Over the years, in reading the lives of the saints, I have noted that they have tried to find God’s will in their lives. When they found it, they did all they could to follow it. There are many different paths to holiness—to which we are all … [Read more...]
How to be a good confessor
Editorial, April 2011
April 1, 2011 by Fr. Kenneth Baker, SJ
God became man in Jesus Christ to save us from our sins. To accomplish that until his Second Coming, he established his Church with the power of the keys and animated her with the gift of the Holy Spirit. The new life of grace that he … [Read more...]
Holiness of priests
Editorial, June 2010
June 1, 2010 by Fr. Kenneth Baker, SJ
Recently I was re-reading Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen’s book Those Mysterious Priests (1974), published five years before his death on December 9, 1979. In Chapter 7 he talks about how the priest continues the Incarnation of God by sharing in … [Read more...]
Fr. Rawley Myers, R.I.P.
A faithful, publishing priest. Editorial, March 2010
March 1, 2010 by Fr. Kenneth Baker, SJ
Fr. Rawley Myers, who lived in Colorado Springs, Colorado, is the leading author of articles in HPR during my editorship, 1971-2010. For forty years he was a regular contributor of articles, homilies, book reviews and letters to the editor. … [Read more...]
Year for Priests: Presence and not production
In our obsession with worldly standards of success, we forget the message of the littleness of the Gospel.
March 1, 2010 by Fr. Alvaro Delgado
We learn from the Church’s sacred Tradition and the Scriptures the sublime role the priest plays as a steward of God’s mysteries in the vineyard of the Lord, responsible for bringing the Good News of salvation to God’s holy people. Through t … [Read more...]
The Year for Priests
Editorial, August 2009
August 1, 2009 by Fr. Kenneth Baker, SJ
On March 16 in a talk to the Congregation of the Clergy Pope Benedict XVI announced that he was declaring a “Year for Priests” to begin on June 19, the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart, and to end on June 19, 2010. This special year dedicated t … [Read more...]
Praying with the Bible
Editorial, July 2009
July 1, 2009 by Fr. Kenneth Baker, SJ
At the Roman Synod on the Bible in October 2008, which I covered for HPR, the most common topic mentioned was the need to recommend “Lectio Divina” as a pious practice among the faithful. You have probably seen the phrase mentioned in rece … [Read more...]
The ingredient for priestly vocations
In order to fulfill their ideals and challenges, young people are in desperate need of priestly inspiration.
May 1, 2009 by Fr. Jacek Stefanski
It is truly uplifting to read about the great number of people who are received into full communion in the Roman Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil in so many parishes across the United States. This gives the Church a reason to rejoice and … [Read more...]
The Roman Synod of Bishops
Editorial, May 2009
May 1, 2009 by Fr. Kenneth Baker, SJ
About every three years I have published an article on a Roman Synod. They usually take place every three years. Representing HPR, I have covered twelve of them since 1971. This month I thought it would be helpful to explain briefly what a … [Read more...]
Light in the Darkness
SURPRISED BY CANON LAW: 150 Questions Catholics Ask About Canon Law. By Pete Vere and Michael Trueman (Servant Books, 28 W. Liberty Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202), ix + 126pp. PB $9.99.
April 9, 2009 by Book Reviews
This slender volume has earned the praise not only of such notables as Karl Keating and Father Peter Stravinskas but also of the Rev. Francis G. Morrisey, O.M.I. of the Canon Law Faculty of Ottawa’s St. Paul University. The 150 questions a … [Read more...]
Ultimate Issues in Politics
BECKET & HENRY: The Becket Lectures. By James J. Spigelman; foreword by George Cardinal Pell (St. Thomas More Society, GPO 282, Sydney, NSW 1043, Australia, 2004), 308 pp. US$35.00 + P&H.
April 9, 2009 by Book Reviews
(NOTEb Corresponding with the above address is apparently the only way to get this book, if it actually is still in print! Otherwise, check your local library - rjg) The account of Thomas à Becket’s murder in Canterbury Cathedral four da … [Read more...]
Catholic Priests in a Concentration Camp
CHRIST IN DACHAU. By John M. Lenz (Roman Catholic Books, P.O. Box 2286, Fort Collins, Colo. 80522, 1960/2005 reprint), x + 328 pp. BB $22.95.
April 1, 2009 by Book Reviews
Dachau is a small city of about 25,000 people in Bavaria, not far from Munich. A notorious concentration camp for so-called “enemies of the state” was built there by the Nazi government in 1933, the year Hitler took control. In 1957 while I … [Read more...]
The First Black Catholic Priest in the United States
FROM SLAVE TO PRIEST. By Sister Caroline Hemesath, S.S.F. (Ignatius Press, P.O. Box 1339, Ft. Collins, Colo. 80522; 1973/2006 reprint), 251 pages, HB, $17.95
April 1, 2009 by Book Reviews
This book is a reprint of 1973. The Rev. Augustine Tolton, ordained in 1886, was the first black Catholic priest in the United States. There were a few mulattos ordained slightly ahead of him, but he was the first fully black American to be … [Read more...]
Pope Benedict XVI
Editorial, April 2009
April 1, 2009 by Fr. Kenneth Baker, SJ
Last October I spent three weeks in Rome covering the synod on the Bible. During that time I was able to see Pope Benedict XVI at several events—Sunday Masses and Wednesday audiences in St. Peter’s Square. In April he will be 83 and will com … [Read more...]
Pastors and Stability of Office
The canonical provision for stability has been set aside in favor of the frequent changing of pastors as a positive good in itself.
March 25, 2009 by Fr. Mark A. Pilon
A common complaint heard from pastors and laity alike these days has to do with the frequent transfer of pastors from parish to parish.[1. Church petitions Vatican to keep priest,” Eileen E. Flynn, The Austin American Statesman, July 30, 2 … [Read more...]
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