John the Baptist reached beyond himself, both backward and forward in time. He represented the history of Israel, waiting for the fulfillment of God’s promise to send a messiah. And he pointed to the future, announcing the coming of the Messiah who would establish the reign of God. More »

Teresa of Ávila is a woman, a saint, a mystic, and a doctor of the church. She is best known for her reform of the Carmelite community in sixteenth-century Spain and for her many inspiring and profound writings that were saved and circulated in the decades after her death. As a woman of prayer, Teresa is a good model for anyone who wants to live a simple life with God in the midst of a complex world. More »

Let us thank God for the opportunity he has given us today to come here to pray together. We have come here especially to pray for peace, joy and love. We are reminded that Jesus came to bring the good news to the poor. He told us what that good news is when he said: "My peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you." He came not to give the peace of the world which is only that we don’t bother each other. He came to give the peace of heart which comes from loving—from doing good to others. More »

In the seventeenth century, French fishermen, fur traders, and explorers were landing in New France, which included not only Quebec but all the lands watered by the St. Lawrence River and the Great Lakes. They traded and made alliances with native tribes such as the Hurons and Algonquins. More »

On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you." When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. More »

What does the Feast of the Ascension of the Lord mean for us? It does not mean that the Lord has departed to some place far from people and from the world. Christ’s ascension is not a journey into space toward the most remote stars; for basically, the planets, like the earth, are also made of physical elements. More »

All around you, wherever you live, there are quiet heroes. I’m sure you could come up with your own personal list: A mother struggling to maximize the potential of a child with autism, a husband tenderly caring for a dependent and querulous wife with Alzheimer’s disease. Or perhaps you know people whose love for Christ moves them to do something out of the ordinary—say, a gifted scientist who leaves a lucrative corporate job to teach in an inner-city school. More »

On May 11, 1873, the steamer Kilauea deposited thirty-three-year-old Father Joseph Damien de Veuster on the landing at Molokai. Bishop Maigret told the disease-ridden crowd gathered there that he had brought them "one who will be a father to you, and who loves you so much that . . . he does not hesitate to become one of you; to live and die with you." More »