Evangelization and Contemplation: the Gifts of Pope Francis and Saint Teresa by Rev. Tracy O'Sullivan, O. Carm | Dorrance Publishing Co., 2019 (82 pp). Seeing a world in desperate need for evangelization, especially in his work as a long-time inner city pastor, Father Tracy begins with the call for a new evangelization seen in Pope Francis’ 2013 encyclical, Evangelii gaudium (the Joy of the Gospel) and similar-themed documents from Pope Paul VI (Evangelii nuntiandi) and Pope John Paul II (Redemptoris ...

While I was pastor of St. John’s in Leonia, New Jersey, the principal of the parish school died from cancer. It was a heavy blow to all those who knew her. Sr. Cecile Marie Begin was a tremendously gifted woman, who was very approachable to the students yet able to maintain discipline. After a long day in the school, she taught a preparation class for Confirmation. On the weekends she served as a Eucharistic minister ...

It started so quietly with reports coming out of China of a virus that was rapidly spreading through that nation. Then it moved into South Korea and other nations in the area before making itself felt throughout the world. Quickly, the planet was in the grip of the coronavirus that had no cure, as of yet. It became the only thing reported on network news, sometimes in a dramatic fashion. Fear grew as quickly as ...

I have always loved John’s passage of the Samaritan woman. There is a beautiful dialogue between Jesus and the woman who comes to gather water at the hottest time of the day. She expects to find no one at the well. She wants no one at the well, since that makes her life easier. She has endured enough comments and gossiping from others over her failed relationships. She has perhaps been used by others to ...