Category: Only Jesus

Responding to the universal call to holiness

by bcadmin | Nov 10, 2022 | Archdiocesan synod, Assisi, Clare, Francis, News, Only Jesus, universal call to holiness | 0 |

On a recent pilgrimage of thanksgiving to Italy with some of the leaders of our Archdiocesan Synod, I had the privilege of spending a few days with them in Assisi. I have been enamored with Assisi for nearly four decades. The medieval art and architecture are unparalleled, the vistas breathtaking, the citizens unfailingly kind and the pastas amazing, especially in truffle season. But what really distinguishes Assisi for me is the way in which the city continues to offer an encounter with Francis and Clare.

The recipe

by bcadmin | Oct 28, 2022 | Body of Christ, Christ’s body, Conversion to Jesus Christ, Mystical Body of Christ, News, Only Jesus, Recipe cards, Recipe for discipleship, Traditional foods | 0 |

I’m still unpacking boxes from a move over a year ago. Recently I came across a couple of recipe cards written in my mother’s excellent penmanship.

Missionary zeal at home, around the globe

by bcadmin | Oct 13, 2022 | Boniface, Cyril and Methodius, Father Louis Hennepin, Francis Xavier, News, Only Jesus, Patrick, Pontifical Mission Societies, Propagation of the Faith | 0 |

A recent article in the Star Tribune focused on the role of Father Louis Hennepin in chronicling the natural wonders of Minnesota in the late 17th century. What delighted me most was that the article made mention of his motivation: a deep concern for souls.

Don’t buy a religion

by bcadmin | Sep 29, 2022 | Don’t buy a religion, News, Only Jesus | 0 |

I was one of the top five sales people in a group of one thousand. I sold cellophane-wrapped caramel corn balls, boxes of candy, wreaths, vegetable and flower seeds, magazine subscriptions and occasionally tickets to win something. Everything I peddled from door to door was for our Catholic school and other parish activities. Yes, I was barely tall enough to ring the doorbell, but as my father used to say about my success in sales, “That kid could sell ice to Eskimos!”

The beauty of work

by bcadmin | Aug 25, 2022 | Beauty of work, Blessed Virgin Mary, Labor Day, News, Only Jesus | 0 |

My mother, God rest her soul, always looked forward to Labor Day. It was usually near the birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary on Sept. 8 and my mother’s birthday on Sept. 7. But what my mother most looked forward to about Labor Day was that soon thereafter her children would be back in school. My mother always considered the start of school to be her best birthday present.

La belleza del trabajo

by bcadmin | Aug 25, 2022 | La belleza del trabajo, News, Only Jesus | 0 |

Mi madre, Dios descanse su alma, siempre esperaba con ansias el Día del Trabajo. Por lo general, era cerca del nacimiento de la Santísima Virgen María el 8 de septiembre y el cumpleaños de mi madre el 7 de septiembre. Pero lo que mi madre más esperaba del Día del Trabajo era que poco después sus hijos regresarían a la escuela. Mi madre siempre consideró que el comienzo de clases era su mejor regalo de cumpleaños.

Gratitude for God’s creation

by bcadmin | Aug 11, 2022 | God's creation, Gratitude, News, Only Jesus | 0 |

My earliest memories are of living in an apartment with my parents in a row house on Pittsburgh’s South Side, a stone’s throw from the mills that had attracted generations of immigrants from Central and Eastern Europe. For a child, South Side was urban living at its best.

Pilgrimage of penance

by bcadmin | Jul 28, 2022 | Catholic pilgrimages, News, Only Jesus, Pilgrimage of penance, Pilgrimages | 0 |

I have been privileged and greatly blessed to have led many pilgrimages. Special Masses with special preaching at special places. A pilgrimage is a step out of the ordinary and everyday life. It is an immersion into sacred places and holy ground.

Richly blessed by ministry of consecrated women and men

by bcadmin | Jul 14, 2022 | Anniversary Mass, Ministry of consecrated, News, Only Jesus, Sister Jane Ann Cherubin, Sister Maureen O’Brien, Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill | 0 |

I was privileged this past weekend to celebrate the Anniversary Mass for the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill, the community that had staffed the elementary school that I had attended when I was a boy.

Summer time

by bcadmin | Jun 30, 2022 | Baseball games, BBQs, News, Only Jesus, Parades, Summer, Summer time, Summertime, Traveling, Vacations | 0 |

We can treat summer as the great getaway from the other seasons in a busy life. Summer is a time of vacations, traveling, BBQs, baseball games and parades. Yet, in the world of nature, summer is a season of growth like no other. Nature’s vacation is in the season of winter.

Gratitude, prayers after Synod Assembly

by bcadmin | Jun 16, 2022 | Archdiocesan synod, Commission for Consecrated Life, Father Solanus Casey, Father Stanley Rother, Gratitude, James Miller, Lay Advisory Board, National Eucharistic Revival, News, Only Jesus, prayers, Presbyteral council, Synod Assembly | 0 |

As I reflect on our recent Synod Assembly, the words that our patron, St. Paul, addressed to the Philippians come to mind: “Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God” (Phil. 1:3). I have been overwhelmed with a sense of gratitude each time I think of how God has blessed this local Church through the willingness of so many to be part of our Archdiocesan Synod. The liturgies, presentations, discussions and voting were all manifestations for me of the presence of the Holy Spirit and of the rich blessings that God has bestowed upon us.

Give it up for Easter

by bcadmin | May 26, 2022 | Give it up for Easter, Holy Week/Easter, Mystical Body of Christ, News, Only Jesus | 0 |

There is an old story with many variations that is told about a young novice who met with his novice master. The novice was filled with his ideas, insights and opinions. He began to tell the novice master all that he had learned and a list of suggestions for how to make life better.