One of the most commonly depicted images in Christian art is that of the disciples at Pentecost. Around the world, there have been countless versions of the men and women gathered in a locked room in Jerusalem, each with a...
Today we celebrate the feast of St. Rita, the patron saint of abused wives. We need her help. Whether labelled the “perfect storm,” a “pandemic within a pandemic,” a “shadow pandemic,” “intimate partner violence,” or just “domestic abuse,” violence against women...
Every age has its own moments of meaning. Imagine a rural village, Cova da Iria, in Fatima, Portugal, in 1917. The world was changing rapidly. Portugal was becoming increasingly more secular. The world was at war. Three shepherd children; Lucia do...
If there was a saint for our current moment in history, St. Catherine of Siena should be the one. Consider the context she lived in. It was late medieval Europe, during the years of the bubonic plague. Close to a third...
Sr. Mary Hennessey was the coordinator of Field Placements at Harvard Divinity School when my husband and I were studying there. She was well known for saying, “A hobby is something you love to do but the world does not...
“If I only knew then what I know now.” This is what I said to Emund Matatawabin, former Cree Chief at Fort Albany, author and winner of the Order of Canada. He responded that he thought this would make a...
Good Friday represents the groaning of the planet in agony. It is suffering writ large, manifested most vividly in the Passion and Death of Jesus Christ. Before we can joyfully celebrate the Resurrection of Easter, we must relive with Jesus his...
There’s such a sense of anticipation on Holy Thursday, I find. It is the start of the Triduum, the three days that form a single celebration marking the end of Lent: from the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy...
This beautiful painting of the Annunciation of Our Lord is provocative. It presents a very realistic depiction of Mary, the mother of God. A young girl wakes and thinks about the day ahead of her: chores, family activities and the...
Today we remember St. Joseph, in the year that Pope Francis has named “The Year of St. Joseph.” Today, also, we begin a Year of the Family! When the Church honors a saint or honors families, it is one thing....
