As you read this column, you are probably in the throes of Christmas shopping. No doubt you’ve made your list and checked it twice – all in an effort to find appropriate gifts for spouses, children, friends, and colleagues. After all, gift-giving, especially at Christmas, is more than a superficial social obligation. Our gifts should...Read More

I. Introduction Dear friends, these men, who are husbands, fathers, classmates, and friends are recommended as candidates for the permanent diaconate. Allow me to address a few words to them as they are formally declared candidates for Holy Orders and resolve to continue wholeheartedly their diaconal formation. II. The Year of Faith This moment of...Read More

I. Introduction Many people in this room, my age and older, will remember that, years ago, Saint Michael the Archangel was invoked in prayers after Mass. These prayers were called the “Leonine Prayers,” after Pope Leo XIII. He is said to have seen a great vision of the activity of the devil in the world,...Read More

I. In the Days of Their Ancestors Worthy Supreme Knight, Brother Bishops and Priests, Worthy State Deputies, and dear friends in Christ, at the risk of repeating myself, allow me to share with you this morning a story of evangelization and faith which I shared with the Board at one of its meetings earlier this...Read More