Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, The Fourth Sunday of Easter, with its Gospel reading focused on Jesus as Good Shepherd, is marked in a special way as the World Day of Prayer for Vocations. In particular, we are asked to pray for those whom God is calling to serve as priests and religious. We pray not only for greater numbers, but that those who have been called to this noble vocation would be given the grace to be true imitators of Christ. Jesus uses the image of a good shepherd, one who truly guards the flock and keeps vigil,…
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Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, There is a story I heard as a seminarian and which I have recounted many time since. If it isn’t true, it ought to be. The story goes that a great professor of theology gained a reputation among his students, often immersed in a skeptical university environment, for his plainspoken approach to the discipline. At the beginning of each lecture, after a prayer, he would look at the lecture hall and say simply, “The Incarnation happened,” before proceeding with the lecture of the day. He signaled the end of his discourse by repeating once…
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Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, As many of you know, last May I celebrated my 15th anniversary of priestly ordination. In the months leading up to that anniversary, I began a conversation with Bishop Caggiano about a unique opportunity afforded to priests of the Diocese of Bridgeport who have served for fifteen or more years: a sabbatical. The purpose of a priest’s sabbatical is to engage in a time of prayer, study, rest, and ministry that is otherwise not possible during his ordinary priestly ministry. Bishop Caggiano has very kindly granted me permission to take a three month sabbatical…
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Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, In his 1975 Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Nuntiandi, Pope St. Paul VI wrote “Modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if he does listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses.” On this Easter Sunday, the first reading gives an account of St. Peter’s powerful witness. He testifies to the history: Jesus came into the world, proclaimed a message of healing and hope, was crucified in Jerusalem, and rose from the dead. Peter tells his listeners that he and the other apostles have been given the mission to testify to…
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Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, The celebration of Palm Sunday introduces us to the holiest days of the Church’s calendar. Holy Week is an extraordinarily important time, as it is in these days that the Church marks the central mysteries of our faith. If the covering of images last weekend was to highlight the tension between belief and faithlessness, Palm Sunday brings that tension to its highest point. We begin Mass by welcoming our Lord with joyful acclamations of “Hosanna!” but will soon cry out with the same voices, “Crucify him!” Each day of Holy Week gives us an…
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