I have recently been reading a book entitled "In Solitary Witness: The life and death of Franz Jagerstatter" by Gordon Zahn. Zahn was a professor of sociology at Loyola University, but more importantly,

As foreign ministers of the 29 member nations of NATO, gathered in Washington, D.C., on April 3-4 to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the founding of this largest military alliance

Signs of summer are everywhere! Sunshine, patio furniture taken out, the barbecue being fired up, shedding of jackets and winter coats - elements that everyone looks forward to.

The Easter Vigil includes the Liturgy of baptism with the blessing of baptismal water and the renewal of baptismal promises.

The early Christians in England had a celebration for mothers on the fourth Sunday of Lent to honor the mother of Christ. It later included the "Mother Church" and on this day people were expected to return to the mother church from which they would get their strength from the spiritual power which gave them life and protected them from harm.

In March and April of this year, Catholic Relief Services, in partnership with Catholic Charities, visited the offices in New York state of virtually every member of Congress and both senators.

From the moment that God pronounced the words, "Let there be light," a perpetual spring of generosity has inundated the world. God set the energy of his self-donating love and divine revelation in motion.

On June 16, 2017, the Vatican raised the liturgical memorial of St. Mary Magdalene to the rank of a liturgical feast and published a new preface for her, characterizing her as "the apostle of the apostles."

We are living through very difficult times. Many are living paycheck to paycheck. As we became more aware of, with the government shutdown and so many families not even being able to eat. Many in our society are homeless, including families

For five days at the beginning of February, almost 600 Catholics joined together in Washington to pray, learn and advocate for the least among us. This was the Catholic Social Ministry Gathering of 2019, and it was attended by many of us from Catholic Charities, Catholic Relief Services, the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, the USCCB, St. Vincent de Paul Society and a host of others.

In the more than 30 annual Washington, D.C. Marches for Life I have participated in, I always think the current march is the largest ever. But since accurate figures are hard to come by, it usually comes down to taking a good guess.

If you asked the average Christian if he or she is a disciple of Jesus, I think the answer would be "of course I am." But how many of us really know what that means? Or what it entails?

Each liturgical season has its own sacred landscape traversed by prayer, ritual and tradition. The Church stands at the threshold of a new season with challenging terrain, the desert of Lent.

When I had my first birthday, my parents thought that I would need a companion in the form of a dog. So for my first birthday present, I got a little beagle puppy and we ended up naming him Oscar.

According to the National Retail Federation's annual survey, consumers in the United States are expected to spend an average $143.56 on Valentine's Day this year. Total spending is expected to reach $19.6 billion this year, an increase from last year's $18.2 billion. All the treats, cards, flowers and affection can be traced back to a nearly forgotten saint, Valentine.

Many voices, today, are calling for more women to function in decision making in the Catholic Church. A helpful place to begin is St. Paul's letters. In Chapter 16 of his Letter to the Romans, Paul mentions 26 persons, including nine women, three of whom are presented here.

Two contemporary events, one past and one upcoming, prompt this reflection. On Oct. 12, 2018, 11 Jews in the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh were slain as they gathered for Sabbath services. This evil was met with a righteous outcry from almost all Americans, rightly so. Meanwhile, on the 25th of this month we Christians celebrate the Conversion of St. Paul. One can ask what would Paul's thoughts be on the radical anti-Semitism occurring in a synagogue named "The Tree of Life?"

Each January busloads of Catholics travel to Washington, D.C., to sorrowfully commemorate the widespread legalization of abortion by the Supreme Court decision of Roe v. Wade. Each year folks pray, march and advocate for an end to the atrocity that abortion has been in our country for 45 years. Their actions should bring us to a continuing awareness of the attacks on life in our country.

Our diocese is blessed with the opportunity to have welcomed so many refugees and migrants from various parts of the world. Our children have the opportunity of learning from the various immigrants and refugees who speak over 84 languages. What an awesome opportunity to learn these various languages as we teach English as a second language.

With the start of a new year, a season of unlimited and fresh opportunities for growth is opening up before us. On a weekly basis, most of us become informed about these great prospects for human and spiritual development either through our weekly parish bulletins or digital media. Filled with obvious invitations to intensify our spiritual lives, our parish bulletins and the digital platforms to which we have become accustomed contain both obvious and hidden nuggets of holiness and wisdom that can lead us to a personal experience of epiphany.

My column will be brief this month, as I want to leave space for an important statement from the priests who serve our diocese as vicars or members of the Presbyteral Council.

The Presbyteral Council and the Vicars Forane met with Bishop Richard Malone on Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2018. The priests committed themselves to work together with Bishop Malone to move forward in the healing process of the victims of clergy sexual abuse, the healing of the divisions within our diocese, and hope-filled steps towards the spiritual renewal and healing of our brother priests and all in our diocese. With these goals in mind, the following actions steps are being initiated:

Take this simple quiz: 1. What is Catholic Relief Services? 2. What year did CRS begin, and why? 3. How many countries does CRS serve? 4. What are the guiding principles of CRS? 5. What three words used in the CRS logo define our purpose?

The gospel reading for this coming fourth Sunday of Advent recounts Mary's "hasty" visit to Elizabeth (Lk 1:39-45). Many reflections on this passage focus on Mary and rightly so since verse 42 is in the first part of our Hail Mary.

The poet T.S. Eliot once wrote, "Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far they can go." Taking a risk and entering the unknown begins a great adventure whose final destination is unknown and whose results cannot be calculated. God took a great risk and began a great adventure when he decided to send Jesus to the world.

Just the thought of Mass is very moving for many, but music is one of the many ways to give everything to God. Just closing your eyes and listening to the melody, listening to the lyrics and praying the song can make you at peace and aware that God is with you.

This Dec. 12, many throughout the world will join our Mexican brothers and sisters to celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. St. John Paul II named her Mother of the Americas.

Perhaps you caught some of the recent Plenary Assembly of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, held in Baltimore from Nov. 12 through Nov. 15.

The annual Retirement Fund for Religious collection will be held Dec. 8-9 in the Diocese of Buffalo. Coordinated by the National Religious Retirement Office (NRRO) in Washington, the appeal benefits 31,000 elderly Catholic sisters, brothers and religious order priests.

Wondering just how Catholics can live as missionary disciples? Pope Francis' suggests that we do it by visiting with those at the margins. In other words, we learn to be missionaries by spending time in the company of those with whom church insiders can find it most difficult. If we want our parishes to thrive and not merely survive, we need to pay attention to those who we find hardest to understand. Why? Because that is where many of God's people are. Our purpose is to connect, welcome and engage them.

Two very different men, facing different sets of dire challenges with prophetic courage, faithfully journeyed along two different paths to the same destination: sainthood!

My name is Rebecca Young and I am a senior at the Buffalo Academy of the Sacred Heart. My time on Youth Board so far this year has had a meaningful impact on my life already.

In 587 BC, the Babylonians destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem and many Israelites were exiled to Babylonia or they fled to Egypt. Just as the people were referred to as the "House of David," they were also considered the "House of God" - both the building and the community were in ruins. Eventually, the Persians, under Cyrus, defeated the Babylonians, and the Israelites in Babylonia were allowed to return to the environs of Jerusalem. The task of those returnees was to rebuild their lives, their economy and their society, as well as their religious practice and the Temple of their God.

It was a proud moment for the Diocese of Buffalo when 15 deacons were ordained this past September at Our Lady of Victory Basilica in Lackawanna. Upon entering this sacred space the awareness and immensity of God's presence is captivating. Those gathered to celebrate the ordination struggled to recall a time in recent memory when there were so many prepared and ready to serve the Lord and his Church.

As a priest of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Buffalo, I am concerned with the healing of both adult and child victims of abuse. I desire the reconciliation and the healing of the divisions in our Diocese. I long for the sanctification of the Clergy and the growth in holiness of all of the People of God. With all of this in mind: Here are three reasons why I support the Most Reverend Bishop Richard J. Malone to remain as bishop of Buffalo and lead us through the next two and a half years.

Last month, on Sunday, Oct. 14, the Church canonized two giants of the 20th century Church - St. Paul VI and St. Oscar Romero.

Our church in the Diocese of Buffalo and throughout the United States is already diverse and becoming more diverse every day. This past October, we gathered with over 3,500 Catholic Hispanics leaders from around the United States for the V National Encuentro working toward a better way to serve this growing population. Looking at ways we can all work together as we move forward into the future of the Church in the United States.

The Book of Psalms contains the "Word of God" in the words of humans. Of the 150 Psalms in our biblical book, more than half of them are psalms of lament. Unfortunately, these psalms, at least the lament sections, are not used commonly in our Sunday lectionary and so we may have lost touch with this dimension of prayer; we need to recover it.

As we move through this extremely difficult time in the Church's history, at the forefront of my mind each day and foremost in my prayers are all victims who have suffered at the hands of clergy they trusted. My heart hurts and I share in the anger, grief and disappointment felt by so many. This crisis has shaken our community of believers to its core. But as Jesus said in Matthew 19:26, "With man this is impossible, but with God, all things are possible." Those words couldn't be truer. We as human beings are completely inept to do anything on our own, but with God, there is hope.

It's that time of year again, when many children, teens and adults fortunate enough to have access to formal education, head back to school to learn about such things as math, science, history and the arts.