Rubens, Venus and Adonis, 1630s “Sometimes the hardest thing to give up is actually the thing most likely to make us better.” The icebreaker question drew out a number of “things of the world” we thought were both impossible to give up and critical to our very happiness. Often these fell into the generic “wine,
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St. Patrick’s Cathedral, New York City. What a night at the big cathedral! Every “highway and byway” within the city block’s expansive holy space was filled with visitors, of every possible background, race, country, and religion, all mysteriously drawn to the beauty of the place. Some came to find God, some came to pray,
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New York, Feast of Padre Pio. This morning the city awoke to a chill, clear autumn day; the storms of yesterday have passed. The promise of a glorious fall is in the air. And today’s first reading, from Ecclesiastes 3:1-11, seems right on cue. There is indeed a time for all things, and through all
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Thy Kingdom Come! Dear Missionaries, I hope this note finds you well, enjoying the last warm days of summer! Schools are open, Covid restrictions have been lifted – life has started to feel normal! For us apostles, normal means we continue to bring souls closer to our Lord, Jesus Christ! Next week, on Friday, we
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NYC Holy Week Mission Day 7 – Holy Saturday St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral, SoHo. Some of our missionaries like to refer to Holy Saturday as “Last Chance Saturday”, i.e. the last chance before Easter to get in that Confession you’ve been promising us you’d do all week. And for those of you keeping up on
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NYC Holy Week Mission Day 6 – Good Friday “And my soul shall live for Him, my children serve Him. They shall tell of the Lord for generations yet to come, Declare His faithfulness to peoples yet unborn: These things the Lord has done.” Ps 22: 31-32 Prince and Mott, St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral. As
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NYC Holy Week Mission Day 5 – Holy Thursday Sign up to be a Holy Week Missionary! Corner of Prince and Mott, St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral, SoHo. There are days to harvest, and days to sow. Today was a day to sow. Holy Thursdays are often like this. The great Easter holiday can creep up
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NYC Holy Week Mission Day 4 St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral, SoHo. On a beautiful warm and sunny spring day, our little missionary team of ½ dozen lay missionaries and 2 dozen joyful seminarians, headed south to our old stomping grounds, the increasingly trendy neighborhood around St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral. Some things had changed since our
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NYC Holy Week Mission A woman walks into Saint Patrick’s Cathedral for reasons she doesn’t understand or question. Born under Communism in Eastern Europe, she made her way to America in the 1990s and went on to build an investment business with multiple offices in the U.S. and abroad. She is confident and well put
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NYC Holy Week Mission Day 3 A truly amazing day, full of Amazing Grace. What a blessing to encourage so many to receive the sacrament of reconciliation! One young woman was very reluctant to confess her sins, but with the grace of God, she finally went into the confessional. When she came out, she spent
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