Fr. Alan Wharton

  - Over the course of Holy Week, the Mass readings present us with Isaiah's four songs of “servant of the Lord.” In today's reading, we get a foretaste of the evil that…

- The Apostle Peter gives hope to those who rejected Jesus: “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of your sins; and you…

  - Our Lord Jesus Christ, who is Love and Truth itself, ardently desires that we be one in Him, as He is one with the Father (John 17:21). To be "of one…

  In bringing the unborn Jesus to the house of Zechariah and Elizabeth, the Blessed Virgin Mary was the instrument of the Baptist's sanctification in the womb, and of Elizabeth's consolation and joy.…

  Drawing from the Old Testament reading Fr Alan explains that God’s plan for us may involve hardship, but His providence sustains us. Then in reflecting on the Gospel, Jesus' words help us…

  Just as our heavenly Father "makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust," so are we called to love…

  The Gospel episode of Jesus asleep in the boat as the storm rages and the apostles panic is emblematic of our weak faith and very human response to apparent doom. Yet Our…

The life of this Queen, Widow and Third Order Franciscan was marked by a gift for bringing about peace between people at odds with each other. The peace she radiated came from her…

  Fr. Alan gives us an introduction into the heroic lives and witnesses of the two Franciscan martyrs Sts. John Jones and John Wall. Ave Maria! Mass: Sts. John Jones and John Wall…

  The harmony men desire, peace among brothers, can only come through obedience to our Creator, the heavenly Father common to all sons of Adam. Jesus asked: “Who is my mother? Who are…

  As St. John Damascene observes, if the tree is known by its fruit, Sts. Joachim and Ann could not be better represented by the fruit of their Holy Matrimony: their daughter, Blessed…

  The incalculable grace of the Portiuncula indulgence, blessed by Jesus and Mary, requested by St. Francis and granted by Pope Honorius III in 1216, is totally compatible with the great mercy of…

  St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, better known by her civilian name, Edith Stein, provides an example of how faith and reason combined with love can lead one from unbelief to a…

Fr. Alan observes the remarkable history of the Korean Church . The first baptisms in 1592 at the hands of invading Japanese soldiers led to a 200-year period of growth and persecution without…