Author: Fr. Bob Pagliari, CSsR, PhD

Burying Old-Year Shovels

What better image is there, as we contemplate New Year’s resolutions, than tossing away the rusty implements we used in the past to create a gorge filled with unproductive, unhealthy, and unholy life choices? We want this year to be better than last year. We want our 2024 promises to...

Cure for Chirstmas Blues

Many people—particularly Jews—believe this rather paradoxical expression: “The remedy precedes the injury.” The Hebrew הקדמת‭ ‬תרופה‭ ‬למכה literally translates to “get in front of it while you still can.” What does this mean and how does it relate to the seasons of Advent and Christmas? On the twenty-fifth of December,...

The Yellow Bus of Life

Remember when we were learning how to drive and how enthusiastically we prepared for the exams we had to pass in order to obtain a license? The road test was nerve-racking, to be sure. But before that, the written examination meant studying a book of rules and regulations that all...

The Merits of Modesty

Modesty means to refrain from bragging, and it carries other definitions of value. “Today I will speak about the virtue of modesty,” a sophomore announced to his classmates from the podium during a public-speaking class at a Catholic college. Some of his peers looked quizzical, as if they had never...

A Return to “Rockwell”

In May, we celebrate Mother’s Day. In June, Father’s Day. So, across both months, why not celebrate Catholic Family Day? A family of ten once lived near the constant sea breeze sweeping in from the Atlantic. Occasionally a long weekend away from work allowed the father to indulge in his...

St. Joseph the Mentor

The Catholic Church recognizes the crucial role St. Joseph assumed in the lives of Jesus and Mary. We celebrate his feast on March 20 this year and honor his many virtues by addressing him with several illustrious titles. In fact, we have an entire “litany” of more than twenty distinct...

Dinnertime, Prayer Time

With a wooden ladle in one hand and her plastic recipe card in the other, Mrs. J. made her way from the kitchen stove to the hall corridor. She elbowed open the door leading to their finished basement and shouted down the stairwell to ensure that her voice could be...