Reflections – Contemplatio
Awakening to Resurrection All Around Us
There are times when we allow ourselves to become almost numb to the continual miracles of life, death, and resurrection that constantly surround us in our day-to-day living. The multitudes of distractions in our fast-paced world can rob us of what nature also can teach us. We are just leaving the barren season of winter […]
With Mary in Sorrow
Station of the cross, Saint Symphorian church of Pfettisheim, Bas-Rhin, France. XIXth century. In today’s liturgy, there is a recommended second collect prayer referring to the sufferings of Mary during this time before holy week. We heard the priest say, “Give your Church the grace to imitate the Blessed Virgin Mary devoutly in contemplating the […]
New Life is Possible
I’d like to begin with the responsorial psalm that preceded Claire’s reading: “With the Lord there is mercy.” I hold on to that, because when I look at the world-at the news, at daily life-mercy can feel in short supply. And yet the psalm assures us: with the Lord there is mercy and fullness of […]
How Am I Blind?
Sister Mary Ann Collins, OP, of the Sisters of Saint Dominic of Blauvelt, offered the following reflection on John 9:1-41 during Evening Vespers for the Fourth Week of Lent. Have you ever looked at someone and not really seen them? I’m reminded of my first day ministering in a maximum-security prison for women. Although I […]
EPISODE 4 – Voices of New Hope
In this episode, we meet New Hope Manor alumni Barbara and Lisa, who reflect on their journey of recovery and the profound influence of Sisters Maureen Conway and Patricia Conway. Founded in 1970 by Father Daniel Egan, New Hope Manor is a residential treatment program for women seeking freedom from substance use. While many helped […]
Where is Your Mountain?
In today’s readings, we hear God tell Abram to go forth, leave his home, family, and all he knows. In the second reading, Saint Paul admits that there will be hardship, but we will receive strength from God. The account of the Transfiguration in Matthew’s Gospel (Ch.17) may seem so extraordinary that it is difficult […]
Led Into the Desert: From Ego-Drama to Theo-Drama
Kieran Keenan, STAC ’24, MS in Ed, ’26 It’s great to be with all of you. I recognize some familiar faces from STAC’s feast day Mission Moment program a couple of weeks ago. I had the privilege of sharing my experience walking in the footsteps of St. Dominic during my trip to Fanjeaux, France. And […]
Ash Wednesday 2026
From the earliest days of Christianity, the Church has commemorated the forty days preceding Our Lord’s public life as a season of transformation for His faithful followers, during which we are encouraged to follow His example of prayer and fasting. During His desert experience, Jesus was presented with temptations that were both physical and psychological, […]
Guided by the Star
“Nations shall walk by your light, and kings in your shining radiance.” Today’s Feast of the Epiphany is the feast of the manifestation, as we know, of Jesus-of God, the Christ child-to all the nations, all the nations walking in the light. And in the Gospel that we read, that Father read this morning, the […]
Humble Love
Tonight, we celebrate the most improbable mystery of all time. The Scriptures remind us of the human genealogy of the birth of a special child, promised through many generations. What was not expected was the manner in which this long-anticipated event would take place. For in ages past, humankind was-and still is-impressed with might, power, […]