PERSPECTIVES
SUPERINTENDENT'S MESSAGE
New school year brings new faces, technology and student needs
I cannot remember a year in Catholic education that holds so much promise and excitement as the 2013-14 school year. The 23 diocesan schools are ready to welcome students back; our diocesan vision statement, the "Covenant to Educate," has kept our focus on six key areas of Catholic identity: teaching, …
REFLECTION
Seminarian's story
I first felt called to the priesthood when I was 15 years old. I was an altar server at St. Bernard's parish in Cohoes at the time and I had a powerful experience of God working in my life. That is when I began questioning whether or not God was …
REFLECTION
Teaching the teachers
Pope Francis recently said that "catechists are witnesses, not teachers." Those in catechetical ministry - catechists, youth ministers or teachers in our Catholic schools - do present the content of the faith. Charged with bringing others to a fuller understanding of the Gospel message and the Church's living it out, …
REFLECTION
TWO VIEWS: Catholic educators are catechists
Have you noticed the new Mass dismissals that we have now with our new Roman Missal? Two of my personal favorites are: "Go in peace, glorifying the Lord with your life," and, "Go and announce the Gospel of the Lord."
REFLECTION
Convocation kicks off St. Bernard's year
It was a festive evening when students, faculty, graduates and friends of St. Bernard's School of Theology and Ministry in Albany gathered at nearby St Vincent de Paul Church to hear Bishop Howard J. Hubbard speak at the opening convocation for the academic year.
REFLECTION
Schenectady's Carmelites: More than memories
It is almost eight years since our beloved Carmelite sisters left the Albany Diocese to join with the Carmelite sisters in Pittsford, N.Y. With permission of the Vatican and the respective Bishops Matthew Clark of Rochester (now retired) and Howard J. Hubbard of Albany, the move made possible a new …
REFLECTION
Where were the Christians?
My grandparents were German Jews who escaped the Holocaust. People ask, "Where were Christians during the Holocaust?" I am grateful to brave Christians such as Dietrich Bonhoeffer, St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross and St. Maximilian Kolbe who stood up to the evil of Nazism and gave their lives as …
REFLECTION
Teaching the faith to second-graders
Catholic school teachers play a special role. A catechist is someone who is entrusted with the role of sharing our faith with young children, by word and example. As I think about how that is reflected in my daily activities in my second-grade classroom, I see how lucky I am …
REFLECTION
The Eucharist, part IV: sacrifice and memory
In our final reflection on the Eucharist, we can explore some questions about the Eucharist as a real and true remembering (or memorial) and as a real and true sacrifice. Hopefully, this series has deepened our understanding and appreciation of the incredible gift that the Eucharist is, and will enhance …
SEMINARIAN'S DIARY
Vocations: Choose or be chosen?
When I told my professional friends that I was leaving veterinary medicine to discern a vocation to the priesthood, their comment was often, "That would be a good second career choice for you. I can see you as a priest."
PERSPECTIVE
Intimacy isn't complicated
This is often a delicate topic to discuss, but being a 53-year-old Catholic wife of 30 years, I'd like to take a shot at it tactfully.
REFLECTION
The Eucharist, part II: a sacred meal and food
Last week, we began our reflections about the Eucharist and the Mass by taking an overview of them; now, we'll explore the Eucharist and the Mass as a meal - a sacred or special meal.
SEMINARIAN'S DIARY
Why seminarians pray
When giving vocation talks to groups of teenagers, I have often asked them what they thought priests did on a typical day. The consensus was that priests spent most of their time in the church and in prayer.
REFLECTION
Prison ministry and the pope
It so happened that the publication of Pope Francis' recent interview in America magazine overlapped with the annual retreat/conference of New York State's Catholic prison chaplains. The likelihood of those two things fitting together in such a meaningful way can only be described as the work of God.
REFLECTIONS
Learning to say no
Honors English students from Catholic Central High School in Troy offered the following thoughts on a recent school assembly...
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