Our Guest Columnists Columns
The Georgia Bulletin features guest columns and spiritual reflections from laypeople and clergy from the archdiocesan community.
Our Guest Columnists
“Simpler, Peaceful Christmas Revealed In A Manger”
BY DEACON JAMES GAUDIN, CommentaryEnglish
Those of us who are older can recall memories of Christmases past where there was less business, less noise, less complexity. Nostalgically, we long in vain for a return of that kind of Christmas. I can recall wonderful, peaceful memories of Christmas at home in Alabama with family and close friends, and at church. Memories […] English
Previous Columns by Our Guest Columnists
Keeping A Balance At Christmas
Christmas season in this country is different from what I used to know back in my home country when I was growing up. It is more festive here: more lights glittering, more shopping and spending, more secular and more commercialized. It is more “joyful” here, too, even though not all the joy is for the […] English
By DEACON ANTONIUS ANUGERAH, CommentaryPublished: December 23, 2010
Gratitude/Thanksgiving
Diogenes Laertius, in his “Lives of Eminent Philosophers,” quotes Aristotle as asking, “What soon grows old?” His answer, “Gratitude.” As we prepare to celebrate our national day of Thanksgiving, we might ask ourselves how thankful, how grateful we really are for all that God has given us, and whether or not our gratitude has grown […] English
By REV. DOUGLAS K. CLARK, STL, CommentaryPublished: November 25, 2010
An Extraordinary Witness
The following column was written when the seminarian was serving at the Cathedral of Christ the King in Atlanta this past summer. It is reprinted with permission from Catholic News Agency. This summer one of my regular duties is to visit the hospital down the street from the Cathedral of Christ the King. I have […] English
By REV. MR. JOSHUA T. ALLEN, CommentaryPublished: November 11, 2010
Pope Requests Worldwide Prayer For Human Life
Pope Benedict XVI will begin Advent by celebrating a solemn “Vigil for all nascent [newly developing] human life” at St. Peter’s Basilica on Saturday, Nov. 27. In what some are calling an unprecedented request, the Holy Father has asked that “all Diocesan Bishops (and their equivalent) of every particular church preside in analogous celebrations involving […] English
By MARY J. MCCLUSKY, CommentaryPublished: November 11, 2010
Death Through The Eyes Of A 7-Year-Old Boy
My mother, a quiet pillar of long-suffering and determination and grandmother to our four children, died recently. She lived a good and valiant, but difficult, life due to the relentless march of multiple sclerosis. Our children visited her often, and on Sundays, we would bring Communion to my parents as my mom was bedridden for […] English
By CHRIS HARVEY, CommentaryPublished: October 28, 2010
One Year Later: Thank You
It was a year ago, July 7, 2009, that I received a call from Archbishop Gregory that left me speechless, surprised and confused. “The Holy Father appointed you to be my auxiliary bishop,” he said. I was silent. When he prompted me to say something, my only response was, “Wow!” I’m not sure what it […] English | En Español
By BISHOP LUIS R. ZARAMA, CommentaryIn The Most Unexpected Of Places
Editor’s note: The Georgia Bulletin blog debuted in June. Since then staff reporters and editors have been posting commentaries and stories related to their work at the newspaper and other aspects of life at the blog, which can be found at www.georgiabulletin.blogspot.com. The following commentary was posted on Sept. 1. Last Sunday, as my wife […] English
By STEPHEN O'KANE, CommentaryPublished: September 16, 2010
Heartfelt Treasures Came From Katrina Experience
My family and I spent Katrina in an enclosed corridor leading to the stairwell of my fourth-floor office, a decision that with the clarity of 20/20 hindsight ranks somewhere on the top 10 list of “Mistakes I Have Made in My Brief Sojourn on Earth.” There’s a line describing a person who turns an easy […] English
By PETER FINNEY JR., CommentaryPublished: September 2, 2010
Is There A Need?
Fifty years ago this week, the Democratic National Convention, meeting in Los Angeles, nominated Sen. John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts for the office of President of the United States. For the second time in its history, the Democratic Party nominated a Catholic as its candidate for the chief magistracy of the republic. The first Catholic […] English
By FATHER DOUGLAS K. CLARK, STL, CommentaryPublished: July 22, 2010
The Spirit Of ’76: Life, Liberty, Pursuit Of Happiness
As we approach the Fourth of July, Independence Day, Americans cannot help but be thankful for the rich blessings that God has bestowed on the United States of America since that day in 1776, when the Declaration of Independence was signed in Philadelphia. That great document based the people’s right to alter or abolish a […] English
By FATHER DOUGLAS K. CLARK, STL, CommentaryPublished: July 8, 2010
Holy Week: A Week To Remember
Each Holy Week is always the same as far as its structure and order. Despite its regularity, my experience of Holy Week is never the same. As we relive (live again) and remember the events of Christ’s suffering, death, and resurrection, they affect us differently and they reveal to us new insights every year. Christ […] English
By FATHER JOSEPH J SHAUTE, CommentaryPublished: April 1, 2010
Carrying The Flame Of Christ To Others
Celebrating the Holy Week liturgies is a special joy for me. I had the advantage of attending the secondary school attached to the primer center for liturgical training in Ireland, Glenstal Abbey. There all Catholic liturgical rites are observed to perfection. Each year I have tried to pass on that learning and celebrate the paschal […] English
By FATHER JOHN C. KIERAN, CommentaryPublished: April 1, 2010
Childhood Memories Of An Easter Pilgrimage
What the Triduum brings about each year for me is a flood of memories from my childhood and adolescence. I fell in love with the Liturgy as a child and its crown was Triduum. In many ways, these sacred days were foundational for my vocation as a priest. I’d like to share some of those […] English
By FATHER PAUL W. BERNY, CommentaryPublished: April 1, 2010
Becoming Catholic—Reflections Of A Former United Methodist Clergywoman
On Pentecost Sunday last year, I officially became a Catholic. My former parishioners, Protestant friends and colleagues, even family who know me so well, would ask, “Why?” Interested and curious, they listened in earnest attention as I repeated the simple version: My becoming Catholic is a natural result of my spiritual and intellectual journey. How could […] English
By PATTY RYLE CLAY, CommentaryPublished: April 1, 2010
The Endless Opportunities Of The Empty Tomb
Something happened to Jesus. Something happened to his disciples, too. After the crucifixion of Jesus, the disciples went into hiding. The evangelist John describes some of the events that occurred “early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark.” Mary Magdalene first came to the tomb to anoint the dead body […] English
By FATHER GREGORY HARTMAYER, CommentaryPublished: April 1, 2010
There But For The Grace Of God…
Even on a good day, to venture into Haiti is to embrace stillborn dreams, aborted development, and the hardscrabble face of a crucified Christ. To venture into Haiti after this most recent earthquake was to walk a spell toward Golgotha like Simon of Cyrene, following a road that leads toward death and ongoing tremors of […] English
By TOM REICHERT, CommentaryPublished: February 18, 2010
AD+Vents
Adults and school children responded to a request from The Georgia Bulletin and sent in their thoughts on the season of Advent. Prayerfully we prepare, anxiously we await, celestially we celebrate! Lord, we thank you for all that we hold in our hearts. We, who are worried about so much, look forward to your coming […] English
ByPublished: December 10, 2009
The Coat of Arms of His Excellency, The Most Reverend Luis Rafael Zarama, D.D. Auxiliary BIshop of Atlanta and Titular Bishop of Bararus
The episcopal heraldic achievement or bishop’s coat of arms is composed of a shield with its charges (symbols), a motto scroll and the external ornamentation. The shield, which is the central and most important feature of any heraldic device, is described (blazoned) in 12th century terms, that are archaic to our modern language, and this […] English
By DEACON PAUL J. SULLIVAN, CommentaryPublished: October 1, 2009
Reflection On The Year For Priests
This past August 15, the Feast of the Assumption of Mary, marked 40 years since our Lord called me into his service and the service of the church. Forty years, 28 as a priest—that’s remarkable. When God called me to serve him as a religious brother I never imagined he would extend that call to […] English
By FATHER RICHARD WISE, CommentaryPublished: September 17, 2009