Category: Plain Talk

My father was in the US Army. As children, he sent my sisters, brother, and me off to school each morning with a “call and response” chant reminiscent of boot camp. “What’s the key to good grades?” he would shout. We would call back, “Participation!” I carry that “key” with...

The wildly popular blessing of animals has put the feast of St. Francis of Assisi on a par with Ash Wednesday, Palm Sunday, and the St. Blaise blessing of throats. Some might even consider missing the October 4th blessing as worthy of confession, penance, and absolution. Truly, there is no...

To say “no” is instinctual, self-determining, and self-actualizing. To say “no” is to protest, and it is as natural as eating, sleeping, and breathing. It’s how we defend ourselves, survive, and thrive. Take Descartes’, “I think, therefore I am” and adapt it based on what we have all seen from...

The Palm Sunday and Good Friday proclamations of Jesus’ passion can feel overwhelming. There is so much for our souls and our liturgy to take in. The arrest of Jesus, his interrogation, scourging, crowning with thorns, condemnation, the carrying of the cross, and his crucifixion can overload our liturgy and...

Over the past few decades, many dioceses have taken on the hard task of closing and merging parishes in urban areas. Too many buildings and not enough people have led to right-sizing, downsizing, renewal, planning, restructuring, or reimagining. As well-intentioned as efforts may be, they are often met with mistrust,...

A synod is an event that takes place for a period of time, in a designated place, and for a purpose. An example is the 2014–15 synod on the family and its mission and vocation in the Church. That synod experience helped produce the post-synodal apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia (“The...

The parish council was having a heated discussion about the church bulletin. Should we print or not? Should we even continue it? What are the options? How will we reach people if we don’t have a bulletin? What about our advertisers? Our bulletin editor does such a great job, how...

Often more than a few steps ahead of us, Pope Francis has surprised us again. Still in the thick of the Synod on Synodality, which will conclude in 2023, in February he announced a Holy Year for 2025. Themed “Pilgrims of Hope,” it calls Catholics to prayer and penance, pilgrimages...

The prospect of aging can cause feelings of fear and dread. In a society where the measure of a person’s value and worth fall heavily on the side of work and productivity, it’s no surprise that some elderly people feel irrelevant, useless, invisible, and unloved. If we go to the...

On May 13, 1917, three children who were cousins—Jacinta, Lucia, and Francisco—received the first of a number of privileged visits from the Virgin Mary. They, and the world, would never be the same. Nations awaited the end of the “war to end all wars” as our Lady’s call for prayer...

Every year I look forward to the Easter Vigil. It is the most wonderful of liturgies. The initiation sacraments are the heart of the celebration. Young and old, individuals and families, with their unique and diverse life experience, are welcomed fully into the Church. Smiles and tears, hugs and kisses,...

I’ve always found the word fast a bit strange. I’m referring to the Lenten obligation that many know well, and to that dreaded prescription given by doctors in anticipation of blood work or surgery. Our English word fast has German roots and holds varied meanings. The word can mean sure,...

Oversized photos of six Black Catholic men and women were carried in procession into Saint Ann’s Catholic Church in East Baltimore as the All Saints’ Day Mass began in 2021. Their names, along with a few biographical details, were called out, each one receiving enthusiastic applause: Augustus Tolton, Mary Elizabeth...

A troubling national trend is the gradual loss of “international” priests and religious. “International” is the designation given in the United States to pastoral ministers who come from places like India, Nigeria, Colombia, and Brazil to bolster the pastoral workforce in this country. Priests and religious are permitted by the...

By now you’ve heard about the Synod of Bishops that Pope Francis convoked on October 10 with a Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. If you haven’t done so already, it’s also likely that this Advent you will participate in a focus group, listening session, or online survey, wrestling...

The Purple Heart is awarded to soldiers, wounded or killed, who have defended the United States against threats and attacks by an enemy in wartime. Originally known as the Badge of Military Merit, George Washington presented the first badges during the Revolutionary War. While never abolished, the awards didn’t officially...

I wrote in September about Maria, a pregnant woman whose fetus was developing abnormally and whose doctors advised she get an abortion. After talking with me at the parish church and a mother I knew whose child had had complications, Maria put her life and that of her unborn baby...

Maria sat in the parish office, in tears and inconsolable. A third doctor had just told her that her best option was to abort her baby. Second and third opinions didn’t give her the answer she hoped for and desperately needed to hear. She wanted God’s help. She came to...

Doña Alba is a longtime parishioner of Visitation Blessed Virgin Mary (BVM) Church in Philadelphia. A native of Puerto Rico, she makes the best arroz con pollo (chicken and rice) you’ve ever tasted. For six years, I enjoyed plate after plate of delicious Puerto Rican food from Doña Alba’s kitchen—just...

The newspaper appears on your doorstep early Saturday morning. A bag of food is passed through a narrow window into your waiting hands. Miraculously, your sidewalk is shoveled and the driveway is cleared after a monster snowstorm. You open the closet door to find a crisp, pressed shirt ready to...