Our Guest Columnists Columns
The Georgia Bulletin features guest columns and spiritual reflections from laypeople and clergy from the archdiocesan community.
Our Guest Columnists
“Growing in grace and cherishing life”
BY BISHOP BERNARD E. SHLESINGER IIIEnglish | En Español
How we value life will determine the culture in which our children are being formed. We champion the cause for life when we preach a consistent life ethic that values each person created in the image and likeness of God no matter how small or how guilty.
Previous Columns by Our Guest Columnists
Sustaining our priests with prayer
For us Catholics, centered on the reality of Christ in the Eucharist, priests are much of the binding that holds our family of faith together. In a very direct and personal way, they oversee the life of faith that we Catholics participate in.
By BISHOP JOEL M. KONZEN, S.M.If I were the devil
In 1965, Radio Legend Paul Harvey recorded a piece titled “If I Were the Devil.” It became his most famous recording. Here’s my version.
By LAURETTA HANNON, CommentaryPublished: December 20, 2023
History-making event on the horizon: National Eucharistic Congress
As the fruits of Rescue Atlanta and various initiatives around this archdiocese continue to unfold, we now set our sights on a national event—the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis on July 17-21, 2024.
By ANDY LICHTENWALNER, Special to the BulletinPublished: December 6, 2023
Is there hope within the young?
Last month, I went to the Catholic Center at the University of Georgia (UGA) to celebrate the Eucharist and participate that evening in a session of questions and answers with the students.
By BISHOP BERNARD E. SHLESINGER IIIFulfilling faraway needs in the name of Christ
I have just returned from visiting a Catholic school in Ghana, West Africa, that is more than a school. It is also a health center where people from the surrounding area, as well as the students, can receive proper health care.
By BISHOP JOEL M. KONZEN, S.M.A power humans were not meant to wield
This past Oct. 10, the 21st Annual World Day Against the Death Penalty, Archbishop Gregory Hartmayer joined other faith leaders to ask our state elected officials to change the standard of proof for those with intellectual disabilities in capital cases.
By BISHOP JOHN N. TRANThe ‘happy hour’ is the ‘holy hour’
The holy hour with Jesus will ultimately lead us to happiness. During this time of Eucharistic Revival, let us allow Jesus to speak to any feelings of hopelessness that we may have.
By BISHOP BERNARD E. SHLESINGER IIIAlmost drowning
My older sisters were supposed to keep an eye on me. We were all having fun, playing with a bunch of kids in a lake that summer. At some point I start drifting away from the others and can’t get back.
By LAURETTA HANNON, CommentaryPublished: September 17, 2023
An extraordinary World Youth Day
I was pleased to be part of the gathering of young people recently at World Youth Day in Portugal. I had also attended the 2019 WYD in Panama. About 150 pilgrims from the Archdiocese of Atlanta were able this year to make the trip to Portugal.
By BISHOP JOEL M. KONZEN, S.M.Mother Teresa’s essential lessons for living
From the day Mother Teresa rode on a train in India in 1946 and heard Jesus Christ tell her, “Come be My light,” her life was a steady answer to that call until her death Sept. 5, 1997.
By AMY WELBORN, OSV NewsPublished: August 22, 2023
The importance of education
As students begin a new school year, I feel a bit out of place. This is the first time since I was ordained a priest 31 years ago that I don’t have to prepare for a new school year.
By BISHOP JOHN N. TRANThe hidden untapped power of Natural Family Planning
There is so much hidden power in the mystery of God’s designs that they simply have to be authentically and prayerfully practiced to be understood within the heart.
By MONIQUE DAVIS, Special to the BulletinPublished: July 25, 2023
Inside prison with St. Michael and St. Teresa of Avila
I traveled to the state women’s prison to give a writing workshop. To hopefully encourage the ladies to reflect on and write about their lives and even gain some insights and clarity.
By LAURETTA HANNON, Special to the BulletinPublished: July 7, 2023
Deaf to the cries of martyrs
Scripture urges us to hear the cries of our brothers and sisters around the world. In Galatians 6: 10, we read: “As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.”
By MSGR. RICHARD LOPEZ, CommentaryPublished: June 13, 2023
The courage to surrender in faith
There is group of seven women from the Seven Sisters Apostolate in Atlanta who prays for me every day. One of them frequently asks me, “For what should I pray for you today?”
By BISHOP BERNARD E. SHLESINGER IIIDirecting prayer to holy helpers
Not too long ago, Bishop Shlesinger wrote in his column about Mother Mary Alphonsa, a founder of the Hawthorne Dominicans, the Sisters who oversee Our Lady of Perpetual Help Home in Atlanta. He mentioned that the process for making her a saint has begun and asked for prayers to that end.
By BISHOP JOEL M. KONZEN, S.M.Sharing our gifts nurtures the faith
A vibrant parish is one where clergy and laity work side by side to build up God’s kingdom in their corner of the world. It is one where we are all stewards of the gifts given to us, whether in word, worship, through service, to build up community or in any number of ways.
By BISHOP JOHN TRAN, CommentaryDreaming of a future full of hope
There is no subject that I enjoy preaching on more than the mercy of God. This is because I know that without God’s mercy, we are devoid of hope for an eternal remedy to the maladies which afflict us.
By BISHOP BERNARD E. SHLESINGER III, CommentaryA priest walks into a Waffle House
It sounds like a joke, but a priest really did walk into my Waffle House that morning. He was an arresting figure–clad in a black cassock, exuding a commanding military air and, well, he radiated.
By LAURETTA HANNON, CommentaryPublished: April 3, 2023