Columns

Technology and ethics

Faith traditions have not been an obvious source of inspiration for tech firms, which tend to be run by hard-driving entrepreneurs whose empires were forged by mastering complex computer processes rather than philosophy.

Vigilia, a Christmas Eve dinner to remember

December 24! For me, as a youngster up to and including today, it is my most special day of the year. More important than my birthday, or my ordination anniversaries or my vacations.

Sharing God’s grace in 2021

Beginnings, such as the New Year, are important because they set the tone for everything that will follow. In sacred scripture we often find the human race is suspended between a blessing or a curse. Our destiny remains a question because the outcome is uncertain.

Passing the Faith

Each week in his post-game news conference, Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin assesses the performance of his team by saying, “There is nothing perfect about our play but our record.” He means that though the scores show we have not yet lost a game, the opposition is waiting to dethrone us. The same holds true for our life of faith.

An Exile’s Advent

Each Advent, we usually reflect on variations on common themes: prayerful reparation for the coming of Christ, or excited anticipation of the arrival of our savior, or patience practiced by pregnant women. But in this uncommon year of 2020, my thoughts gravitate to a theme rarely explored by Christian preachers—exile.

“Bridging the Gap”: An Extraordinary Year

In an ordinary year, many of us would be busy making plans for celebrations with family and friends for Thanksgiving. We would be preparing to travel or getting the spare bedroom ready for an important visitor. But 2020 has been an extraordinary year.

Ministry to African Americans

Few Black Americans are Catholic, and few American Catholics are Black. No one should be satisfied with this. Members of all parishes, not only those with a large percentage of African Americans, should reflect on how this came to be and why it persists. It can’t be dismissed as “just the way things are.”

Secret of the Saints

One of my favorite patients is a man I’ll call Enzo, a 91-year-old with a full head of hair who emigrated from Italy to West Virginia when he was 25. A widower for more than a quarter century, he still delights in life.

Bridging the Gap: Christmas Eve 2019

Our Holy Father’s newest encyclical letter, Fratelli Tutti, is a call for all human beings to live together as sisters and brothers, sharing with and caring for each other. Its many pages offer us much to reflect on, and each reader will likely find one message or another particularly meaningful or urgent.

Take 5 with Father Dan Waruszewski

One day while Father Jim Bachner was saying Mass, I had a profound sense that some day I needed to be on the other side of the altar, saying Mass.

Faithful Chronicles

I was working in a diocesan office when “Greek Wedding” came out, and remember one of my staff raved about it. So I went to see it. It was laugh-out-loud funny, so I told all my friends about it. Word of mouth.

Bridging the Gap, with Bishop Zubik

Over the past six months you and I have learned a lot about worshiping “remotely.” We learned how to Zoom for prayer meetings. We learned to FaceTime and YouTube our Masses. We longed for the day when we could return to Mass—as many of you are already able to do. We are making the most of being remote.

Take 5 with Father Joe Mele

The desire to be a priest, to love God and neighbor, to be bound more closely to Christ and to spend myself entirely for souls is the cause of my joy.

Catholic Social Teachings and African American Communities

Resilience is the defining characteristic of the African American experience, yet it is rarely acknowledged by politicians nor is it highlighted in mass media. Resilience is the thread that runs through our lives and it has sustained us for more than 400 years.

Take 5 with Father Adam Verona

 1.  How did God call you to the priesthood? People ask me this question often and my answer is always the same: I have wanted to be a priest for my whole life, ever since I can remember. From the time I was a little boy, I have been fascinated with the figure of Christ and […]

A Catholic understanding of “Black Lives Matter,” with Fr. Matthew Hawkins

It is a curious thing that the cry “Black Lives Matter” is met with so much opposition and misunderstanding outside of African American communities. This cry means many different things to different people, but it is grounded in reality and in a specific and concrete history and in contemporary social experiences.