• Biography
• 2008 Columns

Make Jesus the center of your lives

DECEMBER 21, 2007 | In a few days, in churches across the world, Christians will celebrate the birth of Jesus. Thousands of children hand-in-hand with parents will go to visit the crib.

Teach your children to be generous

DECEMBER 14, 2007 | At our most recent meeting in Baltimore, the U.S. bishops approved a document aimed at teenagers, titled, “Stewardship and Teenagers: The Challenge of Being a Disciple.”

The frenzied Christmas shopping season might be a good time for parents to start putting some of the bishops’ suggestions into practice. Advent is not merely a time for shopping. It is supposed to be a time of spiritual preparation for the coming of the Lord.

Sexual abuse is not just the church’s problem

DECEMBER 7, 2007 | A few weeks ago, the Associated Press published a three-part series revealing the extent of sexual abuse of children in America’s public schools — and how often the abusers are quietly fired and allowed to move to other school districts where they continue to commit the same crimes.

The series apparently did not receive widespread play. Most of our nation’s newspapers did not deem it worthy of the same attention-grabbing headlines that were given to the priestly sexual abuse scandal when it was first reported in the Boston Globe in 2002.

Ever since then, unfortunately, the stereotype persists that sexual abuse is a problem found only in the Catholic Church.

Find your path to God

NOVEMBER 23, 2007 | Did you know we have more than 75 spiritual movements in the archdiocese?

We have Marian movements such as the Legion of Mary and the Schoenstatt apostolate. We have youth movements such as Encuentros Juveniles (Youth Encounters) and Amor en el Principio (Love in the Beginning). We have spiritual renewal movements such as Cursillo and Charismatic Renewal. We have prayer groups based on Ignatian spirituality and fraternal organizations such as the Knights of Columbus. We have service organizations such as the Council of Catholic Women and professional associations such as the Catholic Lawyers Guild. We have groups for young adults such as TEC (To Encounter Christ) and Castos por Amor (Chaste for Love).

Blessed, not entitled

NOVEMBER 16, 2007 | What will you be giving thanks for at your Thanksgiving table this year? Your life? Your health? Your family? Your friends?

If we really think about it, the things we most value are not our material possessions. The car, the boat, the house, the jewelry, the furniture, the designer clothes — all of what we have purchased — pales in comparison with what God has given us.

United by faith, even in death

NOVEMBER 9, 2007 | The church begins the month of November with back-to-back celebrations: the feast of All Saints on Nov. 1, and the feast of All Souls on Nov. 2. These feasts go together because, as we recite in the Creed every Sunday, we believe in the “communion of saints.”

New cardinal: good news for the South

NOVEMBER 2, 2007 | Pope Benedict XVI has appointed the first “Southern” cardinal, Archbishop Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston. By “Southern,” of course, I mean that he represents that geographical region of our country, from Florida to Texas south of Washington, D.C.

Food, water not ‘extraordinary’

OCTOBER 26, 2007 | There was much discussion a few years ago about whether people in a “persistent vegetative state” should be given food and water by artificial means.

Celebrating La Voz's 25th

OCTOBER 19, 2007 | The psalmist prays to God, "Teach us how to count our days so that we will attain a heart of wisdom" (Ps 90:12). As we begin the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the archdiocese, we also pause to celebrate the 25th anniversary of our archdiocesan Spanish newspaper, La Voz.

Grasping the true miracle

OCTOBER 12, 2007 | People are hungry for God. They thirst for the Lord.

Never was that more evident than at St. Brendan Parish a few weeks ago, where thousands filed through the Blessed Sacrament chapel to see what many described as miraculous: the shadow of the Holy Family reflected on an altar linen.

Let the celebration begin!

OCTOBER 5, 2007 | This weekend we will kick off the yearlong celebration for the 50th anniversary of the founding of the archdiocese. We certainly have come a long way, from a sleepy tourist town to a bustling international metropolis, from mission territory for Irish and Spanish priests to native vocations representative of all the cultures and languages that now make their home in south Florida.

Sin and Consequences

SEPTEMBER 28, 2007 | Those who wonder why Catholics confess their sins to a priest, rather than privately to God, need look no further than a recent newspaper article: “Sex scandal leaves unseen victims.”

Impressed by the book, 'Jesus of Nazareth'

SEPTEMBER 14, 2007 | Anyone thirsty for deep insights into Scripture should purchase Pope Benedict XVI’s phenomenal new book, “Jesus of Nazareth.”