01/05/03 Investing in the Catholic infrastructure
Trying to second-guess the direction of the economy in these troubled times has me reading the
newsletter from the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. ….Can we compare difficulties in the economy
to difficulties in the handing on of the faith and the growth of the Church?

02/02/03 Religion and healing:The World Day of the Sick
Last week, a canonical hearing was held to determine if a miracle took place in Chicago in 1972.
A young man was severely injured in a train accident and was clinically dead when brought to the hospital.
His desperate family prayed to God through the intercession of a religious sister who had died in Chicago
n 1918. The young man revived and lived until 1997.

02/16/03 Who’s in control? Secularism’s impact on Catholic life and institutions
During the past year, I gave a “mandatum” to about 20 Catholics who teach Catholic theology in the four
Catholic universities in the Archdiocese of Chicago. A “mandatum” is a recognition by the bishop that a Catholic
professor teaching Catholic theology n a Catholic university is doing so in communion with the Catholic Church.

03/02/03 The Church’s Lenten journey: through death to life, from sacrifice to joy
The Lenten journey begins on March 5 this year and will last for 40 days until we arrive at the celebrations
of Holy Week and Easter. It begins always on Ash Wednesday with the reminder that we are dust and will return to
dust. Created from the dust of the earth before he sinned, Adam returned to that dust at his death, for death is the
consequence of sin, of separation fromthe ever-living God. Jesus, the New Adam, passes freely through death so that,
having conquered sin and death, he can restore us to eternal life

03/16/03 Two saints and three bishops
Every March, the Church marks the feasts of St. Patrick and St. Joseph, two saints who were not only personally friends
of the Lord but who played roles of utmost importance in the life of the Church. This March, this particular Church of
Chicago marks the ordination of three new auxiliary bishops, priests who are constantly striving, as are we all, to be friends
of the Lord and who will be playing a role of significant importance in the life of the Church.

03/30/03 Conscience and Confession: Coming back to God
About 80 years ago, the noted English journalist and thinker, G.K. Chesterton, came into the Catholic Church.
Surprised by his conversion, some of his friends asked him, “Why?” Chesterton answered, “To get my sins forgiven.”

04/13/03 Why every Holy Communion is an Easter celebration
Practicing Catholics are to receive Holy Communion at least once each year, and this receiving of the Lord is
normally to take place during the Easter season, i.e., in the weeks between Easter and Pentecost (Canon 920 of the Code
of Canon Law). The Church encourages those who are spiritually prepared to receive Communion each time they participate
in the Eucharist; but the minimum requirement to be in good standing in the Church is to receive Communion at Eastertime.

04/27/03 Easter faith and other faiths
When we proclaim at Easter that Jesus is risen from the dead, our faith tells us and the world that now all things are
possible in him. This proclamation is not a subjective wish but an objective statement: death itself has been conquered.

05/11/03 The month of May and the Mysteries of Light
May is Mary’s month in Catholic piety. It is a time of May crownings and special devotions. We turn our attention to
Christ through Mary, his mother and ours. There are many reasons for this, not least of which is the obvious truth that
one privileged way to understand a man is to get to know his mother.

05/25/03 Will those who ‘raise hell’ end up there forever?
The feast of the Ascension of the Lord comes with Jesus’ promise that we will not be left orphans. The Lord
will send from his place at the Father’s side the Holy Spirit to give us life now and to keep alive in our hearts the
hope that Jesus will return in glory at the end of time.

06/08/03 Bishop Francis Kane Despite the wags, there is a truth about the Church
When we were ordained bishops on March 19, it was an experience which was truly humbling and awe-inspiring. Nonetheless, there were a few lighter moments. Just before the ceremony, one wag told me that once I was ordained a bishop I would never again have a bad meal or hear the truth.

06/22/03 Bishop Thomas J. Paprocki Poles in the Catholic Church and the Catholic Church in Poles
The close relationship between the Catholic Church and the people of Poland has been most obvious since the election of Cardinal Karol Wojtya as Pope John Paul II in 1978. His election as Supreme Pontiff has had a tremendous impact on the life of the Catholic Church for 25 years now. As George Weigel wrote in his voluminous biography of Pope John Paul II, “Witness to Hope”, “The pontificate of Pope John Paul II has been one of the most important in centuries, for the Church and for the world.

07/06/03 Bishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller Hispanics in Chicago: A dilemma to be solved or a richness to be savored?
Did you know the roots of multiculturalism in Chicago are more than 300 years old, a heritage that emerges even in name of our city? “Chicago” comes from an Indian word for the strong-flavored wild onion that flourished here 300 years ago.

07/20/03 The Lord’s Way: Sweden, Malta and Chicago
On July 23, the Church celebrates the feast of St. Bridget of Sweden (1303-1373).… the Pope has recently declared her one of the patrons of Europe, and there is new interest in the personal revelations she received from the Lord.

08/0303 Who wins at gambling?
Consider a true story: “Margie” is a 42-year-old bank officer, well-educated, a wife and the mother of a college-age daughter. She is also a compulsive gambler. Margie did not always have a gambling problem.

08/1703 Must one attack people to defend the faith?
I entered into public controversy on August 3 because I felt, and a number of people I respect confirmed my feelings, that a response had to be made to an inflammatory headline in a major Chicago daily. The headline read: “Pope Launches Global Campaign against Gays.”

08/31/03 Bishop Edwin M. Conway Graced: Sustained and grateful
I have mulled over in my thoughts several times how I could possibly express my gratitude to so many people who prayed for me and cared for me during my sickness and recuperation. I hope this article will help fill that purpose.

09/14/03 Is civility a Gospel virtue?
In recent months, Cardinal Avery Dulles lectured on Faith and Civility at a prep school in Columbus, Ohio, and Archbishop Timothy Dolan of Milwaukee addressed the Wisconsin state legislature, relating civility to habits which the Gospel respects and fosters. The attention of such respected Church leaders to civility indicates two things: l) they feel we are no longer a very civil society and, 2) being civil is not unrelated to living according to the Gospel.

09/23/03 Poverty and evangelization
On September 22, the Archdiocesan Office for Peace and Justice put together a program at Catholic Charities’ St. Vincent Center on N. LaSalle Street to announce the names of 20 local economic development and community groups being given grants this year from the Catholic Campaign for Human Development.

10/12/03 The Rosary: intertwining our lives with the lives of Jesus and Mary
Mothers see things in their children that others often miss. The Blessed Virgin Mary sees Jesus from a perspective that is unique. Praying with Mary, asking her companionship as we pray, opens up knowledge of Jesus we can have only through her and with her.