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Our wedding was a first for both of our families. Everyone was learning as we made the plans, and everyone had different expectations. You may have had a similar experience; the bride has ideas of what will be perfect, but her parents see it as an occasion to celebrate family relationships or impress the neighbors, while the groom wonders what the fuss is about. After many disagreements and bills, a frustrated father blurts out, “Whose wedding do you think this is, anyway?” The couple usually sees the wedding as “their day,” but Christian marriage is about more than the two of them. Marriage, like all the sacraments, is never just a private event. Weddings are such a sign of God’s love that they have a transformative effect on the whole family and on everyone who attends.

The memory of Saturday, June 26, 2004 will be with me forever as a special day. It was the day of my priestly ordination at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen. I remember promising respect and obedience to Cardinal Keeler and his successors as Archbishop of Baltimore. I remember my hands being anointed with sacred oil. I remember being vested in the chasuble and stole by my brother Jon. I remember the priests of Baltimore sharing in the celebration that day. And I remember concelebrating the Eucharist for the first time.

It seemed unusual to me that “Annie” was alone as she pushed open the door to the funeral home and struggled to climb onto the bench to sit beside me.

“Is Christ here or not?” Jarred by the sudden and insistent voice as I exited the church, I looked up, turned, and found a woman standing beside me. She said, again, “Is Christ here or not?”

The story is told of a wise professor who constantly probed the knowledge of his class by asking questions and seeking responses. It would not be uncommon for the professor to ask a student to explain a concept. On one occasion when the professor posed a question to a student, the student began a response by saying, “The way in which you should understand this is.” The professor interrupted the student, “The way I should understand? I assure you, I already understand. Give an explanation in a way that others may understand.”

A singular joy of ministry as bishop is the opportunity to celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation. Here the bishop is the immediate instrument God uses to pour out His Spirit upon His people as He did with tongues of fire on the disciples at Pentecost. In the sacrament, God offers the gift of the Spirit to strengthen His people for their service as disciples.

I find it hilarious when you offer something to a person and mention “its free.” People stop what they’re doing, heads turn, they come for a closer look. It could be a rotten potato but you will probably get some takers.

NEW ORLEANS – Speakers at a New Orleans conference on disaster relief and preparedness May 29 and 30 lauded the efforts of faith-based organizations in leading Gulf Coast recovery efforts in the two and a half years since Hurricane Katrina.

When Gov. Martin J. O’Malley signed two domestic partnership bills into law last month, many pro-marriage advocates believe he put Maryland on a path toward the inevitable legalization of same-sex marriage. It’s a course they worry will lead to the degradation of traditional marriage and the weakening of societal values unless citizens stand up to stop it.