It’s Confirmation season, or so it seems. Religious education directors everywhere are scrambling to finalize details on sacramental preparation. In the backs of their minds, they’re hoping for some reprieve before the next cycle of planning and organizing begins. (We...
So many things get in the way of being on time for Mass. It’s Lent and you promised yourself you’d be on time every time, but the time change, the kids, the late-night movie, the restless sleep… The mornings seem impossible and you barely get there for the procession...
Lent is a time of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. It’s a time we’re to grow closer to the Lord and deeper in our faith. As we wander through the desert like Jesus did, we trip up. It’s true. We all do it. Jesus didn’t have to get a kid to hockey practice during...
The Good Old Days Eight years ago, our two-church parish in Massachusetts had over 1,400 children enrolled in the Religious Education program (commonly called Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, CCD for short). The two biggest classes were sacramental years: second...
Many imagine joining the priesthood involves detaching oneself from society and entering a life of solitude and prayer. Monastic life might be similar, but not life at Saint John’s Seminary in Brighton, Massachusetts. According to its website, the Bostonian seminary...