How time flies, often without change
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners…. As of the date of this issue – Oct. 13, 2017 – 100 years will have passed since the Miracle of the Sun occurred in the skies over Fatima, Portugal, immediately following Our Lady’s last appearance to the three peasant ch...Read full story »
Thursday, October 12, 2017
'Defend us in battle'
St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. This issue of The Message comes out on Sept. 29 –the feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel and Raphael the archangels. Saint Michael is most well known as the patron of law enforcement and soldiers, but he also is known as patron of mar...Read full story »
Thursday, September 28, 2017
What we see when our vision clears
On Aug. 21, the day of the total solar eclipse across the U.S., Nicholar Kristoff of the New York Times viewed totality in Salem, Ore, and wrote: “First the appeal of the solar eclipse is not just it rarity, but the way it puts us in our place. It disrupts the routines we rely on and reminds...Read full story »
Wednesday, September 13, 2017
Why do we offer Masses for the dead?
This column responds to a call from a reader. “I have asked several people I know from our parish,” the caller told me, “and no one seems to know why we offer Masses for the dead. So I thought maybe you could publish something about it in The Message.” I yield to Father Alla...Read full story »
Wednesday, August 30, 2017
This is a grand time
Truly, this is a grand time to live our Catholic faith – especially here in Indiana. We have big things to come, friends; God is preparing us for them even as I commit these words to “electronic paper.” Recently, I saw a social media post that resonated intimately with the thought...Read full story »
Thursday, August 17, 2017
The most important 'C-word' of all
At one time or another, many – if not all – of you reading these words have heard that ambiguous term “C-word.” What did you think of just now as you read the headline and this column’s first sentence? Cancer … right? It is most generally associated with that ter...Read full story »
Thursday, July 27, 2017
That night I met our history in Vincennes
This issue of The Message includes a special section that serves as a tribute to Archbishop-elect Charles C. Thompson as he prepares for installation, on July 28, as the seventh Archbishop of Indianapolis. In it, you will find a variety of photos, columns, homilies and stories that have appeared in...Read full story »
Thursday, July 20, 2017
Are you getting your rest?
Across the world, people use the summer months for R&R. Rest and relaxation seem to go hand-in-hand with this time of year – although I suspect that our brothers and sisters in the Southern Hemisphere might view things differently. For them, the longest, warmest and brightest days of the...Read full story »
Thursday, July 06, 2017
An exhilarating gut punch of a day
My cell phone’s incoming-email tone sounded just after sunrise on June 13. Diocese of Evansville Chancellor Tim McGuire and I were somewhere along I-69, headed for Indianapolis and the press conference introducing Archbishop-designate Charles C. Thompson to the archdiocese he will shepherd be...Read full story »
Thursday, June 22, 2017
Attention: Scott Whitehouse loved us all
It should come as no surprise to anyone who knew him that Scott Whitehouse wrote his own obituary. I met Scott Whitehouse less than four years ago, but quickly began feeling like I’d known him my whole life. He embodied an undeniable spirit of love – God’s love – for everyo...Read full story »
Thursday, June 08, 2017
