Echoes - A forum of Catholic thought. The Opinion section of thebostonpilot.com

June 27, 2025Faith

Some Bible verses are more challenging than others. "So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect" (Mt 5:48) is a case in point. Jesus speaks those words so matter-of-factly -- as if we could ...

Culture & Events

Into the Deep: The tradition of the Blessing of the FleetRebecca Maitland

This past Corpus Christi weekend, June 21-22, Archbishop Richard G. Henning led "Into the Deep," the first Eucharistic procession by sea in the history of the Archdiocese of Boston. The procession began ...

Faith & Family

Missionaries: Helping People Stay Afloat Before and After DisastersMaureen Crowley Heil

Early in my ministry with The Pontifical Mission Societies (TPMS), I had the opportunity to travel to Ecuador with other TPMS leaders. We visited with missionaries who worked with street children in ...

Faith & Family

'We hold these truths'Archbishop Richard G. Henning

In the Catholic tradition, moral theology speaks of the principle of subsidiarity. This principle reminds that large institutions and governing bodies should not overwhelm or dominate smaller institutions. ...

Culture & Events

Behind every statistic is a storyMichael Reardon

My Saturday morning routine consists of waking up early, lacing up my hiking shoes, popping in the AirPods, and heading out for a walkabout. These are not the royal variety of a walkabout where royalty ...

Faith & Family

To Rome for the palliumFather Robert M. O'Grady

The pallium that Archbishop Henning will receive on June 29 is "a white circular band of wool two inches wide, with two weighted pendants, front and back, worn around the neck, shoulders and breast, ornamented ...

Faith & Family

Solidarity: The path between nationalism and globalismDr. R. Jared Staudt

We are one human family, yet we are born as members of a particular nation. Christians are reborn as members of Christ's Mystical Body that unites believers worldwide. Given these bonds, we might ...

Faith & Family

Do I need to attend my territorial parish?Jenna Marie Cooper

Q: Recently, I heard a priest speak on the importance of supporting your "territorial parish," which he made sound like whatever parish happened to be in your neighborhood. But I have been an active member ...

Spirituality

The great three promisesBishop Robert Barron

One thing I have always savored about the late spring and early summer is that it is ordination season, that time when young men enter into the diaconate and priesthood. It was a particular joy for our ...