From Season to Season

My newest article for Aleteia is a reflection on the life and legacy of Blessed Junipero Serra. His commemoration is celebrated in the United States on July 1. Unlike many other American saints and beati, Blessed Junipero Serra has received an unprecedented amount of press since his beatification by Saint John Paul II in 1988. Honored as the man credited with founding the Franciscan Missions in California, his reputation and legacy have also been tainted by recent critics who claim that the missionaries (and Serra in particular) used violent tactics against the native population in efforts to force conversions to Christianity and suppress indigenous cultures. Pope Francis’ decision to canonize Padre Serra during his upcoming visit to the United States has reignited debate over the friar’s mission, particularly in these days when questions of racism and civil rights form so much of our national conversation. However, during a recent Mass celebrated in Serra’s honor at Rome’s North ...

There are few images of sacred art more widely known and treasured than the “Hospitality of Abraham” by Andrei Rublev . The icon depicts the three heavenly visitors described in today’s first reading . The icon and the story that inspired it celebrate the unique and transformative relationship with God enjoyed by Abraham and Sarah. This very human story—with its elements of hospitality, a shared meal, laughter, and promise—reminds us that in those graced moments when the Divine breaks into our daily life, everything changes. This same truth is explored in the Gospel, as we hear about those whose lives were transformed by their encounters with Jesus.     It can be easy to lose sight of the humanity and intimacy in these stories if we spend too much time analyzing and theologizing them. Doctrines such as the Trinity and the Incarnation can seem remote and abstract when weighed against the demands of daily life. After all, as St. Augustine said, the Kingdom of Heaven is “not...

For if to others, indeed, they seem punished, yet is their hope full of immortality; Chastised a little, they shall be greatly blessed, because God tried them and found them worthy of himself. —Wisdom 3:4-5 The Roman martyrs simply known as John and Paul are among those early Christian saints whose stories have been somewhat obscured by time and myth, but they are among the most beloved saints of the early Church. Their names are included in the Roman Canon (the “First Eucharistic Prayer”) of the Mass and the Litany of the Saints , as well as in the liturgies of many of the Eastern churches. Their memory is celebrated on June 26. According to the accounts of their lives that have been handed down to us, John and Paul were Christian brothers and both served as soldiers in the Roman Army under the emperor Constantine . The brothers were assigned to serve in the household of Constantine’s daughter, Constantia . She held them in high esteem and even named one of the...

Today's Gospel passage is Matthew 7:21-29, which includes these words from Jesus: "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the Kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name? Did we not drive out demons in your name?' Then I will declare to them solemnly, 'I never knew you. Depart from me, you evildoers.'"   This is a passage that we need to pay very close ... attention to, particularly as so many Americans continue using faith as a weapon to justify so many crimes against one another and against creation.      A reflection on this text by Sr. Verna Holyhead, an Anglican Benedictine nun from Australia who died in 2011, has this to say: Today's Gospel is the conclusion of the Sermon on the Mount, and Jesus tells his listeners that having heard his words it now time to make choices. A lasting relationship w...

In just a few hours, the Holy See will release Pope Francis' new encyclical on the environment, "Laudato Si." While encyclicals aren't infallible statements, th ... ey do represent one of the highest levels of teaching authority within the Church. As part of the Church's social teaching, we don't have the luxury of simply dismissing the document as one man's opinion. That Pope Francis has dedicated one to the care of creation represents his own resistance to consumerism, exploitation of the environment and the poor, and our "throw away culture." But, his call for greater accountability and environmental stewardship is continuing a trajectory begun by Bl. Pope Paul VI which was continued by St. John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI.   I agree with many catechists and commentators that we should not read *about* the document, rather, we should take time to read the document. Unlike any other document issued by the Catholic Church in recent y...

Proclaim the word; be persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient; convince, reprimand, encourage through all patience and teaching… be self-possessed in all circumstances, put up with hardship; perform the work of an evangelist; fulfill your ministry . —2 Timothy 4:2, 5  St. Norbert Window from St. Norbert Abbey in De Pere, Wisconsin Saint Norbert was born near Wesel, Germany, around the year 1080. Through the influence of his noble family, he was able to obtain a paid position at the church of St. Victor in Xanten. His only task was to take part in the daily prayer of the Liturgy of the Hours, but he paid someone to take his place so he could take a higher paying position as a religious counselor (chaplain) to Emperor Henry V . Eventually, Norbert converted from a worldly life, embracing the religious ideal, and he was ordained to the priesthood in 1115. Feeling called to a more austere way of life, Norbert gave away all his possessions and moved to the va...