Today the Church celebrates the Feast Day of St. Philip Neri, who was born in Rome in 1515 and died in 1595 on 26th May. He was a priest and was the founder of the Oratorians. He is well known for his humor, his gifted spiritual direction, and his habit of making a...
Pope St. John Paul II is rightly nicknamed John Paul the Great because of his tremendous impact on so many spheres of our life and on world history. Not only will he be remembered as the Pope who traveled more than any of his predecessors, but his legacy also includes...
“Brethren, let no disagreement remain amongst you seeing that these are the holy days [of Lent]… Maybe you begin to say to yourselves in thought: “I want to make peace but my brother is the one who has offended me… and doesn’t want to come to terms”. What then?… In...
“Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil."… For since Jesus did and underwent everything with a view to our instruction he likewise consented to be led there and wrestle against the devil in order that every baptized person who,...
“Remember then how our fathers worked out their salvation; remember the sufferings through which the Church has grown, and the storms the ship of Peter has weathered because it has Christ on board. Remember how the crown was attained by those whose sufferings gave new...
Perhaps the way to become better acquainted with these Magi and to understand their desire to let themselves be guided by God’s signs is to pause to consider what they find on their journey, in the great city of Jerusalem. First of all they met King Herod. He was...
“Since our first conscious decision really to follow the teaching of Christ, we have no doubt made good progress along the way of faithfulness to his word. And yet isn’t it true that there is still much to be done? Isn’t it true, particularly, that there is still so...
“Christ should reign first and foremost in our soul. But how would we reply if he asked us: “How do you go about letting me reign in you?” I would reply that I need lots of his grace. Only that way can my every heartbeat and breath, my least intense look, my most...
The other day I had the opportunity to speak to a group of Italian youth. I asked how many of them believe in God. One responded saying, “I don’t believe in religion; rather, I believe in science.” I love this response because it is a typical, yet fertile starting...