Priests
Highlights of the National Study of Catholic Priests
Brandon Vaidyanathan, Christopher Jacobi, Sara Perla 0
This year, The Catholic Project, an initiative at The Catholic University of America that aims to foster effective collaboration between the clergy and the laity of the Church in the wake of the sexual abuse crisis, conducted the largest study of Catholic priests in the country in more than 50 years. The initial report for Read More
Life Is a Classroom
Bishop David J. Bonnar 0
Life is a classroom. Regardless of age or degree of education, life affords many opportunities for continual learning. These lessons come not just through studying various disciplines, but also unfold in relationships and experiences in life. Even surveys have a way of opening our eyes to new realities. Every three months, I look forward to Read More
Moments for Priestly Meditation
Father Edward Looney 0
Priests pray a lot. We pray and celebrate the holy Mass daily, pray the Liturgy of the Hours five times a day, make prayers of intercession for people who ask us, pray a Holy Hour, and engage in other devotional prayers like the Rosary or Divine Mercy Chaplet. There are many scripted prayers that guide Read More
Prayer, Care and Generosity Mark the Priesthood of St. John Vianney
Father David J. Bonnar 0
There is something attractive to following an underdog. The underdog is someone who typically has low odds to succeed, however, when they do succeed, it becomes a great story. Everyone loves a winner, especially when the winner is the underdog. St. John Vianney, whose feast the Church celebrates on Aug. 4, was, in many ways, Read More
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