Priests
COVID-19: A pastor’s perspective: This latest challenge
Father David J. Bonnar 0
What a tsunami! First, it was the grand jury report in Pennsylvania and the fallout therein. Living at ground zero in the state made this issue all the more painful and real. Second, it was the ongoing diocesan initiative to make the Church more alive by merging parishes and regionalizing schools. Because we Catholics can Read More
Remembering our Deceased Priests
Father David J. Bonnar 0
It is a tradition in our diocese every July to have a clergy golf outing that brings the brothers together for lunch, golf and dinner. There is nothing quite like being with brother priests and to enjoy the company of deacons. To be together away from the stresses of the parish, chasing a little white Read More
The Constant Prayer of Priests
Father Kurt Belsole 0
The General Instruction on the Liturgy of the Hours refers to morning and evening prayer as the two hinges of the liturgical day. They are what are called the hinge hours, and in a sense, all priests live their days between the two Gospel canticles of these hours, the Benedictus and the Magnificat. These two Read More
Conforming to the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Robert Fastiggi 0
The month of June is dedicated in a special way to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, as the solemnity that honors the devotion — held 19 days after Pentecost Sunday — almost always takes place this month. In 2002, Pope St. John Paul II established the solemnity of the Sacred Heart as the World Day Read More
Upholding Tradition
Msgr. Peter J. Vaghi 0
The solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul, which falls annually on June 29, is the great feast day of the Church of Rome. It is the feast of two martyrs upon whose blood the Church of Rome is built. Paul was beheaded, and Peter was crucified upside down. Two magnificent basilicas stand in Rome today Read More
The Priest as Servant-Leader
Father Frank P. DeSiano 0
Stereotypes abound. Some pastors are “memo” priests, who send memos to various people on the parish staff at various times of day or night. Others cannot seem to get through a day without a series of spontaneous meetings with one parish group or another. Some pastors think of leadership as fiscal responsibility and strength, peppering Read More
Leaning on Mary
Father Timothy Gallagher 0
One of my earliest memories is kneeling down with my father as he led my brother and sisters and I in praying the Rosary. Later, during my young adult life as I searched for my Christian identity and purpose, it was Mary’s influence through the Rosary that not only kept me in full communion with Read More
Your Feedback: Preaching
Priest Readers 0
Before we can preach to others we must preach to ourselves. Let your preaching be the result of your own reflection upon what you have learned through your own prayer. Make sure you can summarize in one short line the message you want the people to take home with them. — Father Andrew P. Read More