by Fr. Joseph Sergott, O.P. It was the summer of 1988. The Marian Year was drawing to a close. I was just a few weeks shy of entering the novitiate of the Western Dominican Province. So, I planned a Marian pilgrimage with my brother Larry (who also became a priest), which covered Fatima, Lourdes, Rome and Medjugorje in three short weeks. […]
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By Fr. Michael J. Dodds, O.P. “GOD IS LOVE” (1 John 4: 16) In this brief sentence, St. John summarizes our Christian faith. All the ponderings of theologians through all the ages flow from this single truth. God is an eternal communion of love – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Divine love is the source […]
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It seems to me that the Blessed Virgin would know a thing or two about prayer. No doubt she recalled the words of Jesus when he taught his disciples, “When you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.” (Mt 6:6) Many […]
Read More As a boy, who was born and raised Catholic, I was cognizant of the important role of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Church. Truth be told though, it was only later in life that I realized the importance of her to me when I was in serious need. That was when I learned of […]
Read More By Father Reginald Martin, O.P. THE TEACHING CHURCH At the turn of the last century, a member of the English Dominican Province published an insightful volume he named Meditations for Layfolk. In one of these reflections he observes, The Church that Christ came to found was to teach truth. By that single sentence alone can […]
Read More By Father Reginald Martin, O.P. THE “ONE” CHURCH, REVISITED In our last reflection, we considered the unity that characterizes the Catholic Church. We observed that the Church is called to be the visible sign, on earth, of the Blessed Trinity. Like the Persons of the Trinity, who retain their individual character, while joined as one, […]
Read More By Father Reginald Martin, O.P. UNITY: A DREAM LOST TO SIN In the liturgy for the Vigil of Pentecost, the book of Genesis describes a time when humankind spoke one language, and everyone knew the meanings of every word. In our pride we built a tower we said would reach into the heavens, but God […]
Read More By Father Reginald Martin, O.P. WHAT IS SLOTH? Our dictionary defines sloth as “an aversion to work or exertion; laziness; indolence.” These words reasonably arouse the scorn of anyone committed to making a productive contribution to society. They may likewise excite our indignation when we observe a co-worker or family member failing to bear a […]
Read More By Father Reginald Martin, O.P. THE GIFT, AND COST, OF HUMAN SEXUALITY Several years ago, when we considered the Sixth Commandment, we observed that human sexuality is an immense blessing, one that comes with the correspondingly high price of our human responsibility. The first act of this responsibility is to remember that man and woman […]
Read More By Father Reginald Martin, O.P. A CHANGE OF DIRECTION In our last reflection we observed that two of the Church’s early theologians, John Cassian and Gregory the Great, taught that the Capital Sins are either spiritual or physical. Among the former are pride, envy, and anger, and avarice, or greed. In this reflection we will […]
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