Msg. Pope on a Retelling of “The Pearl of Great Price” and “The Woman at the Well”

“[This video] is a kind of retelling of the parable of the pearl of great price, and also a bit of the story of the Woman at the Well.

“The parable of the pearl of great price is a brief one: Jesus said, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it. (Matt 13:45-46).

“And as for the Woman at the Well, that story is too long to reproduced here but the pertinent facts are that a woman comes every day to a well that symbolizes the world. And that well gives water, but a kind of water that keeps her thirsty. Every day she has to come back for more with her water Jar. Jesus asks her to consider how the well (i.e. this world) cannot really satisfy the God-sized hole in her heart, that He alone can ultimately fulfill her deepest longing. After leading her through stages of faith and repentance, Jesus brings her to the point that she leaves her water jar behind to go and tell others of the joy she has found in Christ.”

In a recent commentary, Monsignor Charles Pope (pastor of Holy Comforter-Saint Cyprian Parish, Washington, DC) offered a video that approximates a retelling of both of these parables.

To access Msgr. Pope’s complete post, please visit:

Msgr. Charles Pope: “The Pearl of Great Price” and “The Woman at the Well” beautifully retold in a short animated video (26 APR 13)

Reflection Starter from Aristotle

“Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but we rather have those because we have acted rightly. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.” – Aristotle

American Wetlands Month

This May is the 23rd observance of American Wetlands Month, an event designed to celebrate the vital importance of wetlands to the Nation’s ecological, economic, and social health and to educate Americans about the value of wetlands as a natural resource.

For more information about this observance, please visit:

EPA: May is American Wetlands Month: Learn! Explore! Take Action!

Background information:

EPA: Wetlands

USGS: National Wetlands Research Center

USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service: Wetlands Reserve Program

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: Natonal Wetlands Inventory

National Day of Prayer

Today, 2 May, is this year’s National Day of Prayer, the 62nd annual observance of this event. This year’s theme is “Pray for America” and is based on Matthew 12:21 (“In His name the nations will put their hope.”).

The National Day of Prayer is an annual observance held on the first Thursday of May, and it is a day in which people of all faiths are invited to pray for the nation. It was created in 1952 by a joint resolution of the United States Congress (Joint Resolution 382 on 17 April 1952), and signed into law by President Harry S Truman (Public Law 82-324; 66 Stat. 64 - 17 April 1952).

The National Day of Prayer is part of the nation's heritage. Since the first call to prayer in 1775, when the Continental Congress asked the colonies to pray for wisdom in forming a nation, the call to prayer has continued through the country's history, including President Lincoln’s proclamation of a day of “humiliation, fasting, and prayer” in 1863. There have been 136 national calls to prayer, humiliation, fasting, and thanksgiving by the President of the United States from 1789 to 2010).

In 1988, the law was amended by Congress and signed by President Reagan to permanently set the day as the first Thursday of every May (Public Law 100-307). Each year since 1952, the President has signed a proclamation, encouraging all Americans to pray on this day.

In previous years, millions of people have united in prayer at thousands of events from coast to coast, and it looks like this will be true this year as well. Events are scheduled in each state (including at least 18 in Rhode Island).

For President Obama’s National Day of Prayer Proclamation, visit:

President Obama: National Day of Prayer Proclamation

For more information about this observance, please visit:

National Day of Prayer

Thank You, Lord

Thank you, Lord, for the ability to walk and for opportunities to walk in relaxing settings.

Catholic Communication Campaign

Catholics throughout the United States are invited to support Church communications through contributions to the Catholic Communication Campaign (CCC) annual collection. This collection, which will be taken up in most parishes during the weekend of 11-12 May, supports national and international media projects. Fifty percent of the collection targets local media efforts, including print publications, television and radio programs, and digital initiatives.

“The projects funded by the Catholic Communication Campaign allow the Church to spread the Gospel message in the digital environment,” said Bishop Joseph J. Tyson of Yakima, Washington, chairman of the U.S. bishops’ CCC subcommittee, in a prepared statement. “The bishops firmly believe in the importance of these Catholic media projects, which allow the Church to evangelize within the modern communications world.”

The campaign recently supported communication efforts surrounding the election of Pope Francis and an immersion program in the Middle East for Catholic journalists to learn firsthand the concerns of the Middle East’s Christian community.

Another funded project, in collaboration with the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, is developing a digital safety guide for Roman Catholic and Orthodox Christian families to stay informed and responsible in their digital activities. The guide offers practical tips for protecting children and families, an overview of the challenges of becoming literate in digital communications, and theological foundations for responsible Internet browsing.

Background information:

Catholic Communication Campaign

Reflection Starter from St. Francis of Assisi

“It is no use walking anywhere to preach unless our walking is our preaching.” – Saint Francis of Assisi

Air Quality Awareness Week

This week, the week of 29 April-3 May, is being observed as Air Quality Awareness Week. This year’s theme is “Air Quality, Important at Every Age.”

For more information about this observance, please visit:

EPA: Air Quality Awareness Week

NWS: Air Quality Awareness Week

Background information:

AIRNow: Air Quality Index (AQI) – A Guide to Air Quality and Your Health

AIRNow: You Can Help Keep the Air Cleaner — Every Day!

For more information about the current and forecast air quality in New England, please visit:

EPA: New England Air Quality Index

EPA: Connecticut Air Quality

EPA: Maine Air Quality

EPA: Massachusetts Air Quality

EPA: New Hampshire Air Quality

EPA: Rhode Island Air Quality

EPA: Vermont Air Quality

Saint Joseph the Worker

Today the Church celebrates Saint Joseph under the title of Saint Joseph the Worker – as I have noted previously, one of my favorite observances of the Church year. It is special to me because it underlines in a real way that when a person does his/her work, he/she is continuing God’s work of creation and ministering to His people.

“Whatever your task, work heartily, as serving the Lord and not men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward; you are serving the Lord Christ.”- Colossians 3:23-24

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Prayer for the Spirit of Work (source unknown):

God our Father, Creator and Ruler of the universe, in every age you call us to use and develop our gifts for the good of others. With St. Joseph as our guide, help us to do the work you have asked and come to the rewards you have promised. Please grant this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

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A good reflection on the feast of Joseph the Worker is by Deacon Keith Fournier (of the Diocese of Richmond, Virginia). This reflection also includes thoughts from Pope John Paul II’s “Gospel of Work” and some thoughts from Pope Benedict XVI’s “Caritas in veritate”. (Deacon Fournier is, among other attributes, a graduate of the Franciscan University of Steubenville, a lawyer, and the founder of Catholic Way and Common Good.)

To read Deacon Fournier’s reflection, visit:

Deacon Keith Fournier Reflection: Feast of St Joseph the Worker: Affirming the Dignity of All Work (30 APR 12)

For further reflection:

Pope John Paul II’s Encyclical on Human Work, promulgated 14 September 1981:

Pope John Paul II: “Laborem exercens” (on Human Work)

Pope Benedict XVI’s Encyclical, “Charity in truth”, promulgated 29 June 2009:

Pope Benedict XVI: “Caritas in veritate” (Charity in truth)

Pope John Paul II: “A Scriptural Vision of Work” (This is chapter 4 of The Good Stewards: Practical Applications of the Papal Social Vision of Work, by Michael Naughton (published by University Press of America in 1992.)

John Paul II: A Scriptural Vision of Work

P.S. There is a shrine dedicated to Saint Joseph the Worker in Lowell, Massachusetts. Its web site may be visited here:

St. Joseph the Worker Shrine, Lowell, MA

Thank You, Lord

Thank you, Lord, for the gift of work that continues Your work of creation and/or ministers to Your people.

Rebecca Hamilton on Life as a Journey Toward Heaven

“I have a friend who told me once that her goal in life was to go to heaven.

“I found this a little startling at the time. I had always thought of going to heaven as more of a by-product than a goal. My view was something like ‘you follow Jesus and trust Him and going to heaven is a by-product of that.’

“I had never considered that heaven might be a goal that you aimed for all on its own. However, this particular friend is such a good Christian and so deeply wise in ways that I am still learning that I never questioned that there was a truth I didn’t understand in what she had said.”

In a recent commentary, writer (and Oklahoma State Representative) Rebecca Hamilton reflected on heaven as a destination of a life lived in Christ.

To access her complete post, please visit:

Public Catholic: Pope Francis: The Whole Journey of Life is a Journey of Preparation for Heaven (27 APR 13)

Reflection Starter from St. Thomas Aquinas

“Distinctions drawn by the mind are not necessarily equivalent to distinctions in reality.” – Saint Thomas Aquinas