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Communio Sanctorum (Communion of Saints) Whenever we recite the Apostles’ Creed we profess that we believe in the communion of saints. The approaching month of November is a good opportunity for us to be clear about whom we claim to be connected with one in mind and heart on the way to God. Certainly canonized saints, those heroes and heroines of faith and holiness of life who serve as models for us on our ongoing journey to God are likely the first names to come to mind. We celebrate their memory and presence to us every day but especially on November [...]

Corkscrew Time Halloween is soon upon us and, not surprisingly, the malls are already decked with holly. It seems to me that it’s challenging to enter into the November and Advent if we’re already occupied (perhaps even anxious) about whom we may have forgotten on last year’s Christmas card list. Rowan Williams, a retired Archbishop of Canterbury, in a recent little book Being Human. Bodies, Minds, Persons, writes that necessary for Faith and human flourishing is “taking time” is the way we are formed from day to day, week to week, season to season by returning to and unhurriedly celebrating our [...]

The Rosary as Christ Centered Prayer Last Monday, October 7, was the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, formerly titled Our Lady of Victory. This annual celebration harkens back to the 1571 victory of Christian forces over the Ottoman navy.  Dominican tradition claims that the rosary was given to Saint Dominic by the Blessed Virgin Mary; but some form of praying the beads had already been in use among Catholics for centuries. In fact praying the beads in different ways is practiced by various religious traditions: Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity (The Jesus Prayer), Islam, Sikhism and the Bahá'í Faith. The practice [...]

Synodality at Work Synod from the Greek synodos meaning gathering or meeting. The Latin equivalent is consilium as in Second Vatican Council. From today until Sunday October 27, Pope Francis will be meeting in Rome for the Amazon Synod, a collegial gathering of the bishops of Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Venezuela and Suriname. The priority topics for this gathering are: the environment, the plight of indigenous peoples, and the pastoral care of local churches of the region. Synodality is another word for collegiality, the governance of the church by the pope in collaboration with national bishops’ conferences. Collegiality [...]

Born to a family of five children, often moving around and parents sometimes at odds with each other, Father Carl Braschoss has dedicated his religious life to healing and reconciliation, not only himself, but others and helping people to find the tools within themselves to begin the process of coming together, and to find forgiveness within the Lord.  Father Carl gravitated to the Norbertine community about 21 years ago, but found his calling in religious life around 30 years ago. Prior to this, he moved around often in his young life, and wasn’t sure of his life’s path.. As a child, [...]

Stabat Mater Yesterday was the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, the annual liturgical celebration of the finding of what is held to be the cross upon which Christ Jesus was crucified. Like other feasts of this season associated with the dedication of a church (the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary on August 15, and the celebration of her birth on September 8) the date, September 14, marks the dedication of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem where the cross was found by St. Helena in the fourth century. Cheek by jowl with this feast is [...]