From the grace of the Holy Spirit we derive
not merely human satisfaction and a fleeting happiness,
but irreplaceable joy and peace and a depth of love beyond amazement.


From the grace of the Holy Spirit we derive
not merely human satisfaction and a fleeting happiness,
but irreplaceable joy and peace and a depth of love beyond amazement.

3rd Sunday of Easter A Confirmation – Cathedral of Mary Our Queen April 19, 2026 Confirmation: Not a Standalone Event! I am very happy to be with all of you today, to pray with you, to continue celebrating Christ’s Easter victory over sin and death, and in the joy of the Resurrection, to confer […]

3rd Sunday of Easter St. Carlos Acutis Camping Retreat O’Dwyer Retreat House April 18, 2026 First, let me say how happy I am to be with all of you this afternoon. This retreat has gotten a lot bigger – there are 168 young people on this retreat and 145 leaders and family members. We […]

The recent public exchanges involving the President of the United States and Pope Leo XIV have been a source of concern for many of the faithful. While moments of disagreement between leaders are not new, the manner in which we speak about one another – especially across such significant offices – matters greatly.

Through the prayers of Pope St. John Paul II and St. Faustina Kowalska, coupled with the prayers of our beloved founder, Blessed Michael McGivney – formed in this very chapel for the Holy Priesthood – may we, as leaders of the Knights of Columbus believe in, receive, and bear witness to God’s mercy, saying by our very lives, “Jesus, I trust in Thee!”

We gather this evening in solidarity with Pope Leo XIV to pray for peace. Whenever armed conflict erupts, as we see now in the Middle East, a cacophony of voices rises – some in support, others in protest.

Sometimes we feel close to God. We experience consolation and joy in his presence. It might be a moment of quiet prayer. Or a particularly devout reception of Holy Communion. Or the joy of being forgiven in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. In such moments, we are like the Apostles who were overjoyed to see the Risen Lord.

In this moment of profound worldwide concern, I join my brother bishops in affirming the call issued by Archbishop Coakley, who has echoed with clarity and urgency the call of our Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, for peace in this moment of grave global tension.

Even amid the world’s confusion and mischance, the Risen Lord and the Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead are at work in minds and hearts, across the world and in this Archdiocese. There is an extraordinary increase of those who entered the Church this year.

This night is unlike any other night in the Church’s liturgical year. For tonight we celebrate the entire arc of salvation history, from the creation of the world, to the deliverance of the Chosen People from slavery to freedom, to the prophets who foretold the coming of the Christ.

An African American spiritual asks, “Were you there when they crucified my Lord?” What if we had been there – at Golgotha? What would we have seen? Surely, Jesus crucified summing up in his body our tormented existence.
