TELL THE WORLD THE GOOD NEWS

                We have all been troubled by the events in the Church during the past year that the clergy sex abuse scandal has caused. April 29th is the feast of St. Catherine of Siena, who we honor at the end of the month. St. Catherine was born in 1347 and became a lay Dominican who learned to read and write as a teenager. She would go on to write over four hundred letters to close associates, as well as influential political and Church leaders, including the pope. Today she is considered a doctor of the Church. As a young woman, she traveled to Avignon in France to tell Pope Gregory XI, who was living there at the time, to return to Rome and dedicate himself to rebuilding the Church.

                St. Catherine lived at a time of deep division and corruption among Christians and Church leaders. Her advice to herself and others was “be who God meant you to be, and you will set the world on fire.”

                Most of us won’t be called to act as dramatically as St. Catherine, but our love for the Church can inspire us to do the work that Christ has called us to do, that is be true to the Gospel.

                We have just begun the Easter season, a season of grace and renewal for all Church members as we give witness to the living and loving Christ in our world.