Blog - April 2011 RSS Feed

Here’s an excerpt from a piece I wrote for the Knights of Columbus published at Headline Bistro : For John Paul II, Jesus Christ is the answer to the question asked by every human life. His existence on earth was a daily response to the invitation given the disciples on the Sea of Galilee, “Come, follow me.” Thanks to his Christ-centered life, millions more made Jesus the focus of their lives.

It was great! During Easter Sunday morning Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, I had a sneezing fit! Apparently, all the magnificent lilies, in full springtime bloom throughout the sanctuary, got my allergies going!

Here is a letter expressing my gratitude to all of the priests for their efforts on Reconciliation Monday. Since our priests don’t always get the recognition they deserve, thank your parish priests for all that they do the next time you see them.

Let’s see now:  we’ve got a Sunday night series on one of the most corrupt and tawdry families in Church history, the Borgias, with popes, cardinals, bishops, and priests, all part of this big, happy family; we’ve heard non-stop for a decade about abusive priests, (albeit a small minority) and lax bishops who reassigned them; we’ve got front page stories of priests who embezzled money from their parishes; and I saw one not long ago about a priest arrested for DUI.

Mark your calendars! On Monday, April 18, all Catholic churches in the Archdiocese of New York, the Diocese of Brooklyn, and Diocese of Rockville Centre, will be observing Reconciliation Monday . The Sacrament of Reconciliation – or, if you prefer, Confession or Penance – will be available from 3:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. You can stop in any church, and find a priest waiting and eager to celebrate the sacrament with you.

My good friend and brother bishop, Bishop Thomas Tobin of Providence, recently wrote an outstanding column in his diocesan newspaper, the Rhode Island Catholic. I thought you might be interested in reading it.