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February 2015

February 26, 2015

Thank you, St. Petersburg!

I just got back from a wonderful visit to Blessed Trinity Catholic Church in St....

February 21, 2015

Hello, Florida!

I'm flying south Saturday morning: headed to sunny St. Petersburg, Florida, to give a parish...

February 18, 2015

Elevator evangelization

So this happened tonight, after I came home from the last Mass at the parish......

February 18, 2015

Got ash?

I do.

February 15, 2015

Another pretty church: Our Holy Redeemer on Long Island

I spent the weekend giving pulpit talks on behalf of CNEWA at Our Holy Redeemer parish...

February 12, 2015

Guess who just had to change his name on Facebook?

View image | gettyimages.com That would be me. As I do periodically, I decided today to...

February 12, 2015

Remembering Bob Simon

One afternoon, Bob Simon appeared in the door of my office at "60 Minutes II,"...

February 08, 2015

The speakin’ deacon: thanks to divine Providence

Spent a wonderful 24 hours in scenic, snowy Providence, Rhode Island Friday and Saturday, speaking...

February 05, 2015

Working wonders together

Of all the remarkable things that take place in this gospel passage, the most significant...

January 2015

January 27, 2015

That blizzard? “It’s a bust”

That was the three-word assessment from our doorman this morning when I went outside to...

January 19, 2015

In praise of Pio

We just completed the annual novena at my parish in honor of St. Pio—more popularly...

December 2014

December 27, 2014

Let there be Christmas lights!

While visiting family in Maryland for the holidays, we decided to stop by a place...

December 26, 2014

This year’s best Christmas gift

Back in the early days of the last century, my wife's great-grandmother Agnes Meyer and...

December 25, 2014

Christmas in Forest Hills

Shortly before Midnight Mass—which actually took place at midnight!— from my parish, Our Lady Queen...

December 24, 2014

Ladies and gentlemen: Baby Jesus

Scenes from our parish Christmas pageant, held during tonight's 5 p.m. Mass. Kudos to little...

December 14, 2014

Hitting the road: The Bench and CNEWA visit Long Island

The past couple of days I found myself on a rare weekend away from my...

December 12, 2014

Hello, Long Island

If you're in the neighborhood this weekend: I'll be visiting Curé of Ars Catholic Church in...

November 2014

November 12, 2014

Inside Iraq: “I cry every day. I pray and I am fasting. I am simply hoping…”

The Autumn edition of ONE, the magazine of CNEWA, is now online, and the centerpiece...

November 10, 2014

Want to evangelize the young at your parish? Try this.

It's these guys: the altar servers. Sunday, we installed 27 new servers—in the picture above,...

November 05, 2014

R.I.P., Mary Newman

Every parish has its familiar fixtures: the windows, the statues, the shrines, the candles. At...

October 2014

October 20, 2014

“We cannot resign ourselves to thinking about the Middle East without Christians”

Pope Francis delivered that comment this morning. From Vatican Radio: Pope Francis convened a...

October 17, 2014

Hello, Lawn Guyland!

If anyone is interested, I'll be visiting St. James Catholic Church in Setauket this Sunday on...

October 03, 2014

Anyone know where you can get a cup of coffee in Seattle?

I'm headed there this morning, speaking at the diaconate convocation in Ocean Shore. The theme:...

September 2014

September 30, 2014

St. Jerome and me

From the vault: Today marks the feast of St. Jerome– a prolific writer, scholar, and friend...

September 16, 2014

Together at last: Jimmy Fallon, Thomas Merton and me

I'm pleased to report that my blog neighbor (and fellow Queens resident) Pat McNamara has...

September 08, 2014

A sister writes from Iraq: “The sisters and priests are a sign of hope among the people”

Sister Maria Goretti Hanna, O.P., and Good Shepherd Sister Marie-Claude Naddaf meet with workers creating...

August 2014

August 03, 2014

A wonderful vocations tool: novena to St. John Vianney

Once again, my parish is in the midst of a great tradition, offering the annual...

July 2014

July 28, 2014

Want to know how you can help Iraqi Christians? Here.

I preached about it last weekend. Now, there's more. This just in, from My Day Job...

July 19, 2014

Flying to Ohio! Again!

Wasn't I there just a few weeks ago? (Yes!) I'm about to head out the...

June 2014

June 24, 2014

Walking with Jesus

Scenes from my parish's Corpus Christi procession on Sunday, with our pastor, Bishop Paul Sanchez....