Reflections

Labor Day, the beginning of the academic year, and the liturgical calendar (September 8) merge in drawing Antoine-Frédéric Ozanam to my mind at the beginning of September. 

The “spes gregis” was one of the earliest terms that I heard applied to my classmates and me when we entered the high school seminary. 

A Scripture passage that frequently captures my Vincentian heart is that of the Transfiguration.

During the past month, I have celebrated three weddings… In preparation for the celebrations, one word kept emerging for me from the texts—“covenant.” 

When I have the honor to preach to a Vincentian group, I sometimes take the opportunity to see if we have a record of Vincent speaking on the Scripture for that day. 

Suppose someone asked you in earnest to explain how the Lord holds the highest value in your life.

Sometimes, I need to preach on a Psalm.  This past Sunday, our liturgy offered Psalm 100 as our response to the first reading.  

We call the several weeks that follow the celebration of Christmas, the “Christmas Season.”  Similarly, many weeks follow the solemnity of Easter, and we refer to this stretch as the “Easter Season.”

Our New Testament offers two particular contexts when the Holy Spirit filled the Blessed Mother.  Of course, we can truly maintain that Mary always experienced this aspect of God’s presence, but two occurrences stand forth.