From The Pastor: 

Gaudete! Rejoice!

Gaudete! Rejoice!

December 16, 2019

Gaudete!—Rejoice!—is the name for the Third Sunday of Advent. The rubrics say the Advent penances and discipline are somewhat mitigated on this day. Gaudete Sunday is a respite, rather like one of those “film trailers” that give a tantalizing glimpse of what is to come. Even so, the sonorous hymns and rose colors of Gaudete Sunday are awkward vaudeville rather...


Fr. George Rutler

(Pastor of St. Michael's Church)

View Articles Father Rutler was ordained to the diaconate in Rome by His Eminence William Cardinal Baum in 1980 and received priestly ordination in St. Patrick's...

From The Pastor: 

On Letting the Light Shine

On Letting The Light Shine

December 11, 2019

As a rather observant child, I made a mental note of the fact that my maternal grandmother would ask me to “make a light” instead of asking me to switch it on. When she was a child, no one switched lights on.  At night, light was not had without effort, not in her English town nor in most places yet.  She...


Fr. George Rutler

(Pastor of St. Michael's Church)

View Articles Father Rutler was ordained to the diaconate in Rome by His Eminence William Cardinal Baum in 1980 and received priestly ordination in St. Patrick's...

Management That Makes A Difference: 

A story of gratitude and faith

A Story Of Gratitude And Faith

December 3, 2019

I am writing this note almost exactly one year, to the minute, since one of the most wonderful and powerful moments in my life.  A year ago, I was in Maryland at a hotel located along one of the many bays in the region.  After a client event, I had an extra day to write before heading home.  I decided...


Patrick Lencioni

(President, The Table Group)

Patrick Lencioni is the founder and president of The Table Group, and a prolific author of best-selling books on business management, particularly in relation to team...

" Recognized as a true pioneer in leadership and business, Patrick Lencioni is a New York Times best-selling author. "

From The Pastor: 

Advent’s Four Themes: A fool-proof remedy for superficiality

Advent’s Four Themes: A Fool-proof Remedy For Superficiality

November 30, 2019

Given the many theatres that are or have been within walking distance of our church on 34th Street, it is not possible to count the number of times stage curtains have come down on a final act. One block away from us is the theatre built by Oscar Hammerstein, to compete with the old Metropolitan Opera House up on Broadway...


Fr. George Rutler

(Pastor of St. Michael's Church)

View Articles Father Rutler was ordained to the diaconate in Rome by His Eminence William Cardinal Baum in 1980 and received priestly ordination in St. Patrick's...

From The Pastor: 

Christ the King

Christ The King

November 24, 2019

If from time to time you have a sense that all things held dear in both Church and State seem to be collapsing, you might find a comrade in the Irish poet William Butler Yeats: Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere The ceremony of innocence...


Fr. George Rutler

(Pastor of St. Michael's Church)

View Articles Father Rutler was ordained to the diaconate in Rome by His Eminence William Cardinal Baum in 1980 and received priestly ordination in St. Patrick's...

From The Pastor: 

Fascinating History: Our Founding Fathers and Catholics

Fascinating History: Our Founding Fathers And Catholics

November 18, 2019

Most of our Founding Fathers were not deeply informed about Catholicism, but they appreciated moral integrity when they saw it. When John Dubois, eventually the first resident Bishop of New York, fled the French Revolution, he lived for a while in the home of James Monroe. Patrick Henry taught him English, and Thomas Jefferson arranged for him to say Mass in...


Fr. George Rutler

(Pastor of St. Michael's Church)

View Articles Father Rutler was ordained to the diaconate in Rome by His Eminence William Cardinal Baum in 1980 and received priestly ordination in St. Patrick's...

How A Vision Can Become A Reality

How A Vision Can Become A Reality

November 14, 2019

In my last article we looked at forming and accomplishing your vision, more on that later, and not worrying about being a people-pleaser. This month we look at someone whose actions demonstrate she cares more about the truth and doing what is right rather than worrying about what someone will think or say about her actions. I am referring to...


Tim Von Dohlen

View Articles If you’ve met Tim, you know that his life was shaped by good values that were imparted to him by his parents and he...

From The Pastor: 

Jaw-dropping absurdity… and worse

Jaw-dropping Absurdity… And Worse

November 11, 2019

Life in New York City can be hard for anyone who has difficulty accommodating paradoxes. For instance, the same City Council that has just banned the sale of foie gras on the grounds that it involves cruelty to force-fed geese, previously made New York the first city to pay mothers from other states to come here for abortions. With all...


Fr. George Rutler

(Pastor of St. Michael's Church)

View Articles Father Rutler was ordained to the diaconate in Rome by His Eminence William Cardinal Baum in 1980 and received priestly ordination in St. Patrick's...

Ceo Learnings: 

BOOK REVIEW: Inviting God into Your Life

Book Review: Inviting God Into Your Life

November 6, 2019

Invite God into Your Life and into a world in desperate need of spiritual solutions for today’s challenges, a review of Rev William Watson, S.J.,’s Inviting God Into Your Life: A Practical Guide for Prayer. We live in turbulent times characterized by injustice, violence, and misinformation (what we use to call propaganda). Happiness and peace are elusive. Confusion abounds.  Author...


Thomas M. Loarie

(CEO, Bryologyx)

View Articles Thomas M. Loarie is a popular host of The Mentors Radio Show, the founder and CEO of BryoLogyx Inc. (BryoLogyx.com), and a seasoned corporate...

" Thomas Loarie is CEO of Bryologyx, a radio host of The Mentors Radio Show, and the former, seasoned and pioneering CEO of life science... "

From The Pastor: 

F for Fake: Nothing can compare to the unimaginable beauty of the soul transformed by grace

F For Fake: Nothing Can Compare To The Unimaginable Beauty Of The Soul Transformed By Grace

November 6, 2019

A 1973 film directed by Orson Welles was about forgers, and it turned out to be something of a forgery itself. Some of the information in “F for Fake” was itself faked. Later on, Welles claimed that this was deliberately done as a kind of joke, and he took to calling it an “essay” and “docudrama” rather than an authentic...


Fr. George Rutler

(Pastor of St. Michael's Church)

View Articles Father Rutler was ordained to the diaconate in Rome by His Eminence William Cardinal Baum in 1980 and received priestly ordination in St. Patrick's...

Management That Makes A Difference: 

Reimagining Work for a Community in Crisis

Reimagining Work For A Community In Crisis

November 5, 2019

Anyone who knows me understands that among the books I’ve written, one of my favorites is The Truth About Employee Engagement. My affinity for this book is the simplicity and efficacy of its message: employees only need three things from their managers to love their work.  Really.  And if that doesn’t sound unbelievable enough, those three things are absolutely free....


Patrick Lencioni

(President, The Table Group)

Patrick Lencioni is the founder and president of The Table Group, and a prolific author of best-selling books on business management, particularly in relation to team...

" Recognized as a true pioneer in leadership and business, Patrick Lencioni is a New York Times best-selling author. "

From The Pastor: 

Will you Stand with Christ today, tomorrow?

Will You Stand With Christ Today, Tomorrow?

October 31, 2019

If “religio” is translated as being bound to a particular outlook on life, then everyone is religious. The saints simply have bound themselves to true religion. Today that is a socially unacceptable assertion, but “political correctness” is itself a form of religion. Early Christians were condemned as atheists because they refused to worship the gods approved by the government. The...


Fr. George Rutler

(Pastor of St. Michael's Church)

View Articles Father Rutler was ordained to the diaconate in Rome by His Eminence William Cardinal Baum in 1980 and received priestly ordination in St. Patrick's...

Reject People-Pleasing, Follow these Stages to Achieve Your Vision

Reject People-pleasing, Follow These Stages To Achieve Your Vision

October 31, 2019

It is time for us to look at some of the things influencing good, God-fearing people in the United States and to identify what is holding them back from taking action to accomplish an objective or preventing them from being people who don’t just know their faith but live their faith outwardly. Two of these factors are: 1) fear of...


Tim Von Dohlen

View Articles If you’ve met Tim, you know that his life was shaped by good values that were imparted to him by his parents and he...

From The Pastor: 

Things You Didn’t Know about St. John Henry Newman

Things You Didn’t Know About St. John Henry Newman

October 19, 2019

Last week’s canonization of Saint John Henry Newman will have universal influences that I trust will include our own parish. It should be remembered that his achievements, for the most part, hardly seemed successful at the time. He might even be called a patron saint of the disappointed. Newman was so nervous in his university examinations that he got a...


Fr. George Rutler

(Pastor of St. Michael's Church)

View Articles Father Rutler was ordained to the diaconate in Rome by His Eminence William Cardinal Baum in 1980 and received priestly ordination in St. Patrick's...

From The Pastor: 

Beautiful Reflections on Saint John Henry Newman

Beautiful Reflections On Saint John Henry Newman

October 16, 2019

More than forty years ago, I told a wise Protestant theologian that I had been reading the Apologia pro Vita Sua of John Henry Newman (1801-1890). He warned me that it is “a dangerous book.” That was just the sort of advice that makes a young thinker all the more eager to read it. And so I did, and so did countless others...


Fr. George Rutler

(Pastor of St. Michael's Church)

View Articles Father Rutler was ordained to the diaconate in Rome by His Eminence William Cardinal Baum in 1980 and received priestly ordination in St. Patrick's...

Ceo Learnings: 

BOOK REVIEW: Warren Buffet: “In My Office, You Will Only See My Dale Carnegie Certificate!”

Book Review: Warren Buffet: “in My Office, You Will Only See My Dale Carnegie Certificate!”

October 15, 2019

If Warren Buffet hadn't conquered his fear of public speaking, he may never have become the billionaire we admire today. He was "terrified" of public speaking and took specific steps to overcome his fear. He took the Dale Carnegie course and today, his certificate is the only “degree” that he displays in his office. He is a strong believer in...


Thomas M. Loarie

(CEO, Bryologyx)

View Articles Thomas M. Loarie is a popular host of The Mentors Radio Show, the founder and CEO of BryoLogyx Inc. (BryoLogyx.com), and a seasoned corporate...

" Thomas Loarie is CEO of Bryologyx, a radio host of The Mentors Radio Show, and the former, seasoned and pioneering CEO of life science... "

Ceo Learnings: 

BOOK REVIEW: Fake News, Smears, and the Failure of Modern Media’s Stewardship of Honest Reporting

Book Review: Fake News, Smears, And The Failure Of Modern Media’s Stewardship Of Honest Reporting

October 7, 2019

Book Reviews of Sharyl Attkisson’s The Smear and Howard Kurtz’s Media Madness. Journalism is in my blood. My grandfather was editor of the Chicago Times and then served as Executive Editor of the Chicago Sun-Times after the Times was acquired by Marshall Field Enterprises. My mother followed in his footsteps with a local newsletter, SCOOP, which focused on the actions...


Thomas M. Loarie

(CEO, Bryologyx)

View Articles Thomas M. Loarie is a popular host of The Mentors Radio Show, the founder and CEO of BryoLogyx Inc. (BryoLogyx.com), and a seasoned corporate...

" Thomas Loarie is CEO of Bryologyx, a radio host of The Mentors Radio Show, and the former, seasoned and pioneering CEO of life science... "

From The Pastor: 

A Time for Boldness and Truth

A Time For Boldness And Truth

October 7, 2019

At the start of October, life in Manhattan recovers from those late September weeks when the opening of the United Nations General Assembly ties up traffic, even blocking many streets, and takes over many hotels and clubs for expensive receptions—some of the costliest, it seems, being those of some of the poorest countries. With so many heads of state in...


Fr. George Rutler

(Pastor of St. Michael's Church)

View Articles Father Rutler was ordained to the diaconate in Rome by His Eminence William Cardinal Baum in 1980 and received priestly ordination in St. Patrick's...

From The Pastor: 

Surrounded by Angels, lest we forget

Surrounded By Angels, Lest We Forget

September 30, 2019

In thinking of angels, you need humility, for a couple of reasons. First of all, a cynical culture mocks anyone who believes that angels exist in any way that is real rather than sentimental. Secondly, since angels, who were created before humans, are intelligent beyond any material measurement, that means they are smarter than any human. And so, by comparison...


Fr. George Rutler

(Pastor of St. Michael's Church)

View Articles Father Rutler was ordained to the diaconate in Rome by His Eminence William Cardinal Baum in 1980 and received priestly ordination in St. Patrick's...

From The Pastor: 

Scandal or Refreshingly Bold Truth?

Scandal Or Refreshingly Bold Truth?

September 25, 2019

As with quotations that are variously attributed, journalists including Charles Anderson Dana of the “New York Tribune” and John B. Bogart of the “New York Sun” are said to have coined the aphorism: “‘Dog bites man’ does not make the news, but ‘Man bites dog’ does.” Human nature is fascinated by what is exceptional and scandalous. But “skandalon” really means...


Fr. George Rutler

(Pastor of St. Michael's Church)

View Articles Father Rutler was ordained to the diaconate in Rome by His Eminence William Cardinal Baum in 1980 and received priestly ordination in St. Patrick's...