From the Friars: Patriotism Is a Virtue It is the filial piety one holds in one’s heart toward one’s country, as a loyal son or daughter. The Latin word for “father” is pater, and the Latin word for “country” is patria, or the “fatherland.” The United States observes Patriot Day today (September 11th), in remembrance…
From the Friars: Calculating the Cost Before I was a friar I worked in construction and sometimes I had to do cost estimating. It is a challenge to consider all the factors necessary to complete a project. This very week there are several contractors who are working on bids for the new friary/office building for…
One Saturday night years ago I went out to a bar for a good time in Belmar, NJ. It was a place not unlike the one that sometimes keeps me up at night these days. This is God’s sense of humor. But this particular night I finally hit bottom after many years of living a…
From the Friars: The Lowest Place Francesco Bernadone was a very ambitious man. He was rich, popular, and longed for greatness in the eyes of the world. His goal was to earn knighthood by heroism in battle, which was the only way to become a knight in those days if you were not of the…
In less than two weeks Labor Day weekend will be upon us, with the many activities of the Shrine Fair and the Feast of the Three Saints. We are very grateful to all of you who have been working so hard to prepare for these events. They tell me that there is a record number…
From the Friars: Go out to all the World and Tell the Good News Okay, Let’s face it. The world has lots of problems. Is there any way that we can work to try to solve some of them? Well, to fix the world’s problems, we need to fix the world. So, here are Fr.…
From the Friars: Testing Positive By now most of us have probably used a COVID home test at least once or twice. After the fun of using the swab to get a sample, we wait to see if it causes a reaction in the solution and a second line to appear. Following the test reaction…
We are sorry to inform the Shrine community that Br. Jimmy has discerned that God is calling him elsewhere and will not be returning. His time with us was a great blessing and we wish him well as he goes forward in his life. Please keep Br. Jimmy in your prayers. Thank you.
From the Friars: Our Father in Faith If a man came to me and said that God had told him to take his only son and kill him with a knife and then burn him as a sacrifice to God, I would first doubt the man’s sanity and then try to convince him that that…
Another part of the strong reaction to the overturning of Roe vs. Wade has been many news stories that try to exaggerate the danger to women when abortion is outlawed. For example, the claim is made that it will be illegal for mothers to obtain treatment for ectopic pregnancies. This is not true. The states…