“You can talk turkey for chicken feed but a little bit of scratch is all you need!” As we approach Thanksgiving, I'm reminded of this old tv car dealership commercial jingle that we used to hear when I was a kid in New Orleans.

At the Last Supper when Jesus instituted the Eucharist he chose to use two elements, bread and wine. The images are now so deeply ingrained in our consciousness that we never stop to ask, why bread and wine? Among all the things Jesus might have chosen, why these two?

“Linda, would you like to join me tomorrow in giving out candy this Halloween?” - I asked my former late neighbor a few years ago on Halloween Eve as she was walking her wonderful Labrador retriever dog, “Stormy,” in our neighborhood.

As we are just about to enter into the season of fall and the leaves are beginning to drop, I'm reminded of a poignant moment in my past.

One of the great religious stories in history is the biblical story of the Exodus, the story of a people being set free from slavery, passing miraculously through the Red Sea, and finding themselves standing in freedom, on a new shore.

The historical roots of the Black America are intimately intertwined with those of Catholic America. As Black American and Black Catholic it is time for us to reclaim our roots and to shoulder the responsibilities of being both Black and Catholic.

Members of the African American Catholic Community of the Diocese of Baton Rouge have expressed their concern of not being able share their gift of blackness in their African American parishes. Because of our commitment as the Office of Black Catholics and living out our baptismal call, we are voicing their concerns so as to feel like the Catholic Church is a homeland for all people.

“I didn't know what to write about,” said Johnny to his mother a few months ago as he was puzzled from his “What I hope to do this Summer” high school English assignment before school ended.

I am so happy and joyful to see, in my life time, that Black Catholics men and women are on the way to becoming saints. These brothers and sisters show us how to persevered in the midst of racism and rejection.

Prayer is most needed just when it seems most useless. Michael J. Buckley, one of the major spiritual mentors in my life, wrote those words. What does he mean by them?

This Memorial Day is very special for me, as I reflect upon the innumerable ways in which veterans have contributed so much to all of us in this country and around the world.

The San Joaquin Valley in California is known for its abundance as a provider of many great agricultural products – especially fruits – for this country and beyond!

I work and move within church circles and find that most of the people there are honest, committed, and for the most part radiate their faith positively. Most churchgoers aren’t hypocrites. What I do find disturbing in church circles though is that many of us can be bitter, mean-spirited, and judgmental in terms of defending the very values that we hold most dear.

In the past when I attended the healing Mass at St. Mary's Assumption in my beloved hometown of N'Awlins, Father Harry Grile, C.Ss.R., former executive director for the Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos Center, shared this story about blooming where you are planted and finding treasure "where y'at?!"

With Holy Week upon us, I recalled in the past when I had received a call from a Secretary of a Church I had attended with the invitation to be one of the 12 folks to get their feet washed by the Pastor on Holy Thursday!