Pastor’s Pen – April 20, 2014

Dear Faithful of the Archdiocese of St. Louis, I offer to you my deepest greetings of joy and peace on the Solemnity of the Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ – Happy Easter! Easter is to the Church year what Sunday is to each week – a highlight of rest and...

Pastor’s Pen – April 13, 2014

The Christian should tremble… “Forty minutes of prime time in solitary prayer, usually divided into two twenty-minute periods, before a symbol of the crucified Christ is the most effective discipline for making conscious contact with the living God and his liberating...

Pastor’s Pen – April 6, 2014

Some words for the last weeks of Lent… It doesn’t take long for Lenten commitments to fall by the wayside for many of us. The discipline we choose on Ash Wednesday may by now be a distant memory or even tucked away for “next year”. But Jesus kept his...

Pastor’s Pen – March 30, 2014

The Lenten season is a time for repentance, conversion, and reconciliation. The parishes in the Archdiocese of St. Louis, in conjunction with the USCCB’s “The Light is ON for You” campaign, are joining together to offer numerous opportunities for the...

Pastor’s Pen – March 23, 2014

Of many things… If you remember, back in the fall, I forwarded information about the Children’s Education Initiative which provides assistance without raising taxes on any Missouri taxpayer; instead, taxpayers will be able to claim a tax credit for 50% of their...

Pastor’s Pen – March 16, 2014

A different kind of fasting… A friend of mine forwarded me the following excerpt from a blog called Abby of the Arts by Christine Valters. It is worth the reading. “I am called to fast from being strong and always trying to hold it all together, and instead...