By Michelle DiFranco With the season of Lent almost upon us, I’ve thought about what I’m going to either “give up” or “do more of.” Over the years, this time has brought up feelings of inadequacy, since I usually fail at some point during the season. So, recently, I’ve tried taking a different approach in [...]
By Patricia Majher To honor His sacrifice, we make one of our own every Friday during Lent From the dawn of Christianity, Friday has been set aside as a day of abstinence to honor the memory of Christ suffering and dying on that day of the week. But when did that day become associated with [...]
Story by Joe Pisani I’ve decided to try a new approach this Lent. It will be a lot harder than giving up sweets but now quite as hard as giving up cigarettes. Fortunately, those days are long gone because I gave them up for good a long time ago. As I was leafing through my [...]
By Pete Burak Starting Ash Wednesday, Catholics enter the season of Lent, where we are called to fast, pray, give alms and prepare for the joyful celebration of Easter. Many of us, however, approach Lent simply as an uncomfortable time of reluctantly “giving up x” or “doing more y.” We just try to survive Lent [...]
By Shelley Wolf Pope Francis has proclaimed Dec. 8, 2020 to Dec. 8, 2021 as a “Year of St. Joseph” to celebrate the 150th anniversary of St. Joseph as Patron of the Universal Church. There are many who are happy to take the opportunity to honor this sometimes overlooked saint, especially right here in the [...]
Story by Shelley Wolf Father Diego Jimenez wants everyone to know that Jesus is beside them during the pandemic. As pastor of All Saints – Todos los Santos Parish in Waterbury, he has found a way to draw people closer to Christ, where they can find comfort and peace, even if they are unable to [...]
By Shelley Wolf Canon Joel Estrada, pastor of St. Patrick Parish and Oratory in Waterbury, is celebrating the Epiphany of the Lord throughout the month of January. Using chalk, incense and holy water, he blessed and inscribed the entrance to St. Patrick Church on Jan. 6, and now he is driving around the city to [...]
St. Maria Catherine Kasper felt deeply called to religious life as a young girl, but delayed pursuing the call to take responsibility for her family. Born in Dernbach, Germany, in 1820, Catherine missed school frequently, completing only two full years of formal education. Her writings reveal that she was “just a little girl” when experiencing [...]
By Junno Arocho Esteves In an Apostolic Letter dedicated to sacred Scripture, Pope Francis said that, even today, Christians can learn new things from the countless translations of the Bible that exist. The variety of translations of the Bible in the world today “teaches us that the values and positive forms of every culture represent [...]
By Jim Berlucchi When our work team has to make business decisions, we often struggle and get stuck, sometimes because of emotions and strong opinions. Is there a better way? There is. But it requires that your colleagues genuinely value three things: rationality, knowledge, and humble curiosity. Aristotle called humans rational animals. Emotions have their [...]