Catholic Questions in a Secular World

Holy Week is one of the most solemn weeks in the entire Church calendar, because it is the last week of Lent and invites us to walk with Jesus on the road to Calvary, up the mountain to His cross.

In honor of Valentine's Day, I thought I would give a little history as to the reason we celebrate today and who this St. Valentine is reputed to have been.

Today is very unique because as we celebrate Valentine’s Day, so named after St. Valentine, the Church celebrates the feast of SS. Cyril and Methodius.

At one time we did liturgically celebrate St. Valentine on this day, however, that changed in the 60's when the Church started to try to understand who St.

Years ago I taught a class on the Book of Revelation. For the past two days, my two homilies focused on some of the symbolism that can be found in this book. These are those two homilies. If there is anymore interest in further explanations of the other parts of Revelation, let me know and I may continue explaining more of the symbolism.

Today, we celebrate the feast of the Presentation of Mary, a feast that is celebrated in both the Western and Eastern Church, though in the Eastern Church it is known as The Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos into the Temple, and a major Feast Day.

It is as interesting feast, however, because it cannot be found in the Bible, but, rather, in the ancient tradition of the Church.

NOTE: THIS WEEKEND I AM NOT PREACHING, HOWEVER, I WANTED TO SHARE A LITTLE NOTE WITH ALL OF YOU

A Note From Fr. Brian

On January 8, 2014 I will be going under the knife, for, hopefully, the last and final time, to have my third, and, hopefully, final open-heart surgery.

Since, about the 900’s, the Church has dedicated the month of November as a month in which to pray for those who have gone before us, especially focusing on those souls who are in Purgatory.

For, while we believe in Heaven and Hell, we also know that in order to enter Heaven it is necessary to be purified of all of those things that may impede us from loving God as completely and as fully as we are called to love Him, as we hear in Revelation 21:27, whereby nothing unclean can enter Heaven.

Today, we celebrate the feast of St. Pio, a very well known and very beloved saint and, arguably, one of the greatest saints of the 21st century. In fact, it is said that he is one of those who entering this world encapsulated every gift a saint has ever had and every struggle for holiness that we all endure.

Born, Francisco Forgione, to a family of farmers and to parents with a simple spirituality, it was evident, at a very early age, that St.

I want to end this reflection on the Sacrament of Reconciliation by explaining how the experience has the potential to change us if we allow it and have the desire to live out the graces that have been bestowed on us as a result.

In John 8:3-11, we see a beautiful depiction of a woman who is caught in adultery and brought before Jesus.

Last time I spoke extensively about the power and the effect that the Sacrament of Reconciliation can have and have on us, this time I wanted to explain a little bit about the healing and transformation that can occur from this sacrament.