Catholic Review Column: The Forty Days of Lent and the Fifty Days of Easter

Lent is over. Holy Week has been celebrated. Easter Sunday has been observed. Now what? For many the tendency will be to return to business as usual. Lenten penances and charitable practices will be put on the shelf, just the way we put away Christmas decorations. The memory of Holy Week and Easter will fade....
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Joy in the Risen Lord

“Things are looking up,” someone said to me the other day, “Spring is here, we have a new Pope and it’s almost Easter.” I had to admit his optimism was infectious. Even those who suffer from hay fever are glad when the days grow longer and warmer. And there’s a lot of joy about our...
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Easter Vigil

I. Introduction For some 40 days of Lent, we have fasted and prayed with Christ. Throughout Holy Week, we have followed the Lord even more closely as we re-enacted those saving events that gave us new life in Christ. On Holy Thursday we sat at table with Christ as He gave us the gift of...
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Good Friday

I. In Hoc Signo The Church historian, Eusebius, writing in the fourth century, recounts a conversation he had with the Emperor Constantine. Battling Maxentius for control of the Roman Empire, Constantine was about to do battle at the Milvian Bridge that spanned the Tiber River. In the sky there appeared a luminous banner with a...
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Holy Thursday – Mass of the Lord’s Supper

I. Introduction: The Upper Room In this beautful Cathedral we may feel like a tiny flock yet we are here the friends of Christ. By taking part in this liturgy of Holy Thursday we enter the Upper Room where Christ gathered with his Apostles for the Last Supper. Here our eyes of faith see the...
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Chrism Mass

I. Introduction: A Warm Welcome to All It is truly my pleasure to celebrate the Chrism Mass for the first time with all of you in this Cathedral dedicated to Mary Our Queen. Our congregation this night really is a microcosm of the Archdiocese: brother bishops, priests, deacons, and seminarians, religious women and men, as...
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Palm Sunday – Youth Pilgrimage

I. Introduction – Feeling Uncomfortable We have just listened to and shared in a reading from St. Luke’s Gospel about the suffering and death of Jesus Christ. As you just saw, three people read various parts of that that Gospel reading: one served as the narrator – to keep the story moving; another served as...
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Holy Hour Homily – Youth Pilgrimage Day

I. Introduction Less than two weeks ago, the College of Cardinals, with the help of the Holy Spirit, elected a new Holy Father to lead the Church, Pope Francis. And since then he’s taken the world by storm. He isn’t doing this by spending millions of dollars on a pubic relations campaign. He isn’t shaping...
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Mass in Thanksgiving for the Election of Pope Francis

I. Introduction Last Wednesday, the eyes of the world were focused on the Vatican awaiting word of whom the College of Cardinals had chosen to be the 266th Successor of St. Peter and Vicar of Christ. Speculation in the media was rampant and even among informed observers had narrowed the likely candidates to a few,...
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The Relationship Between Catechesis and Theology in a University Setting in Light of the New Evangelization

I. Introduction I am grateful for the opportunity to be a part of this symposium on Catholic education and the New Evangelization and to join with theologians, members of learned societies, and with fellow bishops and members of the Committee on Doctrine in this effort. The topic on which I’ve been asked to speak is...
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Homily for Group Confirmation on the IV Sunday of Lent, Year C

Msgr. Jarboe, my brother priests [and deacons] and dear friends in Christ, I. Introduction: Laetare Sunday – Reasons for Rejoicing and Prayer I’d like to welcome all of you here to the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen, particularly those of you who will receive the Sacrament of Confirmation in just a few moments. You are...
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Homily for the IV Sunday of Lent, Year C

I. Introduction Msgr. Farmer, dear brother priests [and deacon(s)], all dear friends in Christ: What a joy it is to be here for the first of what I hope will be many visits to St. John’s, one of the truly great parishes of the Archdiocese of Baltimore! II. Laetare Sunday It’s hard to believe we’ve...
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