Columnists
Here’s to a quiet Advent
One late afternoon some 20 years ago, I was walking behind a couple headed for a weekday Mass at the University of Scranton campus ministry center. The girl was reminding the boy that we don’t […]
Opinion
Columnists
The jubilant portal
Pope Francis has designated the upcoming liturgical year as an extraordinary jubilee of divine mercy. The custom of observing jubilees is an ancient part of God’s Covenant with Israel. As they neared the Promised Land, […]
Columnists
Inspiring spirit
As of this Advent, we will have been using updated prayers and responses in the Mass for four years. One of the most common questions asked is why “and with your spirit” is now used. […]
Charleston Deanery
Choosing to be grateful amid physical challenges
Mary Jane and Craig were college students who left a decades-long impression on me. As a young teen, she had thought herself indestructible and fell from the far-too-tall tree she had climbed on a dare. […]
Column Archives
Sacramental inclusion
One common question posed to the Catholic Church is why non-Catholics are asked not to receive Holy Communion. Someone once observed that not welcoming everyone to Communion was like inviting someone for dinner, but not […]
Column Archives
Promises, promises: Some reflections during the Year of Consecrated Life
One of the prayers in the liturgy for Ordinary Time asks this: “Send us as witnesses of gospel joy into a world of fragile peace and broken promises.” We don’t have to study statistics to […]
Columnists
Laudato Si’: Ecospirituality is not New Age thinking
It was 1979 when St. John Paul II named Francis of Assisi the patron saint of ecology. But it was not until his January 1990 World Day of Peace message that people of faith took […]
Columnists
Celebrating 2,640 years of consecrated life
The Trappists at Mepkin Abbey are known to some as the state’s ace mushroom growers. Catholics also know them as one of the cloistered, contemplative powerhouses of our diocese, a role which they share with […]
Alison Blanchet
Don’t wait to plan for Heaven
Not to brag, but I consider traveling one of my talents. Scouting the best airfare, shopping for accessories, choosing planes, trains or ferries — I love every step. I was especially excited to plan the […]
Columnists
Glorious novelty
A regular musical feature sung at the Lord’s Supper is the Gloria. The Gloria is one of the most ancient of Christian hymns. The most recent version of the guidelines governing the celebration of Mass […]