Author name: Jessica Franks

As Fathers’ Day approaches, I’ve been thinking about what a blessing it is to be a father to my three kids.  Thankfully, I’ve met a lot of great fathers in my life who have been examples to me of what it means to love and sacrifice for their families, foremost being my own dad.  He

Today is the United Nations World Refugee Day1. Whether a person is still living as a refugee or has returned to their home, displaced within their own country or to another, seeking asylum status or not, still possessing a nationality or “stateless”, they possess a common “well-founded fear of persecution due to race, religion, nationality,

Sunday is the Feast of Corpus Christi – many of us have not received the Eucharist in physical form for a few months – but in offering this as a sacrifice for the well-being of others, I believe that this also gives me the opportunity to be in solidarity with those who are not able

Acts of the Apostles 2: 1-11; I Cor. 12:3b-7, 12-13; John 20: 19-23. Pentecost Sunday is here and what a memorable Easter Season we have had! Churches closed, non-stop media bombardment about the virus and ‘stay at home’/house arrest orders throughout the United States. What can an event in Jerusalem nearly two thousand years ago

Happy Mother’s Day to all the women who have been blessed with this special role in life. There is much that joins most mothers around the world, none greater than wanting the best for their children. Many moms here in the United States have been adding another job title, that of ‘teacher’ for their own

This Easter is unlike any other in our lives. There will be no community egg hunts. We won’t gather with family and friends for traditional meals. We won’t be together at Mass to sing Alleluia, and most of us won’t have the opportunity to receive the Body Of Christ. Many are afraid, some are very

Gen. 1:1-2:2; Gen. 22: 1-18; Ex. 14:15-15:1; Is. 54: 5-14; Is. 55: 1-11; Bar. 3:9-15, 3:32-4:4; Ez. 3: 16-17a. 18-28 Easter has arrived but have we? As I write many dioceses are suspending public celebrations of the Eucharist to prevent the spread of the corona virus. Will we be gathering as one to celebrate this

Readings: Isa. 52: 13-53; Hebrews 10: 16-25; John 18: 1-19:42. Good Friday once again. Why do we celebrate or remember a death so long ago? Why do we immerse ourselves in liturgies so somber and quiet? After all this is very much an interruption from our daily life; the hectic pace, the quest for productivity,

Readings: Exodus 12: 1-4; 11-14; I Cor. 11: 23-26; John 13: 1-17; 31b-35 “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you,” said Jesus in today’s Gospel reading but what does it mean? Love is a much-used word in our world and its popularity can lead to

Today is the World Health Organization World Health Day1, with an emphasis this year on celebrating the work of nurses and midwives during this International Year of the Nurse and Midwife2. It is hard to imagine a more appropriate theme for the day of observance this year than to celebrate the vital and selfless work