Old Saint Mary's Cathedral + Chinese Mission

Open Doors Often, when people look to religious institutions to quench their spiritual thirst, they find that the door is closed. Signage such as, "No one in the office." "Come back later." "Leave a message and someone will contact you." "See our web site." And when institutions do offer to help, their solution is one size fits all. So that door "Religion" does not seem to open to quench your spiritual thirst. Now right next store their is another door that is always r

Here is a repeat of the article written by Fr. Ron Franco back in December. It is appropriate as we prepare to celebrate the Conversion of St. Paul, Patronal feast of the Paulists. Sunday, December 18, 2016 19th-Century Missionary for the 21st-Century Church On this date in 1819 Isaac Hecker (who eventually went on to found the Paulist Fathers in 1858) was born to immigrant parents in New York City. From an early age, he already expressed a belief in God’s special providen

The Divine Ordinary There is a great insight in the idea that the divine would show up in a human being. In the case of Jesus, he spent some thirty years in an ordinary way of life, nothing worth writing home about, or writing about at all. The insight is that God shows up in ordinary life, more than in wow moments. You don't need a big spiritual or mystical experience to be God touched. God is not so dramatic as we might want or think. For that matter, most of the drama

The Trip To Bethlehem So why did Mary go with Joseph to Bethlehem when she was due to have her baby? A census made her have to go? Try again. Mary did not have to go for a census. Only the males had to do it. The Roman culture did not count women for tax purposes in this conquered land. It was an 85 mile trip. The smart and safe move would have been to stay with relatives who would help her with the birth. Beats a stable as a hospital. Her going made no sense. It w