Contact

Administrative Assistant
Mrs. Eileen M. Artaserse

Phone: (201) 432-2987
Fax: (201) 432-2987 

Biography

Father Hugh Burns, O.P. is a Dominican priest who has preached widely throughout the United States, the Carribean and Latin America. He is fluent in Spanish. His renewals and retreats have attracted large numbers of people seeking to deepen their faith. His programs have proven effective for Catholics seeking to return to the Church. His commentaries are also heard on National Public Radio and New York public stations.

Father Hugh was born on June 27, 1953, in Derby Connecticut. He graduated magna cum laude from Boston College in 1975. At the Dominican House of Studies, he earned a Bachelor of Sacred Theology in 1981. Then after his ordination to the priesthood in 1982, he earned a Licentiate in Sacred Theology in 1984. Father Hugh was the master of students and director of formation for the Dominican friars in Puerto Rico from 1987-89. At the same time, he served on the Board of Trustees of Universidad Central de Bayamon. Then from 1983-87, he was an associate pastor of the Hispanic community in Our Lady of Sorrows in Takoma Park, Maryland. During that period, he was a special assistant to the Office of Hispanic Affairs for the Archdiocese of Washington, as well as the coordinator of prematrimonial catechesis for the Hispanics of the Archdiocese. He also served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Northeast Pastoral Center for Hispanics in New York from 1984-87.

He was a professor throughout the 1986-87 academic year in the permanent diaconate training program, and a member of the Archbishop's Pro-Life Task Force in Washington, DC. Father Hugh meanwhile was the founder and director of the Saint Catherine of Siena Colloquium for Spirituality from 1980-87, and of the Washington Institute for Spirituality and Ethics at the Dominican House of Studies from 1984-87. He was the speaker for personal development at the Inter-American Development Bank in Washington, and the commencement speaker at Saint John Vianney Seminary in Miami in 1994. He was the director of continuing education and workshops in preaching in Grenada in 1994 and in Jamaica in 1995. He is now an itinerant preacher, evangelist and writer. Since 2001, Father Hugh Burns has been a commentator on National Public Radio and local New York radio stations.

Radio Essays »

Programs

For Retreat Houses and Parish Missions

1) Heart to Heart
Why bother with religion anymore? Many people today ask themselves this question. In answering it, too many Catholics drift away from the Church. This series aims at discovering and awakening our need for faith. The secret lies in our hearts. In the heart, we find the grandeur and wonder of being human. We also face there the deep tragedy of human life -- sin and suffering. The Heart of Jesus, opened on the Cross, is our window of hope onto God and ourselves. His Heart continues to pour out its healing love on us through the Church and her Sacraments. These practical and contemporary talks are based on Scripture and Church teaching. They use poignant examples, humor and inspiration to call us to understand and experience more fully a life of meaning, hope and joy through the Catholic Church.

2) Get Real: A Spiritual Retreat for a New Century
Religion is about reality. It is where the reality of God and the reality of our lives meet. God is real and so are our struggles. Our religion is not an escape from reality. Our faith is no hiding place. It plunges us directly into the nitty gritty of everyday life. Here we confront ourselves -- our pain, our sorrow, our failures, hopes and joys -- armed with the secret to survival: the grace of a loving and merciful God. In Jesus, God became one of us, as human as we are. He tasted our joys and felt our frustrations. He endured our pain and even our death. His life and words direct us through the maze of life's confusions, trials and challenges. His resurrection pours out the power we need not only to survive but to thrive and triumph. The Good News is that we can make it!

3) Kingdom Come: Life in Another Key
Jesus never ceased preaching the Kingdom of God. It is the constant theme of His preaching from the moment He began His public ministry to the day He stood before Pilate. It should be the dominant message of the Church today. The Kingdom of God should be the motto of all our lives as well. The Kingdom of God is not a place somewhere over the rainbow like a magical Oz. It is not simply that pie in the sky at life's end. The Kingdom of God is inside, no farther away than our own hearts. It is the grace of Jesus glowing at the center of our souls. The Kingdom of God is now. It is a whole new way of looking at life, the most unique way of living life. The Kingdom of God is the way to be happy.

4) Like a Kid Again: A Spirituality of Childhood for Adult-Sized Living
Jesus said unless you become like a little child, you shall not enter the Kingdom of God. Growing in grace means rediscovering the playfulness; trust and freedom of childhood. In a real sense, holiness is Kidstuff. Jesus said so!

5) Sweet Jesus! Best Friend, Beloved Brother, Powerful Lord and Loving Savior
If Christianity is about anything, it is all about Jesus. Friendship with Him is the conerstone of our faith. Jesus shows us in His very Person how much God loves us. He gives us power to be who we are, to be at peace and to be happy now and forever!

6) Not Jewish Enough: The Hebrew Heart of Christian Living
Christians are simply not Jewish enough. Jesus was and is a Jew -- and very Jewish at that! As Christians, our spiritual roots are deep within the same practical wisdom that Jesus preached and fulfilled. It is a wway of life that all comes down to the Golden Rule, our being made in God's image, the goodness of creation and the justice preached by the prophets. Try it. You'll like it!

7) Get a Life!!!
So you've got one. Are you satisfied? Yours could be better -- Jesus is the answer. He is a friend at each of life's stages to fill us with joy and consolation, purpose and vitality, excitement and peace.

Programas en Espanol

1) Caminante Sí Hay Camino: Senderos Hacia El Reino
En medio de toda la confusión de nuestras vidas hay solución. Hay camino por las penas y dudas y fracasos. Este camino se llama Jesús. Tenemos la dicha de conocerlo intimamente a través de nuestra fe católica.

2) Los Bienes Y Raices Del Cristiano: Las Riquezas De La Fe
La fe católica es nuestro tesoro más valioso. Como tantas cosas en la vida, muchas veces no apreciamos lo que tenemos. Este retiro es una oportunidad para profundizarnos en nuestra amistad con Jesús. Nuestra relación con Él es la fuente de una vida productiva, tranquila y feliz.

Availability

You may receive information about his availability upon request.

Fee

You may receive information about his fee upon request.