From Our Blog
Come as You wish
Tuesday in the Octave of Easter Readings: Acts 2:36-41; Jn 20:11-18 Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:38 Today’s first reading is taken from St. Peter’s Pentecost sermon, in which he urges his listeners to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (see Acts 2:38). The only reason the crowds are listening to Peter at all... Read More
Go to Galilee
Monday in the Octave of Easter Readings: Acts 2:14, 22-33; Mt 28:8-15 “They are to go to Galilee, where they will see me.” Mt 28: 10 A few days ago at the Vigil Mass, we heard an angel instruct the women at the tomb to tell the disciples, “He is going ahead of you to Galilee” (Mk 16:7) Then the Sequence for Easter Sunday announced,... Read More
Response Ability
Easter Sunday Readings: Acts 10:34a, 37-43; Col 3:1-4 or 1 . 5:6b-8; Jn 20:1-9 or Mk 16:1-7 or, at an afternoon or evening Mass, Lk 24:13-35 “Since you have been raised up in company with Christ, set your heart on what pertains to higher realms.” Col 3:1 The knowledge that the Father wants to raise each of us up with Christ gives us great... Read More
Ultimate Destiny
Holy Saturday Readings: Gen 1:1-2:2 or 1:1, 26-31a; Gen 22:1-18 or 22:1-2, 9a, 10-13, 15-18; Ex 14:15-15:1; Is 54: 5-14; Is 55:1-11; Bar 3:9-15, 32-4:4; Ezek 36: 16-17a, 18-28; Rom 6: 3-11; Mk 16:1-7. “… so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we, too, might live a new life.” Rom 6:4 The Easter Vigil,... Read More
Up Close and Personal
Good Friday. Readings: Is 52:13-53:12; Heb 4:14-16;5:7-9; Jn 18:1-19:42 “One of the soldiers ran a lance into his side, and immediately blood and water flowed out.” Jn 19:34 In his encyclical letter “Rich in Mercy,” Pope John Paul II wrote that the cross of Christ “speaks and never ceases to speak of God the Father, who is absolutely... Read More
Pass it on!
Holy Thursday Readings: Chrism Mass: Is 61:1-3a, 6a, 8b-9; Rv 1:5-8; When 4:16-21 Mass of the Lord’s Supper: Ex 12:1-8, 11-14; 1 Cor 11:23-26; Jn 13:1-15 “As I have done, so you must do.” Jn 13:15 On Holy Thursday we celebrate Christ’s institution of the Eucharist at the Last Supper. But the main reading is from the Gospel of John,... Read More
Yes or No?
Wednesday of Holy Week Readings: Is 50:4-9; Mt 26:14-25 “Woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed.” Mt 26:24 We’re back at the Last Supper, this time from the Gospel of Matthew, who prefaces his account of the meal with the scene where Judas agrees to hand Jesus over to the high priests for thirty pieces of silver. In Monday’s... Read More
Deliver us from Evil
Tuesday of Holy Week Readings: Is 49:1-6; Jn 13:21-33, 36-38 “Immediately after, Satan entered his heart.” Jn 13:27 Once again we find ourselves reclining at table with Jesus, and once again John’s Gospel provides us with contrasting characters, focusing this time on Judas and Peter at the Last Supper. The passage begins with Jesus suddenly... Read More
An Undivided Heart
Monday of Holy Week Readings: Is 42:1-7; Jn 12:1-11 “… and the house was filled with the ointment’s fragrance.” Jn 12:3 So much in the Gospels comes to us in the context of a meal, and nowhere is this more true or more significant than in Holy Week. Today’s Gospel brings us to a banquet given for Jesus in the little village of Bethany,... Read More
The Bond of Love
“I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator …” (Apostles Creed) Ever notice that in this prayer God is referred to first of all as “Father” and only then as “creator”? There’s a whole teaching here. Pope John Paul II, in Rich in Mercy, explains that God is not just the creator, but “He is also Father,” and He is linked... Read More
Are you a fair face?
I heard a homily awhile back that really hit me. It was one of those times where I felt like the priest was talking directly to my heart, and at a time when I was trying not to be annoyed at the church I was in and the people I was with! (Ever notice that Catholic churches unfortunately aren’t always the most welcoming places, and that many... Read More
7 Secrets of the Eucharist
Greetings & blessings! December 8 has always been a special day to me; first because it’s the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, and also because it’s my birthday. This year, Our Lady gave me a surprise birthday gift: my new book, 7 SECRETS OF THE EUCHARIST arrived from the printer several days ahead of schedule. So,... Read More
If You’re Good…
As we got out the Advent wreath this year, I found myself thinking back on seasons past when our kids were young, and I remembered an Advent reflection my daughter Colleen wrote several years ago. It’s a great reminder of what this season is really all about. If You’re Good … By Colleen Free So often, during the Advent season,... Read More
Good News…
Hey folks! Check out this link: http://www.catholicity.com/cds/healing.html Read More →
Bosnia & Guatemala
Well, I am back once again on U.S. soil. After returning from the Russian Far East, I had no plans to go anywhere for awhile. I figured I’d take some time to recoup, readjust, and yes, relax! I knew I’d have to of course make it through the always crazy but blessed Mercy Sunday at the National Shrine, and then the new filming of... Read More
Divine Mercy and the Fatherhood of God
Greetings & blessings! We’ve reached the end of Lent, and for the next few weeks we will be immersed in a steady succession of activities as we move from one Holy Day to the next: Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday, Easter Sunday, and the great octave day of Easter, Divine Mercy Sunday. With all the remembrances,... Read More
Friends of Mercy Newsletter
I just wrote an article for the Marians of the Immaculate Conception’s Friends of Mercy Newsletter. The article is about my experience in Russia doing mission work. You can read the full article in pdf format and let me know what you think! Here’s the article…. Read More →
America the Beautiful
Hello from American soil! I arrived safe and sound. It is totally surreal to be home again in such familiar, yet unfamiliar, surroundings. I can’t describe it but I will say that I miss my work and the people in Russia, am thrilled to see my family, and am looking forward to the next chapter…music, similar work in the U.S., Africa,... Read More
Back Home From Russia
I arrive home on Monday…thought this would be the most appropriate way to sum up my trip…through poetry. There’s really no way to describe how I feel leaving or what my time here was like anyway. Thank you all for your support, and for being part of my journey ~ Erin I walked the roads of Russia once When my eyes were bright And... Read More
Lord, Open the Doors
In a wonderful book called THE IMPACT OF GOD, Fr. Iain Matthew explains that the Christian agenda, as taught by St. John of the Cross, is “to come to want what God wants.” Simple? Yes. Easy? No. At least not for me. In my better moments, I at least want to want what God wants, but all my other wants, big and small, keep popping... Read More
Russia Update #5
Well, my friends, time for an update from the land of ice and.well, less snow than Massachusetts usually. They don’t use salt or anything here so the roads and sidewalks are just ice, ice, ice. They pay hearty workers young and old to chip the ice away little by little to clear paths for walking. Otherwise just stay on the balls of your... Read More
Russia Update #4
Hey friends and fam, I haven’t sent an full update because it’s been too busy since I returned from Japan and I only have a few months left to accomplish what we’re trying to set in place here! My work with the street kids continues, and now it is just myself and a Russian man who has taken the place of the American volunteer... Read More
Russia Update #3
Well, I thought culture shock was over, but there have been times when I find myself at a meal or in the office and, for no apparent reason, this overwhelming sadness begins in my chest and works its way up through my throat to my eyes, which well up with unrestrainable tears. Emotional release maybe from the isolation one feels when people... Read More
Fr. Kosicki’s “Happy Thanksgiving”
Greetings & blessings! I’d like to share with you a phrase that could change your life. I’m writing this on Thanksgiving day in front of the Blessed Sacrament, thinking about how appropriate it is that Eucharist means thanksgiving. And it struck me that the greeting “Happy Thanksgiving” is actually a prescription,... Read More
Russia Update #2
I’ll have to fly to Japan in a couple of weeks to leave Russia so I can re-enter with a new visa. Please pray b/c I have a lot to do to make that happen and my present visa runs out at the end of this month. Working on writing/compiling a booklet for the church to sell to tourists etc. … who ask for the history and pictures of... Read More
