"What do you wish me to do for you?" Jesus asks a similar question in different Gospel passages, but the request of James and John is not repeated on any oth-er occasion. "Grant that in your glory we may sit one at your right and the other at your left." They ask not for knowledge of God, not for crooked limbs to be st...

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  "Whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it." This verse is part of a beauti-ful reflection on childlike faith. We're reminded of the innocence of children, how eager they are to ex-perience life and how quick they are to trust. Rarely do we hear it with the story that immediately pro...

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My dear sisters and brothers in Christ, "Every life cherished, chosen, sent" is the theme of this year's Respect Life Sunday. The theme echoes the teaching of the Catechism of the Catholic Church which states: "The dignity of the human person is rooted in his creation in the image and likeness of God" (n.1700). ...

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   As we go about our days, we necessarily label, classify, and prioritize. What's "in" and what's "out" on our priority list? Because humans are so-cial beings, we tend to do the same thing with peo-ple. We can only invite six people to the dinner party. Our young child wants to invite certain fri...

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The Oscars. The Super Bowl. TV talent shows. Your son's Little League championship. We live in a culture set on competition. The desire to "be the best" goes beyond hobbies and into politics, the corporate world, and parenting comparisons at the park. This desire is as old as the human race, and it surely arose in Jesus'...

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You are invited to join Catholics throughout the country for 40 days of prayer, penance, and vigils that God may move the heart of our nation towards attitudes that protect and promote the dignity of all human life from conception to natural death. 40 Days for Life in our diocese begins on September 25. Bishop Cote will preside at Holy Ma...

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  We know the signs of defeat: slumped shoulders, downcast eyes, a chastened demeanor. For those of us sincerely trying to follow Jesus, defeat is in-evitable. We commit to spending more time with our kids, but that one project still looms. We re-solve to be a good person, but our selfishness strikes again. It can be easy to get d...

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My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, We are, as one family in Christ, heartsick over what we have learned in recent days and weeks from the Pennsylvania grand jury report and the accusations against Archbishop Theodore McCar- rick. These revelations have reopened the pain and sorrow of a spiritual crisis sadly not yet fully eradicated...

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"This saying is hard; who can accept it?" The words of Jesus' disciples in today's Gospel must sound familiar. At some point in our lives, you and I have said it about some article of our faith. Christianity makes firm de- mands on our ethical behavior and gives no easy an- swers for suffering. Many disciples were confus...

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The Rodriguez family live in New London and are communicants of St Mary Star of the Sea there. Please pray for this family as they face seperation under very difficult circumstances. "In the meantime, we're asking ICE as an act of discretion to allow Julian to stay here in the United States and look after his family, as he'...

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