Blog - March 2021 RSS Feed

Happy Holy Week, everybody! On today’s Conversation with Cardinal Dolan , I talked about Palm Sunday. It was great to hear about the influx of people coming back to Sunday Mass. What good news! I also discussed my latest Pastoral Letter that focused on assisted suicide.

A Blessed Palm Sunday! For the past few days, I’ve been talking to you about the journey of Passover. As we begin Holy Week and the journeys we will walk this week, we also remember the Exodus our Jewish neighbors took.

​On today’s Conversation with Cardinal Dolan , Lino Rulli joins me this week. We discussed this year’s Saint Patrick’s Day. We had a great crowd at the Saint Patrick’s Cathedral Mass, while still following safety restrictions.

The Fifth Sorrowful Mystery: The Crucifixion of Our Lord. All Jesus wants to do is reach out and bring us closer to Him, but our sins won’t let Him. Our sins nail Him to the Cross. When Easter Sunday comes, there’s nothing holding His hands back from embracing us.

Today on the Fifth Sunday of Lent, I want to meditate on the Fourth Sorrowful Mystery: Jesus Carries His Cross. Anytime we’re carrying our cross, Jesus carries it with us. Mass is a renewal of the Cross and when we celebrate Mass, we’ve absorbed into the Fourth Sorrowful Mystery

Think of how Jesus felt when that terrible crown of thorns was pushed into His skull. Next time you’re crushed with worry, anxiety or fear, think of the Third Sorrowful Mystery.

Today we celebrate the Feast of Saint Joseph. It’s a special feast this year because Pope Francis has named this the Year of Saint Joseph. Saint Joseph, as the earthly father of Jesus, prepared Jesus for the events of Holy Week.

When we think of the Scourging at the Pillar, we think about how the flesh of Jesus was torn. By His Passion, Jesus shows us that He wants to conquer sins of the flesh. It’s a great consolation in times of temptation.

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day! It’s a special day for us here in the Archdiocese of New York because Saint Patrick is the patron saint of our archdiocese. He’s also the patron saint of Ireland and Nigeria.

On today’s Conversation with Cardinal Dolan , Msgr. Vlaun joins me as co-host. We talked about my latest column about freedom. Pope Saint John Paul II said it best — freedom is not the ability to do whatever we want, but the ability to do the right thing.

Happy Fourth Sunday of Lent! Lent is halfway over; a few weeks from today will be Easter. The more we die with Jesus, through our penance and self denial, the greater our rising with Him will be on Easter Sunday.

After these fourteen stations, we might be tempted to despair as we think of the torment Jesus went through. The only thing that gives us hope is knowing that Jesus will rise from the dead in three days.

Jesus is placed in the arms of His mother. Imagine her sorrow. This is captured most eloquently in Michelangelo’s La Pieta.

We genuflect with one knee at each Station of the Cross, but at the Twelfth Station we go down on both knees. Adoration and silence are about the only proper responses we have to the Cross of Christ.

Every time we sin or ignore Jesus, it’s as if there’s another hammer on the nail. It is our sins that put Him on the Cross.

When Jesus went the the Cross He had nothing left, He has emptied Himself of everything. We accomplish most when we strip ourselves of earthly prestige and power and let God take over.

In the Bible, three indicates a bunch of times. This could be the Evangelists’ way of saying that Jesus fell a lot. The number of times Jesus fell isn’t important. What’s important is that He got back up each and every time.

Have you noticed that just about the only friends Jesus meets along the way to the Cross are women? Jesus stops to give them consolation and encouragement. Jesus doesn’t pity Himself, He looks out for other people.

The beam of the Cross was heavy. It wasn’t just a heavy piece of wood, Jesus was also carrying the weight of our sins and sorrows. He carried us with Him on His way to Calvary.

On today’s Conversation with Cardinal Dolan, I talked about spring training. Isn’t Lent like spring training for the soul? My mom joined to give listeners one of my favorite Lenten recipes. It’s also Father Dave Dwyer’s last show before his sabbatical.