Independence Day has come again.  For some, it is a day marked by joyous celebrations and expressions of gratitude for the freedoms we enjoy. For others, it is marked by rowdy gatherings of drunkenness, seemingly absent of any real patriotism.  In any case, it surely ought to be marked by reflection.  Reflection on just what it was that compelle...

Each and every one of us descends from a long and noble line of farmers. Because they lived their lives for others, many of our parents, grandparents and those from generations long ago who passed their Christian beliefs on to us successfully contributed to the propagation of both the faith and the human species. They worked and sacrificed, allowin...

Msgr. Romano Guardini said of the birth of Christ that “the glorification of that joyous happening will never be muted on this earth” (The Rosary of Our Lady, 89).  Even while Christmas has become highly commercialized, highly secularized and highly sentimentalized, Msgr. Guardini’s words nonetheless remain true.  There will always be humbl...

Having reached the end of the liturgical year, with the feast of Christ the King this last Sunday, we can ask what exactly are we celebrating? A distant and future reality or a presence that shapes our lives on a daily basis? Going through Exodus 90, the Redemption Hymn we prayed from the Book of Revelation really stood out to me in this regard. O...