All Saints Day is upon us once again. The origins of this feast are complex and involved. It was originally a day on which to honor the Blessed Mother and all those who had died as martyrs. The Roman Pantheon, a church which still stands today was dedicated on November 1 by Pope Boniface IV in 609 or 610 A.D. The Feast of dedicatio Sanctae Mariae ad Martyres (the Dedication of the Church...
I don’t think there is any doubt that all of us run into problems with prayer at one time or another in our life times. The spiritual writers refer to it sometimes as “the dark night of the soul.” Others refer to it as the “winter of our spiritual lives.” Many people have confessed that they are distracted during prayer, that their minds wander from their purpose and find...
I have been called for jury duty several times. Each time I go to the courthouse, I have been sent back home after waiting for a few hours. I have never made it into a court room. On each occasion, the person in charge has announced that all of the cases that were scheduled to be heard that day were settled at the last minute. We were then thanked for our service and sent home with a small...