Labor Day has come and gone. School is back in session. This week we celebrate Catechetical Sunday. I am commissioning Catechists at all Masses this weekend. We also begin our Religious Education classes this week. For a parish to grow and flourish, parishioners need to contribute their time, talent, and treasure. I want to take the opportunity today to highlight some ways in which we can contribute our time and talent that will benefit all of us in the parish and also those to we reach out in love and service.

Last week I wrote about Saint Peter Damian, a Doctor of the Church who was a great reformer of the Church nearly 1,000 years ago. Today I want to write about another Doctor of the Church who was a great reformer in her era about three hundred years later. This is Saint Catherine of Siena (1347-80). Catherine was the twenty-fourth of twenty-five children. According to the Life of Catherine (hereafter Life) written by Fr. Raymond of Capua, her Dominican confessor, she made a vow of virginity at the age of seven after receiving a vision of Christ.

I first became acquainted with St. Peter Damian when I was in seventh grade. The date was February 23, 1962. Sister M. Damian, R.S.M., had returned to St. Paul School the previous September as the Principal. Sister M. Damian had previously taught fifth grade at St. Paul School in 1929-30. Two of her fifth grade students that year were my father and his brother, my uncle Charles.

Greg Erlandson, Director and Editor-in-chief of Catholic News Service, recently published a column in the Boston Pilot, the newspaper of the Archdiocese of Boston that was entitled “A crisis regarding the responsibility of Church authorities.” In his column Mr. Erlandson gives four take-aways in the wake of the recently issued Pennsylvania Grand Jury report, revelations about Archbishop McCarrick, and other allegations that come to light regarding seminaries.

I am continuing my reflections today from my recent trip to Fatima, Portugal where I attended the Twelfth International Gathering of Teams of Our Lady from July 16-22, 2018.

I have returned after a wonderful trip to Portugal where I attended the twelfth International Gathering of Teams of Our Lady (Équipes Notre-Dame) in Fatima from July 16 to July 22, 2018. I have wanted to visit the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima for many years, so I am was very happy when this opportunity came up. The theme of the gathering was “Reconciliation: A Sign of Love.” Nearly 9,000 Team Members came from 80 countries. We completely filled the little town of Fatima. Every hotel room was taken. Some even had to stay in private homes.

In 1999, the Catholic Bishops of the United States issued Our Hearts Were Burning Within Us: A Pastoral Plan for Adult Faith Formation in the United States.

In 1999, the Catholic Bishops of the United States issued Our Hearts Were Burning Within Us: A Pastoral Plan for Adult Faith Formation in the United States. In that document the Bishops note that the Catholic faith is like a symphony in which the unity of faith finds expressions in richly diverse formulations and manifestations. They state that the ongoing development of a living, explicit, and fruitful Christian faith in adulthood requires growth in six dimensions: knowledge of the faith, liturgical life, moral formation, prayer, belonging to community, and missionary spirit. This week I am continuing a series in which we shall explore these six dimensions. Today I want to look at moral formation and prayer.

In 1999, the Catholic Bishops of the United States issued Our Hearts Were Burning Within Us: A Pastoral Plan for Adult Faith Formation in the United States. In that document the Bishops note that the Catholic faith is like a symphony in which the unity of faith finds expressions in richly diverse formulations and manifestations.

The issue of immigration certainly raises controversy on both the national and state level. It often spurs passionate debate that does not offer a lot of hope for reconciliation and resolution. In May 2017, the Roman Catholic Bishops of Maryland issued a statement entitled “Addressing Immigration in Maryland: A Call to Compassion, Prudence, and Cooperation from the Catholic Bishops of Maryland.”

I want to continue a reflection on the three basic principles of Catholic Social Teaching on immigration. This is largely adapted on material found on the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) website: www.usccb.org. Today I want to discuss the third basic principle: a country must regulate its borders with justice and mercy.

I want to continue a reflection on the three basic principles of Catholic Social Teaching on immigration. This is largely adapted on material found on the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) website: www.usccb.org. Today I want to discuss the second basic principle: a country has a right to regulate its borders and to control immigration.

I also want to begin today a reflection on the three basic principles of Catholic Social Teaching on immigration. This is available (like the statement by Cardinal DiNardo) on the USCCB website: www.usccb.org.

In light of the recent news about immigration, I want to continue a reflection on Catholic Social Teaching on immigration and the movement of peoples. I am basing this discussion on a resource that has been made available from the website of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. This week I want to talk about a Biblical vision of love for strangers.

Something that has been in the news recently is the acknowledgement by the Department of Homeland Security that it has implemented a policy of separating families arriving at the U.S./Mexico border. Recently the Most Reverend Joe S. Vasquez, Bishop of Austin (Texas) and Chairman of the U. S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) issued a statement in response to this acknowledgement:

Today I want to present some thoughts for accompanying families in special circumstances that are presented in this section of the pastoral plan. We need to echo what Pope Francis says: “I thank God that many families, which are far from considering themselves perfect, live in love, fulfill their calling and keep moving forward, even if they fall many times along the way…there is no stereotype of the ideal family, but rather a challenging mosaic made up of many different realities with all their joys, hopes and problems “(AL, 57).

Cardinal Wuerl promulgated a Pastoral Plan to implement Pope Francis’ post-synodal apostolic exhortation, Amoris Laetitia (AL), on Sunday March 4, 2018. The fourth section of the Pastoral Plan stresses the importance of parish life. Today I want to present some thoughts for accompanying families in special circumstances that are presented in this section of the pastoral plan.

Today I want to present some thoughts for accompanying older couples and adults that are presented in this section of the pastoral plan. In his apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel), Pope Francis writes: “It [the parish] is a community of communities, a sanctuary where the thirsty come to drink in the midst of their journey” (28). For many single adults and older couples, the parish can feel like a very young, family-centric experience. Parishes have an opportunity to help people experience the fruitfulness of intergenerational relationships and the beauty of the life of the parish family that is diverse in age, experience, and culture.

Families are schools of love in which family life shapes the formation of children and young people and teaches how to care for the aging and elderly. Our Holy Father reminds us that the family “is where we first learn to relate to others, to listen, to share, to be patient and show respect, to help one another and live as one” (AL, 276).

Today I want to present some thoughts for accompanying newly married couples that are presented in this section of the pastoral plan. Newly married couples begin building their life together as a family with hope, welcoming children, and laying down roots.