Category: Lifestyle Columnists

DISCIPLINE and patience With COVID-19 (and variants) cases reaching almost 108 million and close to 2.4 million deaths in 219 countries (nearly half a million deaths in the U.S. and…

Instead of dwelling on the “drudgery,” the “misery,” and the “troubled nights” of life that Job describes in the First Reading, let’s imagine Jesus putting his hands on us and…

ONE of the greatest inventions of the man inspired by the desire to share information is the internet. The impetus started in the 1960s “as a way for government researchers…

“WHAT is happening here? It is a new kind of teaching–he gives orders even to unclean spirits, and they submit to him.” (Mark 1:21) Mark’s Gospel describes the scenes at…

BACTERIA react and develop resistance to drugs against them in order to survive. The Multi-Drug Resistant Tuberculosis (MDRTB) and the Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) are examples. Viruses, which are protein…

“Kind people are the best kind of people.” -Anonymous WHAT does it cost to be kind to others? We often think that being kind costs us something — whether it…

“I TELL you, brothers and sisters, the time is running out, “ St. Paul tells us in this Sunday’s Second Reading (1Cor 7:29-31) Paul’s warning becomes more personal to us…

“You are free to post whatever you like. You are not free of its consequences however.” (Continued from last week’s issue…) Your postings at all social networking sites define who…

The $150 billion-plus fastfood industry greatly impacts the health of the people in the United States and around the world. The concept of speed, convenience, practically hustle-free dining, reasonable pricing,…

“Social media should improve your life, NOT become your life!” – Patrick Driessen FOR good or ill, advances in communication technology have reshaped our lives drastically far more than we…

HOW often have we heard from fellow Christians that this pandemic calls for repentance, for a change of heart? How often have we heard them asking us to examine our…

IN this information age and era of rapid telecommunication and split-second transmission, data, truths, and facts are disseminated with lightning speed to do business, social contact, educate, and entertain, but,…

“Be present. It is the only thing that matters.” – Ways of the Peaceful Warrior THESE are the best of times. These are the worst of times. Charles Dickens could…

IT didn’t feel like Christmas last Friday with all the depressing news we heard about the pandemic. The headlines blared with the high death toll, the continuous rise of infections,…

A NEW, 70 percent more rapidly transmissible, strain of SARS-CoV2 (COVID-19) have been detected in up to three-fourths of cases in the United Kingdom today. PM Boris Johnson has ordered…

“As he told the story of that wondrous night to Luke, Joshua carefully removed himself from the narrative. It was to be between him and God alone.” JOSHUA was excited…

IT will be a different Christmas and New Year’s celebration this year—one we never thought about in our generation. It will be Christmas and New Year without the crowds at…

COVID-19 Update Worldwide: nearly 74 million cases, with almost 1.7 million deaths; the Philippines: about 452,000 and 9,000 deaths; the United States: around 17 million cases and 310,000 deaths. Last…

“… He opened his swollen eyes slightly seemingly regaining consciousness. The man moaned asking where he was. Then he drifted out once more…” JOSHUA hurried outside the inn to the…

LAST Monday, a parishioner asked me to administer the Sacrament of Anointing to his brother, who is suffering from cancer. So after celebrating the eighty-thirty Mass that morning, I asked…