Our gospel today concludes, rather matter‑of‑factly, with a description of the Holy Family’s return to their own town of Nazareth. Taken in isolation, it gives no hint of the momentous events that had just unfolded in the life of this little and poor family. Shepherds, angels, Magi, and the stirring witness of Simeon, and Anna […]

There is a significant difference between the person seeking a sign from God because he or she doesn’t fully trust God, and the person who seeks a sign in order to discern God’s will and intention. Gideon’s fleece was an instant of the latter, whereas Zechariah’s incredulity an example of the former. Between these two, […]

Being a nation of immigrants, the attempt to trace our ancestors and draw up a family tree is a popular one. However, in some cases the family tree can be a source of embarrassment as less than noble members are uncovered—members we might prefer to exclude from our ancestry. And yet, as we listen to […]

Approving an apparition of Mary as “authentic” comes only after careful and rigorous investigation by the Church. Our Lady’s appearance at Tepeyac was one that has been thus authenticated. However, there is a sense in which even authenticated Marian apparitions are inauthentic. By this I mean that visionaries never actually see Mary as she now […]