Catholic priest, it has been my privilege to preside at quite a few weddings over the years. Many of the happy couples whom I’ve married insist on having what is commonly known as a “unity candle” as part of their ceremony. Perhaps you yourself have witnessed the ritual of the
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When you have done everything that was commanded you, say, “We are unprofitable servants; we have done what it was our duty to do.” –Luke 17:10– I have long been struck by the apparent harshness of Jesus labeling us “unprofitable servants.” It sounds as if Our Lord considers us
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Although I grew up in the suburbs, I attended elementary school in the heart of the city of Allentown. One day, when I was in the fourth grade, we students were busy drawing and coloring. An eager classmate proudly displayed his artwork for all to see. “What is it?”
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Therefore now they are no longer two, but one flesh. –Matthew 19:6– Most people who own cactus plants are familiar with what is known as a grafted cactus. Botanists are able to take two very different species of cactus and join them together. The resulting plant, though it would
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On Earth Day 2010, the students and faculty of Bethlehem Catholic High School were treated to an episode of the television series Planet Earth. The episode bore the title Pole to Pole, and it featured, among other wonders, some aerial footage of a wolf
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My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness. –2 Corinthians 12:9– In the late summer of 1971, Stephen Dougherty, a young seminarian only two years away from priestly ordination, was on a rural camping trip. The road along which he was driving was flanked
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Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain wisdom of heart. –Psalm 90:12– I go to prepare a place for you. –John 14:2– Whenever I discover that one of my students plays golf, I tell him or her all about Harvey Penick’s Little Red Book:
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And what I say to you, I say to all, “Watch.” –Mark 13:37– Early this past summer, my friend Kevin became fascinated with a plant he saw growing at a local nursery. It was called an “angel’s trumpet.” Kevin couldn’t say enough about the plant, so I asked him
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But when the fullness of time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman. –Galatians 4:4– I am a disgrace to my Japanese heritage in at least this one respect: While I do not mind giving gifts, I hate wrapping them. I make all kinds of excuses to
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The Hubble Space Telescope,[1] named in honor of astronomer Edwin Hubble, was launched into low earth orbit in 1990. With its 7.9-foot mirror, it is still in orbit and may continue to operate until 2030 or even 2040. Because it travels outside earth’s atmospheric distortion, the Hubble Telescope is
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