Showing items for 'Father Joe Connelly'
Forty days after Christmas, the Church celebrates the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, a mystery that draws together Christmas and Lent, joy and sacrifice, promise and prophecy. Though the infant Christ is still carried in His Mother’s arms, the shadow of the Cross already stretches...
On January 31, the Church celebrates the Memorial of Saint John Bosco, a priest whose life was poured out in love for young people, especially the poor and abandoned. Known simply as “Don Bosco,” he saw in every child not a problem to be solved, but a soul to be loved and led to...
January 22
Each year on January 22, the Church in the United States observes the Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children. This date marks the anniversary of the 1973 Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion nationwide. For Catholics, this is not a day of anger or...
On January 5, the Church celebrates the Memorial of St. John Neumann — a humble, tireless shepherd whose life continues to inspire American Catholics today. Born in Bohemia in 1811, Neumann felt called to serve the people of the United States, a land he had never seen. Arriving in New York...
Each year, just as the joy of Christmas begins to settle into our hearts, the Church invites us to do something countercultural: linger. Rather than rushing past December 25, the Church stretches Christmas into eight full days—the Octave of Christmas—as if to say that the mystery of...
As we enter the Fourth Sunday of Advent, the nearness of Christ’s birth comes sharply into focus. The candles on the wreath are all lit; the longings of the prophets, the patient waiting of Israel, and our own desires for the Savior converge in these final days before Christmas. Advent is...
December 8
Each year on December 8, the Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, honoring the singular grace given to Mary at the very first moment of her existence. Many Catholics understandably confuse this feast with the virginal conception of Jesus, but today’s...
As we approach Thanksgiving Day, our hearts turn naturally toward gratitude—gratitude for God’s providence, for the blessings of family and friends, and for the many ways the Lord has been at work in our parish throughout the year. But for us as Catholics, thanksgiving is not simply...
Witnesses of Christ in the Soil of Vietnam
Each year on November 24, the Church pauses to honor Saint Andrew Dŭng-Lạc and the 116 companions who sealed their faith with their blood in Vietnam. Their story rises like a bright flame against the backdrop of a difficult century, and it...
The month of November holds a special place in the Church’s year. As autumn fades and the liturgical year draws to a close, the Church invites us to reflect on the mysteries of death, judgment, and eternal life—truths that are not meant to bring fear, but hope.
We begin November...