St. Pius of Pietrecina (1887-1968) is generally better known by his more popular name: Padre Pio. He was canonized by Pope John Paul II in 2002. Padre Pio was a man of deep humility, spirituality and compassion. Through his faith, he was gifted with the stigmata, the physical manifestations of the wounds of Christ on…
The soul-stirring pageantry during the opening of the 52nd International Eucharistic Congress earlier this month in Budapest came as a gift after a time of pandemic fast from communal celebration. It was a display of faith and community, as Catholics celebrated their greatest ritual – the Eucharist. The Congress followed the spectacular rituals of the…
Today’s culture has begun to realize that recent decades of overzealous positivity have led to unsustainable expectations for happiness and success, often with dire consequences. The mantra in this burgeoning awareness of mental health is: “it’s okay not to be okay”. In this piece for the Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows, I am writing…
Since Pope Francis offered the world his reflections in the encyclical Laudato Si’, my consciousness of caring for creation has been notched up. I have always thought that by not littering, by recycling, reusing, reducing, composting, and not wasting food, etc, I was doing my part. But apparently, my actions were only a drop of…
If “back to school” is starting to feel like a regular occurrence, that’s no surprise. Families and educators have had countless stops and starts to the school year since March 2020, and plans for the weeks and months ahead are still on the uncertain side as COVID-19 continues to upend our lives. Pandemics and other…
