To this day the Passover meal among Jews remains a family festival. The Pasch, unlike the other great feasts of Judaism — Pentecost, the Day of Atonement — Passover was a day to remain at home. more

The universal love of God for his creatures and especially for mankind is undeniable. Clearly, in the words of St. Paul, “God desires that all men should be saved and come to the knowledge of his truth.” more

Although the Catholic Church and its preachers and educators have made tremendous progress over the past fifty years, the average Catholic is still not comfortable with the Bible, neither … more

At some time in my youthful years, perhaps grammar school, perhaps high school, a prayer for vocations was circulated among the parishes and some dutiful teacher must have had his or her students … more

The United States Bishops Committee on Doctrine recently issued a respectful but firm admonition concerning a college textbook by Sister of St. Joseph Elizabeth Johnson entitled “The Quest For The Living God.” more

The Old Testament Book of Jeremiah (the longest book of the Bible written by one person) mixes tough personal biography with harsh Jewish history and some hopeful prophecy. Jeremiah was born into a … more

St. John Henry Cardinal Newman once remarked that to know history is to cease to be a Protestant. The English prelate was of course referring to the Fathers and Doctors of the Church who in ancient … more

A few years ago, maybe 15 years ago, two young men moved into a neighborhood. They replaced a sagging gutter in the front of their home. more

A good deal of the celebrated Sermon on the Mount as presented by St. Matthew in his version of Christ’s grand instruction to his disciples seems to consist in a refinement of the Old Mosaic Law. more

For many years the prison ministry at the Adult Correctional Institution in Cranston was administered by the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart, priests and brothers who were stationed at St. Joseph Church in West Warwick and at St. Francis of Assisi Church in Warwick. more

William Wilberforce was an eighteenth century English member of parliament and the main leader of the British movement to halt the slave trade. Although born into an aristocratic family, he was … more

Mass every Sunday was an integral part of my young life, as was true for most and likely all of my neighborhood friends. The 9 a.m. Sunday Mass was the children’s Mass and all were expected to … more

The Public Broadcasting System recently offered a three-night presentation entitled “God in America.” The title really should be, “God in Protestant America,” since the Catholic Church hardly figured at all into the six-hour program. more

The solemnity of Pentecost was a Jewish feast day long before Christians began to commemorate the powerful arrival of the Holy Spirit on the Church community at Jerusalem. And truth be told, the Jewish observance of this early summer festival certainly had agricultural roots in the fulfillment that farmers experienced as their early spring plantings came to fruition. This spring planting would have occurred seven weeks earlier around the time of the Jewish feast of Passover and the later Christian observance of Easter. Then the next two months would have coincided with the farmers’ anxious witness of the first sprouts, the lengthening stems, the hardy stalks, the ripe kernels and the successful harvest of sweet rye, wheat, and barley. From a human perspective, the festival that later became Pentecost was a celebration of natural fulfillment, completion, accomplishment. more

It is surely no coincidence that the very first words out of the mouth of Christ to his chosen disciples gathered in the upper room were, “Peace be with you!” Peace had eluded mankind since Adam … more

Just before holy Communion, priest and people alike gaze at the body and blood of Jesus Christ raised slightly aloft and testify together, “Lord, I am not worthy to receive you, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.” more

The Stadium Theatre at Monument Square in Woonsocket has been gloriously refurbished to its 1920’s grandeur. The scene of many “double features” from my youth is now the venue for organ concerts, community college plays, and touring musical comedies. more

The infectious Ebola disease has made headlines recently as a scare for many throughout the world and as a tragedy for many on the African continent. more

This year marks the one hundredth anniversary of the Easter rebellion, 1916-2016, a bloody event that led eventually to Irish independence from Britain and the establishment of the Irish Free State … more

When the Roman rite first transitioned from Latin into English, the most popular acclamation proclaiming the profound mystery of faith that had just occurred at the consecration was certainly … more