulty and uncertainty we turn to prayer. We hope to solve our issues and find the way back to normalcy. On Sept. 11, 2001, and for the weeks that followed, the churches were full as people came to comprehend the unthinkable occurrence of that day and to petition […]
