Archbishop Leonard P. Blair As we begin a new year of grace, the Year of Our Lord, 2020 A.D., I wish all our Transcript readers a happy and healthy new year, both spiritually and materially. Faith tells us that the creation and consummation of everything rest with God. The world and each [...]
Archbishop Leonard P. Blair Soon, the season of goodwill and peace on earth will be upon us, and it will be celebrated at many levels, some profoundly religious, and some not religious at all. I’d like to propose something simple. Each of us sets aside 15 minutes of complete peace and quiet [...]
Archbishop Leonard P. Blair At every Mass, one of the prayers proclaims that those present are “in communion with Francis our pope and Leonard our bishop.” Full communion with the pope and the Diocesan Bishop are an essential element of our Catholic faith. One way of expressing the spiritual bond between the [...]
Archbishop Leonard P. Blair On Sept. 23, we celebrated the memorial of St. Pio of Pietralcina, popularly known as Padre Pio, a great spiritual figure of the 20th century for whom one of our parishes is now named. During his lifetime, St. Pio was known far beyond the borders of his native [...]
Archbishop Leonard P. Blair The public advocacy that is made on behalf of our Catholic schools is featured in this edition of the Transcript, and a new academic year is under way. I have often spoken about the importance of Catholic education and the need we all have to support it. I [...]
Archbishop Leonard P. Blair THIS MONTH’S FEATURE STORY on the work of the Connecticut Catholic Conference highlights an important aspect of our engagement in the world as people of faith. According to the social teaching of the Church, responsible citizenship is a virtue and participation in the political process is a moral obligation. [...]
Archbishop Leonard P. Blair June is traditionally devoted to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. One of the earliest recollections I have of my Catholic faith from grade school is the practice of the “First Friday” devotion to the Sacred Heart. As children, we went to monthly confession before the First Friday Mass in [...]
Archbishop Leonard P. Blair During this month of May dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, I would like to reflect a bit on her “yes” to God at the Annunciation, when the angel Gabriel appeared to her with the message that she was to conceive and bear a son. Mary’s “yes” is the [...]
Archbishop Leonard P. Blair For those of us Christians who live in the Northern Hemisphere, the meaning of Easter that we will soon be celebrating is reflected in nature. After a dark, cold and often dreary winter, Easter comes in spring. The earth is about to be garlanded with new life, the song [...]
Archbishop Leonard P. Blair As archbishop of Hartford, I am in a position to get an overview of the life of our local Church in all its many aspects, whether it be worship, charity, education or stewardship. We do not always do a good enough job of “letting our light shine,” as Jesus [...]