Monsignor Brouwers’ Homily – September 2, 2018
The commentator of a program I watched on television recently started with a very interesting observation. The program he was introducing recounted the 40,000 years of humanity and how religion has always provided us with a way of believing and belonging. But, he started the program by noting that some people today are trying to do something that no known society has ever successfully done. They are trying to live without religion.
Can we live without religion? “Of course, we can,” many people assert today. In fact, the fastest growing group […]
Some Reflections on the Recent Grand Jury Report
As we continue to reel from the repercussions of the Grand Jury Report on the sexual abuse by priests and the cover-up by bishops in six dioceses throughout the state of Pennsylvania, I would like to offer some heartfelt reflections. As I mentioned in my homily last Sunday, when I think of my fellow clergy who have done such terrible things, I think of what our Lord once said: “It would be better for him to have a great millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the […]
Erin Lively Memorial Bench
Many of you remember Erin Lively, who passed away recently after battling cancer with exemplary grace and faith. Many of you joined in praying the rosary on her behalf on Wednesday evenings in our grotto over the past several months. And, many of you contributed to provide a memorial bench in the grotto in her honor. The bench has been placed in the grotto and, like Erin, it is very inspirational. I want to take this opportunity to thank all the contributors and […]
Welcome Sister Theresa Ho Nguyen, LHC
As the academic year begins in schools throughout the region, I ask you to welcome a student who has come to live in our convent as she begins her studies at Villanova University. Sr. Theresa Ho Nguyen, a member of the Lovers of the Holy Cross community, arrived just last week and immediately began her studies in Christian Spirituality and Sacred Scriptures. Sr. Ho is originally from Son Tay, a suburb of Hanoi, Vietnam. She entered the Lovers of the Holy Cross community […]
Monsignor Brouwers’ Homily – August 26, 2018
Ten years ago, when I returned to Rome to become Cardinal Foley’s special assistant and the chancellor of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, someone lent me a book to read. It had just come out and he thought I might find it interesting as I returned to work, once again, at the Church’s headquarters. As I read it, I was reminded of the time I had spent time studying the Italian language the first time I was sent to Rome some 30 years ago. One of […]
The Gospel of John “Bread of Life” Discourses
If you were paying attention to the recent Sundays’ Gospel accounts, you might have noticed that they have been taken from the Gospel of John. If you noticed that, you might have thought it odd since this year, when we are in Year B of the three-year liturgical cycle, the Sunday Gospel is ordinarily taken from the Gospel of Mark. Since Mark’s Gospel is rather short, however, we have more Sundays than we have Marcan pericopes so periodically throughout the year, readings are […]
Monsignor Brouwers’ Homily – August 19, 2018
I’m sure you’ve heard about the Grand Jury’s report on six dioceses throughout Pennsylvania that was made public earlier this week. I haven’t read the entire 900-page report but, like you, I’m still reeling from reading the portions of the report that I have found in the newspapers. I’m still processing all of this material; some of the incidences recounted in the report were truly horrific. When I think of my fellow clergy who have done such terrible things, I think of what our Lord once said: “It would be […]