I. Introduction: Permitting Everything, Forgiving Nothing In his book of essays entitled, The Difference God Makes, Cardinal Francis George offers an incisive statement: “The world,” he wrote, “permits everything and forgives nothing. God and the Church do not permit everything but forgive everything.” Simple observation of our culture confirms the truth of this statement. The culture of...Read More

“Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.” These words come from the Prayer of St. Francis. Many of us are familiar with them and the rest of the words of this commonly-prayed and sung petition for God’s peace. These immediately came to mind when I learned two weeks ago Sunday of Pope Francis’ call...Read More

I hope everyone enjoyed the long Labor Day weekend and that it proved especially restful for those families with children who had already begun school or were preparing to begin the new school year this past week. I was fortunate to be able to experience “back to school” once more as I recently visited three...Read More

I. Introduction I welcome all of you here to the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen. As you know, this Mass was originally scheduled especially for our homeschooling families, but last Sunday, at his noon-day Angelus, our Holy Father, Pope Francis, appealed to the Church and to the world that today be designated a Day of...Read More

I. Introduction It’s a real joy for me to be with you today for the first of many visits to Holy Family Parish here in Davidsonville, and I look forward to meeting as many of you as I can in Unity Hall after Mass today. I’m so grateful to Father Andy Aaron and Deacon Tom...Read More

Monday marks the beginning of a new school year. Though it feels like it comes earlier every year, the start of school seems to usher in fall, a new season, and the return to the normalcy of routine, albeit an all-too-busy one for most. Unfortunately, that first day of school also brings with it “butterflies” for...Read More

I. Introduction: Msgr. Rohlfs’ First Rector’s Conference Many years ago, I and another seminarian were driving from the Mount down to Washington. While we were on I-270 we began to discuss what the future would be like. We wondered what kind of parish we would be assigned to, how we would get along with our...Read More

Earlier this week, Bishop Denis Madden, whose vicariate includes Baltimore City, and Spiritan Father Evod Shao, Pastor of St. Edward’s Church in West Baltimore, led a prayer walk through the violent streets surrounding the parish. They were joined by a number of parishioners and others from the neighborhood who have recently watched the violence on...Read More