Fr. Steve’s Reflections

The earliest record we have of the observance of Advent comes from the 5th century. Just as the season of Lent was the preparation for the Easter Feast, so the season of Advent was the preparation time for the Feast of Christmas. In both Old Testament times and in the history of the Church, more […]

Next Sunday is the first Sunday of Advent. Advent is that yearly opportunity to prepare for the remembrance of the birth of the Savior. The birth of the Child of Nazareth, the Son of David, and Son of God, stands at the very center of human history. It is this Jesus who makes visible the […]

Thursday is Thanksgiving Day. This a “civic holy day” in which we remember with gratitude all that we have received. Nothing is so ennobling in a person as a life of gratitude, the ability to say and think “thank you”. Cicero, the Roman philosopher-politician, declared gratitude as the parent of all virtues. He used examples […]

The Psalms are the prayer book both for Jews and Christians. Praying with the psalms has been a part of my daily life for more than sixty years. Some psalms are prayers for forgiveness, some are praise of God, some are the lament of one in trouble or conflict. As I pray some of those […]

There is no such thing as a good war. War, by its very nature, is a testimony to human failure to resolve differences. More often than not innocent people, what we call non-combatants, are who pay the price of war —displacement, separation of families, torture, hunger, etc. To date, more than 1,500 Israeli and over […]

The current Roman Synod strives to enshrine and apply the classical medieval principle: what affects everyone must be discussed and approved by everyone. This principle demands a process and an open and civil atmosphere. The process is a reciprocal listening in which everyone has something to learn. Each one listening to others and all listening […]

Advancing the call of the Second Vatican Council to “reform” the Church, Pope Francis has made clear that “Christ calls the pilgrim church to perennial reform”. The Church always needs to be renewed because its members are all sinners and in need of conversion; and any permanent reform of the Church calls for the conversion […]

The synod that has convened in Rome is undertaken by Pope Francis to address the unfinished work of the Second Vatican Council. He is proposing a renewed model of Church—a Church that listens – a listening that is more than simply hearing. In this model, listening characterizes the entire way of interacting and connecting that […]

Wednesday of this week, October 11th is the 61st anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council. I was a seminary student at the time, a college junior. I had just arrived at the Saint Paul Seminary in September of that year. I was just getting acclimated to a new campus and new classmates […]

Within a few days Pope Francis will convene the Synod on Synodality in Rome. A Synod is a gathering in which reflection and discussion takes place concerning issues of immediate concern to the life of the Church. In the aftermath of Vatican II, the practice of the pope calling a synod on a regular basis […]

Today, Sunday, September 24, is the holiest day of the year for our Jewish neighbors. The time of repentance, begun on September 15 culminates today, the Feast of Yom Kippur, beginning at sundown on Sunday evening. On the day before Yom Kippur, a special and bountiful meal is enjoyed with candle lighting at the end […]

We are immersed in a culture that is individualistic and happiness is seen as immediate self-gratification. Often the current philosophy is: “In this culture there is no such thing as justice or equality; there is no God-reality, the earth is there for me to use and enjoy as I wish. There is only the present […]

We stand on the threshold of a new school year. As a priest, each year of my life’s work has been an involvement in Tomorrow, September 4th is Labor Day – the last day of the State Fair, the beginning of meteorological Fall, the last day of summer vacation for tomorrow it is back to […]

We stand on the threshold of a new school year. As a priest, each year of my life’s work has been an involvement in school. Schools are, among other things, academies for citizen development. In a free society, that depends on the involvement of the citizenry, an educated, a schooled people are essential. Both private […]

During the summer months I have written about the spirituality of aging. Some have asked for suggestions of further reading and/or the books I have used in reflecting on “growing older”. On the Brink of Everything: Grace, Gravity and Getting Old, Parker J. Palmer The Word as it Should Be, Gregory F. A. Pierce [I […]

Aging is an invitation to go deeper into life. It is the shift from doing to being. Often our adult life was so busy. We ran here and there just to make sure that everything got done, all the bases were covered, and nothing was left out. Success was finishing it all on time. Today […]

SUNDAY MASS IN CHEROKEE PARK Next Sunday, August 13, the annual Saint Matthew Sunday Mass in Cherokee Park takes place. This event is long standing, and has come to be seen as an important part of parish life. The gathering is informal; bring a blanket to sit on the grass or a summer folding chair. […]

Regret is the ghost of aging. It prods me to look back and to question everything I have done. It awakens the “life of should” – I should have… Regret nibbles around the edges of the mind and we feel weary, listless and with no desire to do anything. It is not only the past […]

BEING AN ELDER We are a youth obsessed people. Elders don’t count for much, rarely thought of as a resource. In the East and in the Southern hemisphere, there is a role for the elder; there is recognition that the elder has much to offer. We do recognize what it is to mentor, and in […]

TIME marks every aspect of life: “Too much time”, “Not enough time”, “How much time will it take?”, “Who’s got the time?”, “I want to see how much time I can spend working this raspberry patch.” The events of our lives give focus and shape to activities. They do not define them. As I grow […]

An Open Letter to Graduates Congratulations! You have arrived at a change moment in your life—whether you are graduating from high school, trade school or college. In ancient times, students were pictured as camels. These civilizations saw education as a time to provide what the student needs to be a good worker, a dedicated citizen […]

Today I offer for your reflection the four and fifth priority submitted by the Church of North America – the Catholic Church of the United States and Canada – to the agenda of the Roman Synod of October 2023. Priority Four: Addressing the unity and communion of the Church in the midst of various kinds […]

The North American Catholic Church – Catholics from the United States and Canada – offer five priorities to be discussed at the October Roman Synod. Last week I wrote about the first of the five. The second priority: The Church has the challenge of welcoming those who feel excluded from participation in the life of […]

Beginning in 2021, Pope Francis called the universal church to prepare for a Synod, a month long meeting in Rome during October 2023. Synods have been gatherings of selected bishops, representing the whole church, coming together, and with the Pope, undertaking a reflection on current issues facing the Church; and discerning what the response to […]

For many centuries in the West, Christianity has to a large extent determined and shaped culture and society. Culture is the way a person inhabits his/her world. Culture structures all the components and dimensions of human existence. All people live on this earth, but they do not inhabit the earth in the same way. Thus, […]