Pope at Sunday Mass in Hungary: ‘Jesus Came as the Good Shepherd of Humanity, to Call Us and Bring Us Home’

Pope at Mass in Hungary: Christ calls us by name and sends us forth - Vatican News: Pope Francis began his third and final day in Budapest with the celebration of Holy Mass with tens of thousands of faithful gathered in Kossuth Lajos Square in central Budapest. The Holy Father based his homily on the Gospel reading for the Fourth Sunday of Easter, which focuses on the figure of the Good Shepherd. A good shepherd, he said, “gives his life for his sheep.”

17 under-the-radar geological wonders you’ve never heard of — including a canyon in Oman 650 deeper than the Grand Canyon

Under-the-Radar%20Geological%20Wonders%20You%27ve%20Never%20Heard%20Of%20%u2014%20Daily%20Passport: You’ve got your ubiquitous bucket-list natural wonders like the Grand Canyon, the Great Barrier Reef, and Victoria Falls — all well worth the visit, even if means braving massive crowds of tourists. But there are much lesser-known geological phenomena around the world that are just as awe-inspiring and unmissable. From thermal pools in Turkey to salt flats in Bolivia to to sand dunes in Namibia, here 17 geological wonders you never knew existed.

In this Sunday’s Gospel, Our Lord calls us sheep. That’s high praise — and devastating realism...

This%20Sunday%2C%20The%20Good%20Shepherd%3A%20Model%20and%20Correction%20for%20Today%u2019s%20Shepherds%20%7C%20Benedictine%20College%20Media%20and%20MoreHOOPES: In the Gospel for the Fourth Sunday of Easter, Year A, Jesus Christ says that he is the Good Shepherd who knows his sheep. In saying so, he is deliberately contrasting himself with the shepherds of his time, the Pharisees. In the idiom of the day, saying “I am the good shepherd” is saying “I am the true shepherd.” When we hear his words 2,000 years later, he is again offering himself as our one shepherd and contrasting himself with the religious proxies for him who fall short.

Blessed Marie-Anne Blondin (1809-1890) was Quebec’s great “martyr of silence”

Blessed Marie-Anne Blondin: Martyr of Silence Catholic Insight: Blessed Marie-Anne Blondin ( 1890), whose optional memorial falls today in our fair Dominion, the day of her birth in 1809, five decades before Canada was Canada. Most Canadians, alas, have likely never heard of her, but she was one of the founders of our once-glorious and envied educational system, before it fell apart due to government funding and cultural disintegration.

Groundbreaking physics experiment shows light can cross through gaps in space — and in time

Ground-Breaking Physics Experiment Shows Light Can Cross Through Gaps in Time: Quantum physics is the realm of the strange. And one of the strangest discoveries in the field is also one of the most fundamental: Particles fired at barriers with two slits in them can act like waves and go through both openings simultaneously. For more than 200 years, “double-slit experiments” reveal particles can behave like waves, whether they are photons, electrons, neutrons, atoms, or even molecules made up of 2,000 atoms...

Pope Continues Budapest Trip, Tells Young Hungarians ‘Don’t Be Lazy or Timid ... Those Who Dare, Win the Prize’

Pope tells young Hungarians to aim high in life - Vatican News: Pope Francis meets with young people at the Papp László Sport Arena in Budapest and encourages them to “aim high in life”, reminding them that no one can take their place in the history of the Church and the world.

Colorado looks like a perfect rectangle on your maps — but it actually has 697 sides. Here’s why...

Colorado%20Is%20Not%20a%20Rectangle%u2014It%20Has%20697%20Sides%20-%20Atlas%20Obscura: There are only three states whose borders are entirely made up of straight lines: Utah, which would have been a rectangle if Wyoming hadn’t bitten a chunk out of its northeastern corner; Wyoming itself; and Colorado. Except that they aren’t. for two distinct reasons: because the earth is round, and because those 19th-century surveyors laying out state borders made mistakes.

In the scales of a father’s love, one child outweighs everything. That is how the Maker of Everything is looking at you right now...

New%20Advent%3A%20In%20the%20scales%20of%20a%20father%u2019s%20love%2C%20one%20child%20outweighs%20everything.%20That%20is%20how%20the%20Maker%20of%20Everything%20is%20looking%20at%20you%20right%20now...STEFANICK: It was one of the worst moments in my life. I was camping in the Rocky Mountains with my family and my son, who was 4 at the time, ran off into the woods after some other family thinking it was us. And he found himself in the forest surrounded by these trees and he sat down. And we’re running around screaming his name as the sun is starting to set and he wouldn't respond to us. Twenty minutes go by...

Wendell Berry’s ‘Hannah Coulter’ is an extraordinary book about ordinary life. I invite you to get a copy, and join us in an online discussion group...

Making Life, with Wendell Berry - LifeCraftCUDDEBACK: Reading, we might feel as though somehow we recognize this, even if we’ve never seen anything quite like it. We might discover a desire for things we didn’t even know could exist or could be done. Somehow here in this story is courtship and marriage, family and community, growth and decline, work and rest, suffering and joy, life and death, in a deeply natural context.

What we can learn from the Salem witch trials about today’s trans mania

What%20we%20can%20learn%20from%20the%20Salem%20witch%20trials%20about%20today%u2019s%20trans%20mania%20%u2013%20Catholic%20World%20ReportKILPATRICK: For the last couple of years, J.K. Rowling has been the victim of a witch hunt. The author of the Harry Potter series has been harassed, hounded, shouted down, and targeted with numerous death threats. Rowling is not being hunted down by church folks with pitchforks. Instead, the woman who did more to popularize witches and wizards than anyone in history is being persecuted by young people, many of whom are former fans.

Gender ideology isn’t simply about “What is a woman?” It’s about “Who are we as human beings?”

The%20Catholic%20crisis%20over%20%u201Cus%u201D%20%u2013%20Catholic%20World%20ReportWEIGEL: Cambridge historian Richard Rex has provocatively proposed that Catholicism today is embroiled in the third great crisis of its bimillennial history. The first crisis was the fierce, Church-dividing debate over “What is God?” That question was definitively answered by the First Council of Nicaea I and the Council of Chalcedon. Nicaea I affirmed that Jesus is truly God, the second Person of the Trinity...

Astronomers have thought our Milky Way galaxy was a four-armed spiral — but new evidence has them rethinking that

Astronomers Rethink The Milky Way's Shape | Discover Magazine: The Milky Way dominates the night sky. It appears as a hazy band of light that stretches from one horizon to the other. But this side-on view hides the galaxy’s structure and prevents astronomers deciphering the shape of our home galaxy. Nevertheless, astronomers currently believe that the Milky Way is a spiral galaxy consisting of a central bulge or bar with four main spiral arms and several others branching away.

The military base in Switzerland where you can drive over the runway (but the F/A-18 Hornets have right of way)

New Advent: The military base in Switzerland where you can drive over the runway (but the F/A-18 Hornets have right of way): Meiringen Air Base, in Switzerland, has an unusual feature: two public roads that go straight over the runway. How do they keep it safe? And, as a side note, just how loud is it when you're standing next to a fighter jet?

American Renaissance, mixed signals, and a political supastar

American Renaissance, mixed signals, and a political supastarCONDON: Pope Francis is in Hungary and having a lovely time, I am sure. But first things first, since a lot of you have been asking — no, we did not make it to Medieval Times last week. We couldn’t find a babysitter. We’re going tonight though and, apparently, we’re just taking the 18-month-old. I’m sure it’s fine. Since I haven’t been to Medieval Times since I was a kid...

Pope Francis Arrives in Budapest, Hungary — ‘City of History, City of Bridges, City of Saints’

Pope urges Hungarian authorities to look beyond national boundaries and pursue peace - Vatican News: Pope Francis' first public meeting in Hungary on his 41st Apostolic Journey abroad was with the country's Authorities, Civil Society and members of the Diplomatic Corps. Addressing the participants in Budapest's former Carmelite Monastery, the Holy Father shared three thoughts with them, regarding the capital, Budapest: it is a city of history, a city of bridges and a city of saints.

The book that still makes me pump my fist in the air

The%20Book%20That%20Still%20Makes%20Me%20Pump%20My%20Fist%20in%20the%20Air%20%u2013%20EpicPewPERNA: It was the spring semester of 2009, and I was in graduate school at Franciscan University of Steubenville, enrolled in Theological Foundations with Dr. Scott Hahn. One of the texts for the course we were required to read was The Spirit of Catholicism by Karl Adam. I remember how I could never put the text down and always had a smile on my face when reading it...

“Awake, O Sleeper!” From gender dysphoria to a famous story of St. Francis of Assisi

%282%29%20%27Awake%2C%20O%20Sleeper%21%27%20From%20Gender%20Dysphoria%20to%20the%20Story%20of%20%u2018Brother%20Ass%u2019%20%5BSt.%20Francis%5DTSAKANIKAS: Have you ever woken up from a deep and vivid dream and it took a moment to remember where you were and what day of the week it was? Dreams and imagination feel real and can momentarily confuse us. A feeling of relief comes when you realize it is the weekend or you do not have to rush to get to work or face traffic...

“What is to prevent me from being baptized?”

%u201CWhat%20is%20to%20prevent%20me%20from%20being%20baptized%3F%u201D%20%7C%20Charlotte%20was%20BothWELBORN: Today’s first reading was proclaimed in 2020 during Easter season on April 30 while most of the Catholic world was still in hard lockdown, and I riffed (at length, of course) about it here. My point: Post-Vatican II liturgical life prioritized the role and presence of community in celebration. This has, it seems, two unintended consequences...

Archbishop Paglia embodies the Vatican’s new emphasis on political pragmatism over prophetic witness

Paglia Prioritizes Political Pragmatism Over Prophetic Witness| National Catholic RegisterDESOUZA: The statement from the Pontifical Academy for Life (PAL) should have been a dog-bites-man story, hardly worth issuing. Yet there it was, affirming that its president, Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia “reiterates his ‘No’ towards euthanasia and assisted suicide, in full adherence to the magisterium.” In recent years, that the PAL president fully adheres to the magisterium has become, surprisingly, something of a man-bites-dog story...

Survey of 2023’s New Priests: Most Were Altar Boys, Pray the Rosary, Go to Eucharistic Adoration, Parents Stayed Married

Survey of New Priests: Most Pray Rosary, Go To Eucharistic Adoration, Parents Stayed Married| National Catholic Register: More than 450 men are set to be ordained priests this year, and the survey of their ordination class shows that the overwhelming majority of priests-to-be were raised Catholic in intact families and individually showed habits of frequent church service and regular prayer life.

Vatican Announces Laypeople, Including Women, Will Vote in Synod on Synodality Assembly

Vatican announces laypeople, including women, will vote in Synod on Synodality assembly | Catholic News Agency: The Vatican announced Wednesday that there will be laypeople participating as voting members in the Synod on Synodality’s October assembly, a break with past custom, which allowed laypeople to participate without the right to vote.

Vatican announces laypeople, including women, will vote in Synod on Synodality assembly

Vatican announces laypeople, including women, will vote in Synod on Synodality assembly | Catholic News AgencyBROCKHAUS: The Vatican announced Wednesday that there will be laypeople participating as voting members in the Synod on Synodality’s October assembly, a break with past custom, which allowed laypeople to participate without the right to vote. Pope Francis will also approve every member in advance.

Pope Francis Issues Sweeping New Rules Reforming Synod of Bishops

Pope gives bishops more decision-making options | AP News: Pope Francis decreed on Tuesday that ordinary Catholics should be consulted about issues facing the Catholic Church and that bishops gathering for periodic meetings can make binding decisions on church teaching. Francis issued new rules reforming the Synod of Bishops, the consultative body established 50 years ago to give popes an organized way of bringing bishops together to debate problems facing the church.

Easter and the reality check about sin and salvation

Easter and the reality check about sin and salvationMILLS: “Humankind cannot bear very much reality,” as the poet T.S. Eliot put it in a line that’s become famous because it’s true. I’d add to it, “especially not too much reality about ourselves,” because, like, well, just look at yourself. Coming to the end of Easter season, I’m thinking of the two ways of seeing ourselves realistically that Good Friday and Easter offer, and the way for many years I’d seen the first but not seen clearly the second.

Actors Mark Wahlberg and Mario Lopez Advise Followers to Pray in Viral Video Celebrating Sunday

Actors Mark Wahlberg & Mario Lopez Advise Followers to Pray in Viral Video Celebrating Sunday -BURKEPILE: Actors Mark Wahlberg and Mario Lopez celebrated Sunday worship in a recent viral video published on April 23. With an Easter cross in the background, Wahlberg refers to Lopez as his “Brother in Christ,” and “in life,” while they give each other a fist bump. “We’re about to get into that church and stay prayed up,” Wahlberg says while making the sign of the cross. Lopez then responds, “Always…Gotta build those spiritual muscles as well.”

Does Archbishop Paglia illustrate the “lessness” of Francis?

Does%20Archbishop%20Paglia%20illustrate%20the%20%u201Clessness%u201D%20of%20Francis%3F%20%7C%20Catholic%20CultureMIRUS: Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia is clearly one of the worst of those bishops who are so highly favored by Pope Francis, and his continued favor amply demonstrates what we can only call the Pope’s “lessness”—that is, either “recklessness” or “fecklessness”. It would require supernatural insight to speak of “faithlessness”, but it does not take a supernatural observer to see the damage that is being done.

Pope Francis Appoints FOCUS Founder Curtis Martin as Adviser on New Evangelization

About - News & Press Room - Press Releases Pope Francis Appoints FOCUS Founder Curtis Martin as Adviser on New Evangelization - FOCUS: Pope Francis has appointed Curtis Martin, Founder and CEO of FOCUS, as a Consultor to the Section for the Fundamental Questions of Evangelization in the World of the Dicastery for Evangelization.

Anglicans’ Lateran Liturgy Caused Scandal and ‘Should Never Have Happened’

Anglicans%u2019%20Lateran%20Liturgy%20Caused%20Scandal%20and%20%u2018Should%20Never%20Have%20Happened%u2019%7C%20National%20Catholic%20RegisterPENTIN: Allowing Anglican ministers to concelebrate a liturgical service at an altar of the pope’s cathedral was a cause of scandal for Catholics that should never have happened, according to a prominent canonist, even if it was a well-intentioned act of ecumenical generosity. The controversy erupted after a group of 50 Anglican ministers from the Fulham area of London led by their bishop, Anglican Bishop Jonathan Baker, concelebrated a liturgy at the altar in the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran on April 18.

The Amazing Story of How Philly Cheesesteaks Became Huge in Lahore, Pakistan

How Philly Cheesesteaks Became a Big Deal in Lahore, Pakistan: Sometime in the fall of 2021, a man from Philadelphia came to meet Mazhar Hussain, a chef based in Lahore, Pakistan. Hussain was shown a video of a dish he hadn’t seen before: a hearty sandwich, with generous fillings of meat and cheese. The chef was asked if he could replicate it.

The Dilemma of Dismissing Jesus

The Dilemma of Dismissing Jesus | Knowing Is DoingTORRE: Within the first stanza of the “Our Father,” we encounter a series of directives that I argue tend to be dismissed just like the yield sign on a major highway. The first directive calls us to respect His name as “Abba-Father.” God is our Father; simply put, there is no other. The second directive reminds us that there is only one Kingdom, Heaven, not to be confused with what some individuals would prefer to live in an earthly kingdom...

The endless white flags of progressive Catholicism

The%20endless%20white%20flags%20of%20progressive%20Catholicism%20%u2013%20Catholic%20World%20ReportCHAPP: Mary Eberstadt, in her wonderful new book from Ignatius Press titled Adam and Eve After the Pill: Revisited (an updated version of her 2013 book on the same topic), makes a great case for why the sexual revolution has been a catastrophic disaster in both the lives of individuals and in the broader culture. Building off of this analysis, she goes on to point out that...

Life After Death: In ‘Huge, Huge Win,’ Texas Abortion Facility to Be Transformed Into Pregnancy Center to Support Families

Life after death: Texas abortion clinic set to become parenting center: The leaders of a Texas pregnancy center say they’ll turn a shuttered abortion clinic into a site for parenting classes, counseling programs, and a “baby boutique,” where new moms and dads can get diapers, clothes, and other baby supplies for their growing families. The founder of the pregnancy center told The Pillar that using a former abortion clinic to serve mothers and children is a “huge, huge win for the Lord.”

St. Mark, Archbishop Paglia, and the most interesting American basilica you’ve probably never heard of

St. Mark, Paglia, and a Texas basilicaJDFLYNN: Let’s talk about Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia and the Pontifical Academy for Life. Paglia, the controversial president of the Church’s pro-life think tank, began making headlines over the weekend for a speech he gave last week, published in an Italian newspaper, in which the archbishop said that the passage of an Italian bill which would effectively decriminalize assisted suicide, under certain circumstances, might be a service to the common good in Italy.

A 13-year-old boy was groomed publicly on Discord, Roblox and Twitter and kidnapped, despite numerous chances to stop it

Boy groomed on Twitter and abducted after Musk takeover: The 13-year-old Utah boy hung out in the typical online spaces for someone his age: The chat app Discord. The gaming platform Roblox. And, of course, Twitter. But for more than two months last year, on those very platforms, the boy was being sexually groomed by an adult who was 13 years older and hundreds of miles away. It started in private messages then moved into public view on Twitter.

Pope outlines vision for lay ministry; Vatican to publish document on those who have remarried outside the Church

Pope outlines vision for lay ministry; Vatican to publish document on those who have remarried outside the Church | News Headlines | Catholic Culture: In an April 22 address to the second plenary assembly of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life, Pope Francis outlined his vision of lay ministry in the Church. In his apostolic constitution on the Roman Curia, Pope Francis established that curial dicasteries should hold plenary sessions, typically every two years, that involve all of their members...

‘Pastorally Deceptive and Blasphemous’: Anglicans in Africa Reject Archbishop of Canterbury for Supporting Same-Sex Union Blessings

Anglicans in Africa reject archbishop of Canterbury for supporting same-sex union blessings | Catholic News AgencyJONES: The Church of England’s decision to bless same-sex couples continues to reverberate throughout the global Anglican Communion as a global meeting of Anglican leaders in Rwanda deemed the move “pastorally deceptive and blasphemous.” The meeting voiced no confidence in Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby and called on him and the Church of England to repent of their decision.

Why Did God Create an Imperfect World?

Why Did God Create an Imperfect World?| National Catholic RegisterBRUGGER: God does not intend evil. He doesn’t do evil. We have to start here, lest we attribute evil directly to God. Believers often say to God, “Why did you do this evil to me?” And that’s understandable since God is all-powerful and “if we were God”, we say, “we wouldn’t allow such and such.” But the idea that God is doing evil to me is a strict misconception...

St. Fidelis of Sigmaringen, Pray For Us

St. Fidelis of Sigmaringen, Pray For Us| National Catholic RegisterGRONDELSKI: When I lived in Switzerland about a decade ago, our family took a trip to the neighboring German state of Baden-Wuerttemberg to see two places: the Benedictine abbey in Beuron, which had given birth to a school of Christian art in the late 19th century, and a quaint little town called Sigmaringen, in the hope of finding something about local-boy-made-beatifically-good, St. Fidelis. We batted .500: a rich visit in Beuron, but perhaps my German was not good enough to find much in Sigmaringen.

St. George Killed the Dragon by Offering His Own Life to God

St. George Killed the Dragon by Offering His Life to God| National Catholic RegisterMARCUM: St. George may be among Christianity’s most famous and beloved saints, immortalized through the famous legend of St. George and the Dragon — a tale thoroughly medieval in character, in which a brave and chivalrous knight charges in and saves a fair princess from being devoured by a dragon. In England, a country long devoted to George and one of several nations to claim his patronage...

Pope Francis Says He Wants to Visit Argentina in 2024; Archbishop Gänswein to Leave Vatican Apartment

Pope Francis Says He Wants to Visit Argentina in 2024; Archbishop Gaenswein to Leave Vatican Apartment| National Catholic RegisterBROCKHAUS: Pope Francis has said he would like to visit his home country of Argentina in 2024. “I want to go to the country next year,” the Pope reportedly told Argentinian journalist Joaquín Morales Solá during a recent private audience at the Vatican. The comments were reported in the Argentinian daily La Nacion on April 23.

Pontifical Academy for Life Responds to Outcry Over Archbishop Paglia Assisted Suicide Comments

Pontifical Academy for Life responds to outcry over Archbishop Paglia assisted suicide comments | Catholic News Agency: The Pontifical Academy for Life said Monday its president is against assisted suicide but thinks it is possible to have a “legal initiative” that would allow it to be decriminalized in Italy under “specific and particular conditions.” The April 24 statement was issued following an outcry over a speech in which Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia defended legalizing medically assisted suicide in Italy. The archbishop called it a “feasible” approach to the issue in Italian society...

New Survey Shows Surprising Curiosity About Faith Among Young People [WSJ Paywall]

The Surprising Surge of Faith Among Young People - WSJ: A greater share of young adults say they believe in a higher power or God. About one-third of 18-to-25-year-olds say they believe—more than doubt—the existence of a higher power, up from about one-quarter in 2021, according to a recent survey of young adults. The findings, based on December polling, are part of an annual report on the state of religion and youth from the Springtide Research Institute, a nonpartisan nonprofit.

Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, President of Pontifical Academy for Life, Calls Medically Assisted Suicide ‘Feasible’

BREAKING%3A%20Pontifical%20Academy%20of%20Life%20president%20calls%20medically%20assisted%20suicide%20%u2018feasible%u2019%20%7C%20Catholic%20News%20Agency: Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, president of the Pontifical Academy for Life, has spoken in support of legalized medically assisted suicide, calling it “feasible” despite the clear teachings of the Catholic Church against it. “Personally, I would not practice suicide assistance, but I understand that legal mediation may be the greatest common good concretely possible under the conditions we find ourselves in” Paglia said in a speech...

Pope at Regina Coeli: Let Your Guard Down, Open Up to Jesus

Pope at Regina Coeli: Let your guard down, open up to Jesus - Vatican News: Addressing the faithful gathered in St Peter's Square for his Regina Coeli on the third Sunday of Easter, Pope Francis recalled that the day's Gospel reading narrates the encounter of the Risen Jesus with the disciples of Emmaus. Although the disciples do not recognize Jesus when they encounter Him on their road home from Jerusalem, the Lord comforts them by helping them reinterpret facts in a different way, in the light of the Word of God.

Does Moses foreshadow Christ AND each of us?

Does Moses foreshadow Christ AND each of us? | Catholic CultureMIRUS: I’m still here at age 75, which is a peculiar feeling at times, given how many people die before reaching that age. But the bottom line is that God has not checked me out of this life yet, nor have I been sinful enough to deliberately check myself out. What, each of us may wonder at times, is God waiting for?

Boston ‘SatanCon’ prompts Catholics to respond with prayer and the Gospel

Boston 'SatanCon' prompts Catholics to respond with prayer and the Gospel - Detroit Catholic: Prayer, sacramental grace and the cultivation of virtue are Catholics' most effective responses to an upcoming satanist convention in Boston — and the event itself is an opportune moment for Catholics to give witness to the Good News of Jesus Christ, pastoral experts told OSV News.

Jenica Thornby was a Columbine student on that horrible day in 1999. God led her away from the killers, and led her to Himself. She’s now Sister Mary Gianna...

From Columbine to Christ: "Not only did God lead me out of Columbine,HAAS: Every school day for almost two years, Jenica Thornby would spend her lunch hour in the library at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado. Every day, except April 20, 1999. “I was sitting in my art class when all of the sudden I had this urge to leave school. I remember thinking, there is no way I am going to be talked into staying.” Thornby found her friend that she always studied with and talked her into leaving too...

This Sunday, Emmaus reveals 7 ways to meet Jesus (and the one single greatest way)

This Sunday, Emmaus Reveals 7 Ways To Meet Jesus (and the One Single Greatest Way) | Benedictine College Media and MoreHOOPES: In many of the Resurrection encounters, Jesus is meeting the main characters of the Gospels, the superstars of salvation history: Mary Magdalene, St. Peter, St. Thomas and St. Paul. Here, it’s just two random guys — two disciples; only one of them named.  No one knows their full history. Good. They represent each of us and the story reminds us that Jesus doesn’t just come to the important people. He comes to us, too.

The early Church grew through personal witness. This should be a model for us...

The power of witness: How the early Church evangelizedSTAUDT: “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38). Peter finishes the first Christian sermon with these words, having powerfully preached the death and resurrection of Jesus. The crowd knew what had happened to Jesus 50 days earlier, as Peter reminds them that they themselves had participated in his death...

Meet our Risen Lord at Mass with opened eyes and burning hearts

Meet our Risen Lord at Mass with Opened Eyes and Burning Hearts | Parishable ItemsFELTES: On Easter Sunday afternoon, two of Jesus’ disciples were walking seven miles to Emmaus. Everyone journeys down the road of life. They have heard stories of Jesus’ Resurrection yet feel uncertain, pondering it, discussing it, and debating it. This is how they first meet the Risen Lord, with eyes not yet recognizing him as he walks with us. Jesus initiates the encounter...

Why your cat probably hates the way you're currently petting them (and how to do it right)

How to stroke a cat | The best way to pet your feline | BBC Science Focus Magazine: What’s the best way to stroke a cat? Answer: probably not the way you’re doing it. Although you may think petting is a proven way to bond with your moggy, there's no guarantee they'll enjoy this physical contact...

We are not “resurrection people.” We are “crucifixion and resurrection people.” To say otherwise is the mark of the Antichrist...

Christ%20Crucified%20and%20Resurrected%20vs.%20%u2018The%20Therapeutic%20Jesus%u2019%7C%20National%20Catholic%20RegisterCHAPP: We are now well into the Easter season, and at this time every year my mind is drawn to the deep and profound mystery of the Paschal events of Holy Week. But this year it seems I am even more focused on the significance of the cross and Resurrection as the key to understanding the whole of Christianity. Sadly, even many in our Church seem intent on promoting an image of Jesus that is purely therapeutic...

Repentance will allow you to enter heavenly glory. Face reality. Go to Confession. Change the world...

Changing the World | Catholic CulturePOKORSKY: Facing reality is often uncomfortable. We reveal our lifestyle habits to our doctors. We report the intimate details of our finances to the IRS. But we are more nervous about confessing our sins to a priest even though fewer details are required. A good Confession is precise and usually brief. We only admit the nature and number of our sins, express sorrow, and promise to sin no more.

Why would any Catholic dislike monstrances? Their very purpose is to show the Holy Eucharist to the world

The very purpose of a monstrance is to show the Eucharist to the worldBRISCOE: The very purpose of a monstrance is to show the Eucharist, “the living bread that came down from heaven.” The word monstrance comes from the Latin monstrare, which means “to make known” or “to reveal.” In the middle ages, monstrances were often shaped like little churches, making the connection between the worship that took place in the sacred place and the holiness of the Eucharist itself...

Looking young, a Roman holiday, and an artificial interview

Looking young, a Roman holiday, and an artificial interviewCONDON: We have some family in town visiting, my daughter’s godparents in fact, and while they have been busy spoiling her rotten these last few days, I am hoping to be able to show them something of a good time. They are over from Europe, so assuming we can find a babysitter, I’m going to take them to see some real American culture: Medieval Times.

Do you have an iPhone? You’re at risk from a serious security threat. This short WSJ video explains what it is, and how to fix it...

New%20Advent%3A%20Do%20you%20have%20an%20iPhone%3F%20You%u2019re%20at%20risk%20from%20a%20serious%20security%20threat.%20This%20short%20WSJ%20video%20explains%20what%20it%20is%2C%20and%20how%20to%20fix%20it...: iPhone thieves around the country enable the recovery key to make sure the owners can’t get back into their Apple accounts, permanently.

Can you fool a monkey with a magic trick? Yes, but only if it has opposable thumbs...

Can you fool a monkey with a magic trick? Only if it has opposable thumbs | Ars Technica: The researchers focused on three species with different hand anatomies and associated biomechanical abilities: yellow-breasted Capuchin monkeys, Humboldt's squirrel monkeys, and common marmosets. For instance, Capuchins are known for their manual dexterity, due in part to the fact that they can individually control their fingers. So they can perform a scissor grip (holding an object between the sides of two fingers), as well as a precision grip (bringing the thumb to the index or middle finger). They can even probe, pinch, or enclose an object with both hands, much like humans, and use stone tools to crack nuts.

The 40 best Looney Tunes characters, ranked [Note: nos. 36, 10 and 8 should be higher on the list]

The 40 best Looney Tunes characters, ranked: Imagine a world without the antics of Bugs Bunny, Petunia Pig, Sylvester and Tweety, or Michigan J. Frog. What if we never heard such catchphrases as “Ssssshhhh. Be vewwy, vewwy quiet, I’m hunting wabbits,” “Thufferin thucocotash,” “What a maroon,” “Now, pay attention, son,” and “What’s up, doc?” Our lives would be so much less...

Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’ Isn’t About What You Think It’s About

Shakespeare%u2019s%20%u2018Romeo%20and%20Juliet%u2019%20Isn%u2019t%20About%20What%20You%20Think%20It%u2019s%20About%7C%20National%20Catholic%20RegisterPEARCE: A few days ago, I gave a talk on Romeo and Juliet to a high-school freshman class, after which I endeavored to answer the many great questions that the students asked. It dawned on me that these young people were actually a year older than Shakespeare’s 13-year-old heroine, a sobering thought that highlights Juliet’s extreme youth. Time did not permit me to answer all the students’ questions. I was pleased, therefore, when some of the unanswered questions were kindly supplied to me...

What Is the Greatest Miracle of All?

What Is the Greatest Miracle of All?| National Catholic RegisterMARTIN: Shall I tell you the greatest miracle of all and where to find it in Holy Scripture? The answer may surprise you because it is not, as one might expect, the Easter miracle for which we have long been waiting. No, not even if Easter remains the event upon which faith finally does depend. If Christ be not risen from the grave, as the Apostle Paul warns, thereby ascending into the heavens to prepare a place for us...

Coptic Orthodox Patriarch, Pope Tawadros II, to Offer Divine Liturgy in St. John Lateran Basilica

Coptic Patriarch to offer Orthodox Divine Liturgy in St. John Lateran Basilica | Catholic News Agency: The head of the Coptic Church is scheduled to offer the Orthodox Divine Liturgy in the Catholic Archbasilica of St. John Lateran in Rome on May 14. According to Father Martin Browne, an official at the Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, this liturgy will take place in the context of an official visit of Coptic Pope Tawadros II of Alexandria to the Vatican

5-year-old beheaded, 33 killed by Islamists in Nigeria; Christian foundation calls for action

5-year-old beheaded, 33 killed in Nigeria; Christian foundation calls for action | Catholic News Agency: A 5-year-old boy was reportedly beheaded when Islamists attacked a village in southern Kaduna State, Nigeria, leaving dozens of people dead. In the April 15 attack, the killers descended on Runji village in Zangon Kataf Local Government Area (LGA) of southern Kaduna State, leaving 33 people dead, among them 14 children.

This sculpture of Jesus at Rome’s airport is taking travelers by surprise

A%20sculpture%20of%20Jesus%20at%20Rome%u2019s%20airport%A0is%20taking%20travelers%20by%20surprise%20%7C%20Catholic%20News%20AgencyPINEDO: The next time you are flying through Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport you can see Jesus at Terminal 1. The renowned Italian artist Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s famous sculpture Salvator Mundi (Savior of the World) is on display at Rome’s airport. Created by Bernini in 1679 and crafted entirely out of marble, Salvator Mundi is a Baroque masterpiece and the last sculpture finished by the master carver before he died in 1680.

Why did Christ not stay continuously with His disciples after the Resurrection?

Why Did Christ Not Stay Continually With His Disciples After the Resurrection? - Community in MissionPOPE: After Christ rose from the dead, He appeared to His disciples at certain places and times, but did not seem to stay with them continuously. On the first Easter Sunday, He appeared six times in rather rapid succession: first to Mary Magdalene, then to the women at the tomb, third as the women left the tomb, fourth to Peter, fifth to the two disciples going to Emmaus, and sixth to the ten Apostles in Jerusalem...

A Catholic’s Guide to the Coronation

A%20Catholic%u2019s%20Guide%20to%20the%20Coronation%7C%20National%20Catholic%20RegisterBOGLE: The flags are up in the main streets of cities around Britain, and groups of enthusiasts in suburbs and villages around the country are planning street parties. Shops are selling souvenirs: tins of tea and of shortbread bearing pictures of King Charles III, packets of small flags to wave, paper crowns, commemorative mugs, tankards, tea towels and more. We will have special prayers at Mass during coronation weekend and at the main Masses...

When one of America’s leading writers dissed Pittsburgh

David Mills: When one of America's leading writers dissed Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh Post-GazetteMILLS: Riding the train from Pittsburgh on his way to Baltimore in the mid-1920s, H.L. Mencken described the area east of the city, around Greensburg, as lined with “human habitations so abominable that they would have disgraced a race of alley cats.” One of America’s major writers and most influential journalists, he’d made his name by taking down nearly everyone, but especially the easy targets...

Lateran Basilica Apologizes for ‘Breakdown in Communication’ After Allowing Protestant Service at Main Altar of Pope’s Cathedral

Rome Basilica Apologizes for Allowing Anglicans to Celebrate Mass - The Tablet: A “breakdown in communication” led to permission being given to a group of Anglican clergy to celebrate the Eucharist in Rome’s Basilica of St. John Lateran, said Auxiliary Bishop Guerino Di Tora of Rome, vicar for the basilica’s chapter. Anglican Bishop Jonathan Baker of Fulham, a suffragan bishop with responsibility for Anglo-Catholic parishes in the dioceses of London and Southwark...

Call to ‘Intense’ Prayer: Archdiocese of Boston Responds to Satanic Temple’s Convention

Call%20to%20%u2018intense%u2019%20prayer%3A%20Boston%20Archdiocese%20responds%20to%20Satanic%20Temple%u2019s%20convention%20%7C%20Catholic%20News%20Agency: The Archdiocese of Boston is responding to the Satanic Temple’s “SatanCon” event in Boston with scheduled eucharistic adoration, Catholic devotions, and “intense prayer.” “At the direction of the cardinal [Sean O’Malley], we are approaching it through a response balanced and focused on prayer,” archdiocesan spokesman Terrence Donilon told CNA April 17.

Dramatic video shows the hardcore reality of what tornadoes are capable of — but this storm chaser did it right

New%20Advent%3A%20Dramatic%20video%20shows%20the%20hardcore%20reality%20of%20what%20tornadoes%20are%20capable%20of%20%u2014%20but%20this%20storm%20chaser%20did%20it%20right: The storm chaser in this video, Tanner Charles, says, ‘A GoFundMe via Venmo has been set up for the elderly couple whose house was destroyed in the video (Leroy and Nancy Sanders). I personally talked with them and their family. They’re doing fine but a bit shaken.’ [Language Warning: A vulgarity is heard at the 4:42 mark.]

Start a good argument today with someone you love

Start a Good Argument Today with Someone You Love - LifeCraftCUDDEBACK: Plato thought it one of the most important things to get right in life: how we have conversations, and indeed arguments, with the people to whom we are closest. Our most significant conversations will usually have an element of ‘argument.’ This in itself is natural. By ‘argument’ here I simply mean a kind of friction in the opposition of thoughts or ideas. It should be no surprise that such opposition arises...

We can win the culture war — but only if we take culture seriously

In%20the%20Culture%20War%2C%20Don%27t%20Forget%20Culture%20%u2013%20Theology%20of%20HomeGRESS: Dylan Mulvaney has peppered our news feeds for the past several weeks, first showing us how trans women love KitchenAid mixers, then hitting Bud Light cans, and now modeling sports bras for Nike. Although pushing cultural agendas is nothing new for the left, the Mulvaney craze has conservatives paying closer attention.

Barely a half-week after Fort Lauderdale’s record-setting rainfall, flood-damaged St. Jerome Church is planning Sunday Mass...

ADOM :: Beating back the floodJIMDAVIS: Last week, floodwater swamped the school and church buildings up to a foot deep, and the parking lot became a thigh-high lake. But after intensive cleaning and drying by a recovery company, the church has announced plans for Mass this weekend. Just as its pastor, Father Joseph Maalouf, said over the weekend – even as heavy trucks were still trying to suck up muddy rainwater...

Dutch legalize euthanasia for children between ages 5 and 12

Dutch legalise euthanasia for primary school-age children - Catholic Herald: Euthanasia is to be extended to primary school-age children in the Netherlands, the Dutch government has announced. Health Minister Ernst Kuipers said that children aged five to 12 years can obtain lethal injections if “life termination is the only viable option to end the child’s hopeless and unbearable suffering”. The country already allows the euthanasia of gravely ill newborn children under the infamous Groningen Protocol.

6 things keeping your parish from becoming the parish God wants you to be

Becoming The Parish God Wants Us To Be - Catholic Missionary Disciples - College Station, TXLEJEUNE: Most Catholic parishes are stuck in a culture that rewards status quo, comfort, ease, and administration of the decline. This makes it very difficult to change the momentum of the culture in our parishes. No program, event, new idea, tweaking of old ways, conference, gimmick, or online video series will change our parishes...

The Road to Pentecost

The Road to Pentecost | Knowing Is DoingTORRE: The notion that someone would view the death of a human being as liberating may sound strange, but depending on the context of how the person died, I argue it would be cause for celebration. The irony here is that death as a liberating gift is precisely what Jesus Christ did when he entered Jerusalem to prepare for his crucifixion...

How does John XXIII’s 1963 encyclical ‘Pacem in Terris’ look 60 years later?

Pacem in Terris after 60 yearsWEIGEL: On April 11, 1963, John XXIII issued the encyclical Pacem in Terris, a powerful call for a world in which there were neither victims nor executioners that cemented the pontiff’s reputation as “Good Pope John.” With the world having teetered on the brink of nuclear war during the October 1962 Cuban missile crisis, a papal appeal for “peace on earth” was well received everywhere, including the Soviet Union...

Find the saint for your struggle with these new ‘confession cards’

Find%20the%20saint%20for%20your%20struggle%20with%20great%20%u201Cconfession%20cards%u201D: Whatever sin you’re struggling with, there’s a saint who knows the feeling! Now you can find the saint to match your situation thanks to a clever new initiative: Confession Cards from ReCatholic.org. Not only can you find a patron saint, but each of these confession cards links you to a wealth of resources: books, articles, prayers, and so on...

Pope’s Wednesday Audience: ‘Remember the People Suffering in the Terrible, Forgotten War of Yemen’

Pope at Audience: Remember the suffering people of Yemen - Vatican News: Addressing the faithful gathered in St Peter's Square for his weekly General Audience, Pope Francis continued his catechesis on apostolic zeal, and turned to the figure of St Paul, describing him as “a true 'champion' of apostolic zeal”. Referring to the day’s reading, the Pope noted that, “today our gaze turns not to a single figure, but to the host of martyrs, men and women of every age, language and nation who gave their lives for Christ.”

New online platform launched to fight porn addiction under the patronage of Blessed Carlo Acutis

New online platform fights porn addiction under the patronage of Blessed Carlo Acutis | Catholic News Agency: Pornography use and addiction are sources of distress in modern marriages and a significant reason for higher divorce rates over the past 20 years. The accessibility of porn on the internet, as well as a loss of spirituality and the meaning of sex and marriage, has given rise to the widespread use of porn.

Bishop Chow’s China visit: ‘Our man on the mainland,’ or just a man in the middle?

Chow%u2019s%20China%20visit%3A%20%u2018Our%20man%20on%20the%20mainland%2C%u2019%20or%20just%20a%20man%20in%20the%20middle%3FCONDON: The visit, during which he will spend time with Bishop Joseph Li Shan, head of the archdiocese and the leader of the state-sponsored Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association, is billed as “historic,” in both Western media and in the mainland press. It is the first time a Bishop of Hong Kong has officially traveled to the mainland in some 30 years.

‘Men want variety’: Why Dennis Prager’s defense of pornography is profoundly dangerous

%u2018Men%20Want%20Variety%u2019%3A%20Why%20Dennis%20Prager%u2019s%20Defense%20of%20Pornography%20Is%20Profoundly%20Dangerous%20%u2013%20Faithwire: Dennis Prager, a conservative author and talk radio host, is trending on social media for sharing what many see as an overly simplistic and undeniably problematic view of pornography. “Men want variety,” Prager said during a recent round-table discussion hosted by The Daily Wire’s Jordan Peterson, a clinical psychologist and author. Pornography, he went on to say, is “not awful,” so long as it’s used as a “substitute for adultery.”

It’s not just the Hindu extremists. In India it’s the state that persecutes Christians...

It%u2019s%20Not%20Just%20the%20Hindu%20Extremists.%20In%20India%20It%20Is%20the%20State%20That%20Persecutes%20Christians%20%u2013%20Settimo%20Cielo%20-%20Blog%20-%20L%u2019EspressoMAGISTER: On Easter Indian prime minister Narendra Modi did something unexpected. He visited the Catholic cathedral of New Delhi. Welcomed by the archbishop, he lit a candle in front of a statue of the risen Christ, visited with the faithful, planted a tree in the garden, and called for “harmony in our society.” A few days earlier Modi had also met with the head of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church...

H.L. Mencken was an atheist, but he told us something important about the Catholic Church

An Atheist Who Tells Us Something Important About the Catholic Church| National Catholic RegisterMILLS: The famous journalist H. L. Mencken was convinced that Christianity was full of “imbecilities.” He believed that no intelligent person could believe a word of it, any more than an educated person could believe in a flat earth. But he did have a higher view of the Catholic Church than of Protestantism, not because he thought it truer, but because he thought it more poetically wrong...

Newsletter construction, JD’s quest, and the news

Newsletter construction, JD's quest, and the newsJDFLYNN: The 13-minute drive from our house to our son Daniel’s kindergarten normally takes us 13 minutes. But this morning the same drive took us some 45 minutes, because of two separate construction projects along the route. While I really enjoyed spending some extra time in the car with my son, it took me a good bit longer to complete drop-off and write the newsletter. Why don’t I write the newsletter on Monday afternoon? Well, usually I do...

Father Hans Zollner sets the record straight on why he resigned from the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors

Top anti-abuse expert sets record straight on resignation from Vatican body | Crux: German Jesuit Father Hans Zollner, one of the church’s leading protagonists in the fight against clerical sexual abuse, has sought to clarify his reasons for stepping down from a Vatican safeguarding commission after nearly 10 years on the job. Speaking to journalists Monday, Zollner denied that he was targeting anyone individually or that he resigned as part of an internal power struggle...

Simone Weil once said the ‘greatest of all crimes’ is the ‘destruction of the past.’ Here’s what she meant, and why she was right...

Men Without Memories | Francis X. Maier | First ThingsMAIER: Simone Weil, the Jewish philosopher and mystic who died young but influenced many of the best Christian minds of the last century, once wrote that “the destruction of the past is perhaps the greatest of all crimes.” History is a record of the past. History matters for a nation in the same way memory matters for a person. Memory is the foundation of identity. A man without memory is a man without identity...

Rediscovering the Catholic intellectual tradition of the twentieth century

Rediscovering%20the%20Catholic%20intellectual%20tradition%20of%20the%20twentieth%20century%20%u2013%20Catholic%20World%20Report: A few months ago, I had the pleasure of attending a lecture by Robert Royal, founder and president of the Faith & Reason Institute. For the uninitiated, Dr. Royal, in my humble opinion, is one of the most interesting, important, and intelligent Catholic voices in the United States today. For example, almost ten years ago, I read a fantastic article of his in First Things on Albert Camus...

Christians Arrested in Libya on Charges of Preaching and Apostasy From Islam

Christians arrested in Libya on charges of preaching and apostasy from Islam | Catholic News Agency: Last week Libya’s Internal Security Agency launched a campaign in the city of Tripoli to arrest Libyan citizens and foreigners accused of apostasy from Islam and preaching Christianity. The security agency did not specify the number of those arrested and refrained from publishing their names, stating only their initials.

This fascinating article, packed with maps, explains why Chicago was perfectly sited to become a giant city

(1) Why Chicago Became So Huge - by Tomas Pueyo: Out of all the geography of the US, the single best point to connect the Mississippi and the Great Lakes is here, where the Des Plaines River and the South Branch of the Chicago River nearly touch. Given the importance of the Mississippi River and the Great Lakes for transport, and hence the economy, a city was going to be founded here, and it was going to be big. The American authorities recognized this immediately, and formed a fort here...

Your kids probably watch MrBeast on YouTube. Most kids do. Now MrBeast is introducing his 144 million subscribers to transgenderism...

MrBeast Is Introducing Millions Of Children To Transgenderism: Jimmy Donaldson, better known as MrBeast, is the largest individual creator on YouTube. His main channel has 144 million subscribers. His most popular video, a recreation of the Netflix hit “Squid Game,” has amassed an astonishing 401 million views. He is admired for his generous charity work and trusted by millions of parents worldwide, who allow their children to watch his kid-focused videos that consist of pranks, over-the-top challenges, and reaction videos.

‘60 Minutes’ gives an update on (and an inside look at) the reconstruction of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris

New%20Advent%3A%20%u201860%20Minutes%u2019%20gives%20an%20update%20on%20%28and%20an%20inside%20look%20at%29%20the%20reconstruction%20of%20Notre%20Dame%20Cathedral%20in%20Paris: Four years after a fire tore through Paris’ Cathedral of Notre Dame, reopening by the end of 2024 seems within reach. Bill Whitaker joined the construction team to see how far it’s come...

That Baltimore Catholic clergy sexual-abuse report is a big, but complex, story

Podcast%3A%20That%20Baltimore%20Catholic%20clergy%20sexual-abuse%20report%20is%20a%20big%2C%20but%20complex%2C%20story%20%u2014%20GetReligionMATTINGLY: The inevitable clergy sexual-abuse report from the Archdiocese of Baltimore is a major news story, for legions of valid reasons. Baltimore is this nation’s “premier see,” the oldest diocese in the United States. This city at the heart of a once-thriving Catholic region that now in a demographic death-dive that is extreme, even by the standards of 21st century America.

A Four Seasons hotel is coming to the doorstep of Vatican City in 2025. Here are exclusive new details on the project...

New Four Seasons Hotel to Open Next to Vatican City in 2025 - AFAR: A trip to the Holy See is about to get a lot more comfortable. Veteran luxury hotel group Four Seasons will be moving into a 15th-century palazzo bordering Vatican City—an independent, 109-acre city-state in Rome that’s the headquarters of the Catholic Church.

Here’s a ridiculously easy trick to clean your microwave

To Clean Your Microwave, You Just Need These 3 Ingredients | Hunker: The microwave is a hardworking appliance that tends to get overlooked when kitchen cleaning rolls around. Unlike visible areas like the sink and counters, you can just close the microwave door and pretend it doesn't exist!

Mathematicians Excited About New 13-Sided Shape Called ‘the Hat’

Mathematicians Find New 13-Sided Shape Called 'the Hat': For some, tiles are rarely thought of unless it’s time for home renovations, but for mathematicians, they present plenty of conundrums—and a clever team has just cracked a particularly tricky one. Researchers identified a shape that was previously only theoretical: a 13-sided configuration called “the hat” that can tile a surface without repeating.

The longest day, inevitable incoherence, and waking Fr. Bob

The longest day, inevitable incoherence, and waking Fr. BobCONDON: I love the liturgical wisdom and the implied metaphysics of the Easter Octave. The feast of the victory of Christ over death is so comprehensive, it so radically shatters the order of time and space, that a single day cannot contain it. There’s a temptation by this point to get a little bored with the psalms and antiphons in the Liturgy of the Hours, which don’t vary even a little, for the whole week...

California Bill Excludes Parents from Children's Mental-Health Care

California Bill Excludes Parents from Children's Mental-Health Care | National Review: Progressives increasingly are attacking the right of parents to be in charge of the care of their children — particularly around LGBT issues and sexual-related matters such as birth control and abortion.

What do the Germans want? What is it that the German bishops hope to achieve?

What do Germans want? | Catholic CultureLAWLER: The leaders of the German bishops’ conference have claimed that the Synodal Path is a response to the sex-abuse scandal. But as Cardinal Müller has remarked, that is a smokescreen, and in fact an obvious one—as the cardinal put it, “a great instrumentalization of these sad events committed by some priests in order to introduce an agenda that existed before and that has nothing to do with this tragedy.” There is no logical connection...

Pope Francis defends St. John Paul II against ‘offensive conjectures’ from brother of missing ‘Vatican girl’

Pope%20Francis%20defends%20St.%20John%20Paul%20II%20against%20%u2018offensive%20conjectures%u2019%20from%20brother%20of%20missing%20%u2018Vatican%20girl%u2019%20%7C%20Catholic%20News%20AgencyBROCKHAUS: Pope Francis on Sunday defended St. John Paul II against a recent accusation that the Polish pope secretly visited women at night. Speaking to the public on Divine Mercy Sunday, a day established by Pope John Paul II in 2000, Pope Francis called the insinuation “unfounded and offensive.”

The same God Who once said, “No one can see me and live,” now says, “Put your hand into my side”

From Fear to Peace: Celebrating Divine Mercy | Parishable ItemsFELTES: On the third day, as all the people witnessed the thunder and lightning, the blast of the ram’s horn and the mountain smoking, they became afraid and trembled. So they took up a position farther away and said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, or we shall die!” Moses answered the people, Do not be afraid, for God has come only to test you and put the fear of him upon you so you do not sin...

Life is hell without Jesus — and suffering with Him now will prevent a greater suffering without Him forever...

This Sunday, Life Is Hell Without Jesus | Benedictine College Media and MoreHOOPES: We would be hell-bound if not for Jesus. If we don’t believe that then the Second Sunday of Easter, Divine Mercy Sunday, loses all its power. But many of us — most of us? almost all us? — simply don’t believe that it’s true that we are “hell-bound without Jesus.” We have the vague sense that people used to believe in hell and damnation but that we are smarter now. And we think: Didn’t Vatican II say the opposite? Something about how everyone is fine now, without needing to feel guilty all the time?

Divine Mercy Sunday — the Second Sunday of Easter

Divine%20Mercy%20Sunday%20%u2014%20the%20Second%20Sunday%20of%20Easter%7C%20National%20Catholic%20RegisterGRONDELSKI: Today is the Second Sunday of Easter. It is also Divine Mercy Sunday. Note that it is the Second Sunday of Easter, not the first Sunday after Easter. Because the joy of the Resurrection renews the whole world so completely, it cannot be celebrated in one day or even an octave. No, it must be celebrated over 50 days, the 50 days of Eastertide that lead us to God’s next great gift, his Holy Spirit.

‘Jesus, I Trust in You’ — Plenary Indulgences Offered for Divine Mercy Sunday 2023

Divine%20Mercy%20Sunday%202023%3A%20Here%u2019s%20how%20to%20obtain%20a%20plenary%20indulgence%20%7C%20Catholic%20News%20Agency: What do a certain Polish nun and a certain Polish pope have in common? They both became saints and they were both instrumental in the institution of Divine Mercy Sunday, which offers many graces to the faithful. Be sure to thank St. John Paul II and St. Maria Faustina Kowalska this April 16 because as Divine Mercy Sunday rolls around again this year, the faithful have the opportunity to take refuge in the depths of Christ’s mercy...

Cardinal Cupich Threatens to Restrict Eucharistic Exposition as National Pilgrimage Passes Through Chicago, Sources Say

Eucharistic pilgrimage expected to 'restrict' adoration in Chicago archdiocese: The Archdiocese of Chicago is expected to restrict the exposition of the Eucharist during a national Eucharistic pilgrimage that will traverse the Chicago region next year, ahead of the Eucharistic Congress scheduled for next July. The anticipated restriction comes amid differences of emphasis and approach among U.S. bishops over the Church’s Eucharistic revival process...

I recently encountered the ‘dragon of the internet’ when someone created a fake Instagram account in my name...

The Dragon of the Internet - Word on FireFERENCE: A few weeks ago, one of my Instagram followers informed me that someone had set up a new account impersonating me. This same person shared a screen shot of the fake account (I was unable to find it through my own search, as the imposter had blocked me), and I was shocked to see how authentic this phony account looked. The imposter copied my profile photo, my bio, many of my pictures, and had over three thousand followers. One would have to look very carefully to notice that there was an extra character added to the end of my name in this fraudulent account, otherwise, you would think it was me.

Ireland is home to one of the word’s finest collections of Bibles, with translations into Manx, Moose Cree, and hundreds of other languages

New%20Advent%3A%20Ireland%20is%20home%20to%20one%20of%20the%20word%u2019s%20finest%20collections%20of%20Bibles%2C%20with%20translations%20into%20Manx%2C%20Moose%20Cree%2C%20and%20hundreds%20of%20other%20languages: Co. Kildare is home to one of the world’s finest collections of Bibles, including translations of the Bible into hundreds of different languages. These translations are each extraordinary labours of love, and together they witness to a central aspect of the Christian faith...

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis Signs Pro-Life Bill Outlawing Abortions After Six Weeks of Pregnancy

DeSantis signs Florida GOP's 6-week abortion ban into law | AP News: Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law a bill approved by the Republican-dominated Florida Legislature to ban abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. The governor’s office said in a statement late Thursday that he had signed the legislation. The ban gives DeSantis a key political victory among Republican primary voters as he prepares to launch an expected presidential candidacy built on his national brand as a conservative standard bearer.

The Pope’s Commission for the Protection of Minors has a new home near the Pantheon — ‘for more visibility, and to be better able to welcome victims’

Seeking%20Visibility%2C%20Pope%u2019s%20Commission%20on%20Sex%20Abuse%20Gets%20a%20New%20Home%20-%20The%20New%20York%20Times: Pope Francis liked the floor plan. “It’s a good space you have,” the pope, mapping out a square with his hands, said during a private audience last month to the Rev. Andrew Small, who manages the pope’s commission on combating sex abuse. “Have you moved yet?” Since Francis created his Commission for the Protection of Minors in 2014, the staff has occupied cramped offices in an old Vatican residence near the pope’s apartment...

Why all the fascination with the devil and exorcism?

Why All the Fascination With the Devil?| National Catholic RegisterCLARK: I’m going to begin this article with a disclaimer. I am not an expert on demonic possession or the occult. In fact, one of my goals in life — and I’m willing to work very hard on accomplishing this goal — is to never become an expert on such matters. Though I cannot point to a specific survey to support this assertion, my goal seems to be increasingly in the minority...

‘Friends’ star Matthew Perry cries to God: ‘Show yourself to me’

%u2018Friends%u2019%20Star%20Matthew%20Perry%20Cries%20to%20God%3A%20%u2018Show%20Yourself%20to%20Me%u2019%7C%20National%20Catholic%20RegisterHELDT: Have you ever read a book that takes you in and captivates you, stirs your heart and mind and, for whatever reason, just won’t let you go? I just finished reading Matthew Perry’s new memoir, ‘Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing,’ and I honestly can’t stop thinking about it. Oh, I know, it’s not Chaucer. It’s not even the latest mass-market “Christian living” read...

Have your loved ones left the Faith? Seek help from Theotokos, Searcher for the Lost

Have Your Loved Ones Left the Faith? Seek Help From Theotokos, Searcher for the Lost| National Catholic RegisterKLESKO: On the pilgrim trail of life, there is always the danger of losing one’s way. The monks of Holy Resurrection Monastery have a particular love for the lesser-known Marian devotion of the Theotokos, Searcher for the Lost. This beautiful devotion calls on Our Lady to lead even the most wayward of souls back into the embrace of her Son. It is truly a devotion for all times, but perhaps it can become a special part of your own celebration of the Paschal season.

Must we abstain from eating meat on Friday in the Octave of Easter?

ASK FATHER: Must we abstain from eating meat on Friday in the Octave of Easter? | Fr. Z's BlogZUHLSDORF: We are now in the Easter Octave – Happy Easter! Let’s get out in front of this before the calendar clicks over to Friday. Each year I get a question from readers about our obligation to do penance on Friday by abstinence from eating meat during the Octave of Easter. The days of the Octave of Easter are celebrated as Solemnities. Therefore...

Biden Administration to Appeal to Supreme Court Over Ruling Restricting Access to Abortion Pills

BREAKING: Biden administration to appeal to Supreme Court over ruling restricting access to abortion pills | Catholic News AgencyPINEDO: The Biden administration plans to issue an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court after a federal appeals court allowed a Texas judge’s ruling to severely restrict abortion pill access. The appeals court Wednesday night temporarily suspended the judge’s ruling to invalidate the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s approval...

Watch this testimony of a Texas priest who spent 65 hours listening to the confessions of 1,167 penitents during Holy Week

Texas%20Priest%20Hears%2065%20Hours%20of%20Confessions%20During%20Holy%20Week%20%u2013%20Watch%20His%20Testimony%21%20%u2013%20EWTN%20Global%20Catholic%20Television%20Network: Fr. David Michael Moses of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston recently experienced what he described as “one of the craziest weeks” of his priestly ministry. He spent about 65 hours in the confessional and attended to more than a thousand people during Holy Week.

You can't trick God in your prayer life

You can't trick God in your prayer lifeMILLS: I made the mistake of catching the eye of a friend. We had listened to a fellow lecture for an hour, and then our host asked him, an Episcopal minister from that body’s Catholicish wing, to lead the final prayers. And he started speaking in a top of the mouth, stiff-jawed, pursed lips, fruity-sounding way a million miles from his regular voice.

These are the 50 most popular passwords in America — and that’s not a good thing

These Are the 50 Most Popular Passwords in America: For consumers, passwords are a relatively recent phenomenon. It wasn’t until the internet and the rise of online commerce and security that we’ve been tasked with remembering dozens of access codes to financial institutions, email accounts, streaming services, and retailers.

What AI reveals about the “American smile” — a custom you won’t find in most other cultures

AI%20and%20the%20American%20Smile.%20How%20AI%20misrepresents%20culture%20through%20a%u2026%20%7C%20by%20jenka%20%7C%20Mar%2C%202023%20%7C%20Medium: Imagine a time traveler journeyed to various times and places throughout human history and showed soldiers and warriors of the periods what a “selfie” is. This is the premise for a series of AI-generated images posted on r/midjourney. Below are a few examples of the images this prompt produced...

4 little-known sites you can visit in the Holy Land: the stone of the hemorrhaging woman, the home of Peter and Andrew, traces of Capernaum’s Roman garrison, and the Cave of the Beatitudes

Chapter%203%3A%20Exploring%20Little-Known%20Sites%20in%20the%20Holy%20Land%u2013Reviving%20the%20Stone%20of%20the%20Hemorrhaging%20Woman%2C%20Peter%20%26%20Andrew%u2019s%20Home%2C%20Traces%20of%20Capernaum%u2019s%20Roman%20Garrison%2C%20and%20the%20Cave%20of%20the%20Beatitudes%20%u2013%20%u0396%u03AE%u03C3%u03C4%u03B5%20%u03B6%u03B5%u03C3%u03C4%u03CC%u2026%20%22STAY%20HOT%22BEAUDOIN: The day before and the day prior had been exhausting, but I wanted to squeeze every minute I could out of this incredible opportunity to explore the Holy Land and trace the footsteps of our Lord. I woke up at 0600 on Day 3 and hurriedly got ready for the day. It was time for me to travel back to the Stone of the Hemorrhaging Woman to finish restoring it. When I exited my hotel in Tiberias, I noticed it was still before sunrise...

The Center Holds: Between God’s D-Day and God’s V-Day

The%20Center%20Holds%3A%20Between%20God%u2019s%20D-Day%20and%20God%u2019s%20V-DayDEAVEL: The battles are raging, but the news from the front is that the war is over. As the twentieth-century French Lutheran theologian Oscar Cullman once put it, “We live between God’s D-Day and God’s V-Day.” Easter is God’s D-Day, the definitive defeat of the enemies of the human race: the world, the flesh, and the devil. And yet the enemies still have plenty of will and power to wreak havoc on us.

In New Interview, Pope Francis Says He Called in Exorcists When He Was Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Warns ‘Devil Tries to Attack Everyone’

Pope%20Francis%20called%20in%20exorcists%20as%20archbishop%2C%20says%20%u2018devil%20tries%20to%20attack%20everyone%u2019%20%7C%20Catholic%20News%20Agency: In a recently published interview, Pope Francis said he called in exorcists when he was archbishop of Buenos Aires and warned that the devil is always trying to attack everyone, Vatican News reported Monday. The Holy Father, as he has done many times in his pontificate, emphasized that the devil is real...

Calling Hungarian Catholics conservative is “more of a compliment than an insult,” says the president of the Hungarian Bishops’ Conference

President%20of%20Hungarian%20Bishops%u2019%20Conference%3A%20Calling%20the%20Hungarian%20Church%20Conservative%20Is%20More%20of%20a%20Compliment%20Than%20an%20Insult%7C%20National%20Catholic%20Register: Pope Francis’ much-awaited visit to the Hungarian capital of Budapest will be held at the end of this month, on April 28-30. For many Hungarians, it will be an opportunity to generate a different international view of their country, which is regularly singled out by European elites for policies deemed too conservative and criticized for being too neutral in the sensitive context of the war in Ukraine.

Good grief, this Pope Francis interview on Disney+ is embarrassing. Respectful dialogue is one thing, but word salad deflection is quite another...

A%20Pope%20at%20Disney%20and%20the%20Church%20%u201Cin%20diapers%u201D%20%u2013%20Catholic%20World%20ReportCHAPP: In a documentary titled “The Pope: Answers,” filmed in June 2022 and just released by Disney+, Pope Francis gives answers to hot button questions from ten young adults about sex, abortion, and gender. Many of his remarks and answers, as reported by Catholic News Service and Vatican News, are shocking in their superficiality. I cannot say it otherwise, nor can I sugarcoat this out of respect for the Petrine office...

To celebrate Easter well is to learn how to live a truly human life...

It's Not Just about Easter - LifeCraftCUDDEBACK: As surely as the reality of Easter is itself a great gift, so also our celebration of it and the fruits this celebration can bring are great gifts—especially if we are intentional in our observance. At issue here is not just one particular feast; at issue is the meaning of life and our ability to recognize it and live it. From the start Christians have discovered in Scripture...

New Mexico Is Losing a Form of Spanish Spoken Nowhere Else on Earth [NYTimes Paywall]

New Mexico Is Losing a Form of Spanish Spoken Nowhere Else on Earth - The New York Times: When the old regulars gather at Cynthia Rael-Vigil’s coffee shop in Questa, N.M., a village nestled in the snow-capped Sangre de Cristo Mountains, they sip lattes and lavender lemonade and gossip in Spanish. Someone from Mexico City or Madrid sitting at the next table could be hard-pressed to follow their rare dialect. But Spanish speakers from four centuries ago might have recognized the unusual verb conjugations...

How to obtain the unique graces offered to the faithful on Divine Mercy Sunday

How to Obtain the Unique Plenary Indulgence Jesus Offers on Divine Mercy SundayBURKEPILE: The Divine Mercy plenary indulgence is probably the most powerful grace you can receive all year. The feast of the Divine Mercy is the first Sunday following Easter Sunday. To obtain a plenary indulgence throughout the year, the individual must be detached from all sin, which is very difficult.

On Jessica Bates and the “new orthodoxy” — Can people of faith still adopt children?

On%20Jessica%20Bates%20and%20the%20%u201Cnew%20orthodoxy%u201D%3A%20Can%20people%20of%20faith%20still%20adopt%3F%20%u2013%20Catholic%20World%20ReportRUSSO: Jessica Bates, a widowed mother of five children aged ten to seventeen in Oregon whose husband died six years ago in a car accident unsuccessfully attempted “to adopt siblings from foster care,” both of whom are under the age of nine. Ms. Bates sought to adopt both children in light of her nondenominational Christian, biblical beliefs to care for orphans and to seek justice for the fatherless...

8 Ways to Read (a Lot) More Books This Year

8 Ways to Read (a Lot) More Books This Year: How much do you read? For most of my adult life I read maybe five books a year — if I was lucky. I’d read a couple on vacation and I’d always have a few slow burners hanging around the bedside table for months.

Baptism and a Tradition in the Great Tradition

Baptism and a Tradition in the Great Tradition - Word on FireKACZOR: When baby Arthur was getting baptized today, he was wearing a long white baptismal gown. That same gown was worn by Arthur’s mother Elizabeth when she was baptized in 1992. That same gown was worn by me, Elizabeth’s father, when I was baptized in 1969. That same gown was worn by my mother Sheila when she was baptized in ... and that same gown was worn by her father Henry DeLaney when he was baptized in 1899.

At Wednesday Audience, Pope Francis Tells ‘Keyboard Warriors’ to Put Aside Online Polemics to Proclaim the Gospel

Pope%20Francis%20tells%20%u2018keyboard%20warriors%u2019%20to%20put%20aside%20online%20polemics%20to%20proclaim%20the%20Gospel%20%7C%20Catholic%20News%20AgencyMARES: Pope Francis has told “keyboard warriors” to put aside online polemics and get out from behind their desks to proclaim the Gospel. Speaking in St. Peter’s Square on April 12, the pope urged Christians to go out and “get moving” to share the good news of the Gospel with the world.

In sweetheart plea deal, Biden’s Department of Justice recommends no jail time for violent trans vandal of Catholic church [warning: autoplay video]

Biden DOJ recommends no jail time for trans vandal of Catholic church: 'F--- Catholics' | Fox News: President Biden's Justice Department offered what critics are calling a sweetheart plea deal to a vandal who admitted to defacing a Catholic church with profane graffiti, destroying a statue of the Virgin Mary, assaulting a church worker, and resisting arrest. A plea agreement reviewed by Fox News Digital shows that the DOJ recommends zero jail time for the perp, Maeve Nota, a 31-year-old transgender individual who vandalized the St. Louise Catholic Church in Bellevue, Washington, following Roe v. Wade's overturning last June.

Vatican Prosecutor: Pope Francis Wants Truth About ‘Vatican Girl’ Case, Grants ‘Maximum Freedom of Action to Investigate’ 1983 Emanuela Ordi Disappearance

Vatican%20prosecutor%3A%20Pope%20Francis%20wants%20the%20truth%20about%20%u2018Vatican%20girl%u2019%20case%20%7C%20Catholic%20News%20AgencyMARES: The chief prosecutor of the Vatican City State court met Tuesday with the brother of Emanuela Orlandi, a teenage girl who went missing from Vatican City nearly 40 years ago. Vatican prosecutor Alessandro Diddi said April 11 that Pope Francis has granted him “maximum freedom of action to investigate [Orlandi’s case] on a broad scale without conditions of any kind.” maximum freedom of action to investigate

FBI Used Undercover Agent to Cultivate Sources among Catholic Clergy and Leadership, House Republicans Reveal

FBI Used Undercover Agent among Catholic Clergy & Leadership to Cultivate Sources | National Review: As part of its effort to identify extremists in the Catholic Church, the FBI recruited at least one “undercover employee” to “develop sources among the clergy and church leadership,” Representative Jim Jordan (R., Ohio) revealed Monday.

Solar flares are happening a lot more. How you'll know if one's a problem...

Solar flares from the sun are happening a lot more lately. Here's why. | Mashable: A number of spacecraft are staring directly into the sun. And for good reason. Space agencies, scientists, and nations want to better understand our stormy sun, a glowing sphere of gas that's capable of energetic explosions from its surface. A common such event is a solar flare, which is an explosion that emits light and energy into space, sometimes towards Earth...

Resilient pope presides over a decidedly multilateral Holy Week

Resilient Pope presides over a decidedly multilateral Holy Week | CruxALLEN: Liturgically and spiritually, Christmas and Easter are the holiest periods on the annual Christian calendar. From a PR point of view, the holidays also represent peak visibility for the papacy, since they’re moments when every media outlet on the planet will have their eyes trained on Rome. This year, Pope Francis needed that platform to project strength...

Catholicity, Complementarity, and Communion

Catholicity, Complementarity, and Communion | Catholic CulturePOKORSKY: God reveals His saving words and deeds through the Catholic Church. The Apostles’ Creed, the Seven Sacraments, and the Ten Commandments express the firm certainties of the Catholic faith. Within the context of sound doctrine (based on Scriptures, Sacred Tradition, and Magisterium), theologians are free to speculate under the watchful eye of the Church. The study of theology...

A complete guide to digital spring cleaning

A complete guide to digital spring cleaning | Popular Science: Just like you need to dust regularly to keep your house clean, and service your car annually to keep it safe and running, you should do a digital spring cleaning so your computer stays speedy and responsive.

Father Robert Spitzer has spent time reflecting and studying human happiness. Here’s what he has discovered...

Father%20Spitzer%3A%20%u2018Happiness%20Begins%20by%20Looking%20for%20the%20Good%20News%u2019%7C%20National%20Catholic%20RegisterFIGGE: Years ago, back when he was a student at Gonzaga University, Jesuit Father Robert Spitzer decided to start attending daily Mass for Lent. Within a month of attending daily Mass, he began to experience a sensation that he had never experienced before: a higher level of happiness. Over the course of his career, Father Spitzer has spent time reflecting and studying human happiness...

Pope Francis on ‘Monday of the Angel’ (Easter Monday): ‘Share the Good News of Christ’s Resurrection With Others’

Pope%20Francis%3A%20Share%20the%20good%20news%20of%20Christ%u2019s%20resurrection%20with%20others%20%7C%20Catholic%20News%20AgencyBROCKHAUS: Pope Francis encouraged Christians to not be held back by fear of judgment, but to share the good news of Christ’s resurrection with others. “At times we think the way to be close to God is by keeping him close to us; because then, if we reveal ourselves and start to talk about it, judgements, criticisms come,” the pope said before the recitation of the Regina Caeli prayer on April 10.

Message to the Faithful Priests of the Church in Germany

Message%20to%20the%20Faithful%20Priests%20of%20the%20Church%20in%20Germany%20%u2013%20Cardinal%20Raymond%20BurkeCARDINALBURKE: Like the disciples on the road to Emmaus, we have been discouraged for a time before the Mystery of Iniquity, but now, with our eyes fixed on Our Risen Lord and His unchanging teaching, may our hearts be renewed in ardor by His grace. I urge you to be close to Our Lord Who has chosen us to be His brothers in the Holy Priesthood and to be close to one another...

Father Brian Mullady explains the difference between freedom and license

Father Brian Mullady: Freedom through His truth | Respect Life Radio: “We’re actually becoming more free as we understand more about what the truth is ... through Christ's teaching,” said Father Mullady, Dominican Catholic Priest, Professor, Scholar and author of eight books. “People who commit sin, enslave themselves to a certain point of view and they're not free even though they interpret freedom as license.”

Why did Our Lord rise on the third day? Why not the second, fourth or 40th day?

Why the Third Day? | Parishable ItemsFELTES: Why did Jesus rise from the dead on Easter? Christ’s resurrection was foretold, for instance in the 16th Psalm: “You will not abandon my soul to the netherworld, nor will you suffer your faithful one to undergo corruption.” Furthermore, Jesus rose again because without the Resurrection our Redemption would be incomplete...

Christ Is Risen! Pope’s Easter ‘Urbi Et Orbi’: ‘May We Experience a Foretaste of the Beauty of Heaven!’

Pope at Easter Urbi et Orbi: Christ is truly risen, hope is reborn for all! - Vatican News: Following the Easter Sunday Mass, Pope Francis delivers his Easter message and blessing "To the City and the World", underscoring the joyous hope that Christ's resurrection brings and encouraging Christians to rediscover the joy of serving God, working for peace, and helping our brothers and sisters in a world marked by so much suffering.

Christ is risen! He is truly risen! So what side are you going to be on?

Christ Is Risen! He Is Truly Risen!| National Catholic RegisterGRONDELSKI: Today is the most important day in the Church year because it is the most important day in history. Today, human history received its final and definitive direction. Good will be victorious. Evil and its consequence — death — will be defeated. There’s no more question about that. The only question is: which side are you on? This day is an acid test of faith...

More than 50 priests have been killed in Mexico since 2006. Meet the young men who are risking their lives to take their place...

The young men of Mexico risking their lives to be Catholic priests - BBC News: When Miguel Pantaleon was ordained into the Catholic church last month, it was the biggest day of his young life. The 28-year-old trainee priest had spent almost a decade working towards joining the clergy. At a packed Mass in his dusty village of Rincon del Carmen in western Mexico, he was officially brought into the priesthood by the diocese bishop...

The iconic ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ has been likened to ‘a religious experience.’ Why do some of its successors capture this better than others?

%u20182001%3A%20A%20Space%20Odyssey%u2019%20and%20the%20elusiveness%20of%20awe%20-%20U.S.%20CatholicGREYDANUS: Orson Scott Card has written that the world of science fiction is like the stable in C.S. Lewis’s The Last Battle: much larger on the inside than the outside. Had Card wanted a science-fiction metaphor, the obvious point of reference would have been the Tardis in Doctor Who—but perhaps the appeal to Lewis’s religiously inflected fantasy is more evocative here, hinting at the vastness of the worlds of ideas...

Pope at Easter Vigil: ‘The Risen Lord Invites Us to Revive Our Faith and Rise to New Life’

Pope at Easter Vigil: Risen Lord invites us to revive our faith and rise to new life - Vatican News: At the Vigil Mass in the Holy Night of Easter in St. Peter's Basilica, Pope Francis says Christ's resurrection invites us to experience the immense surprise and joy of the women who witnessed the empty tomb, adding that we are called to relive the grace of our first encounter with the Lord to grow in faith and hope.

Wikipedia had the wrong Vatican City flag for years. Now incorrect flags are everywhere...

Wikipedia had the wrong Vatican City flag for years. Now incorrect flags are everywhere | Catholic News Agency: The flag of Vatican City, with its distinctive yellow and white, is instantly recognizable to many Catholics. Likely far fewer people, though, have scrutinized the papal coat of arms on the right-hand side, instead taking the intricate design — which includes famous crossed keys — for granted.

The Dog of Appetite

The Dog of Appetite - LifeCraftCUDDEBACK: As the Lenten season or what is also called the Great Fast comes to its culmination, I wonder whether my fasting has yielded the hoped-for fruits. Here I reflect simply from a natural or philosophical perspective on disciplining my bodily appetites. A central feature of Aristotle’s view of human nature is that the bodily (or ‘sense’) appetite can be formed by repeated good actions...

Holy Land Christians reenact the ‘funeral of Christ’

Holy Land Christians reenact the 'funeral of Christ'YODER: Jesus suffered and died 2,000 years ago, but Catholics today can still attend a reenactment of his funeral and burial — in the Holy Land. “The funeral procession of Jesus Christ is a unique liturgical procession that only takes place at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem on Good Friday,” Dominican Father Jordan Schmidt told Our Sunday Visitor. “It is perhaps the most dramatic liturgical event that I have ever witnessed.”

Texas Federal Judge Issues Ruling in Crucial Abortion Pill Case

BREAKING: Texas Federal Judge Issues Ruling in Crucial Abortion Pill Case| National Catholic Register: A federal judge in Texas issued a much anticipated ruling Friday that, if it holds up in court, could take the abortion drug mifepristone off pharmacy shelves due to safety concerns and in doing so, prevent over half of the abortions that take place in the country. U.S. Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk’s preliminary ruling found that...

Pittsburgh Law and Anthropology Professor Causes Uproar in Denying Ability to Tell Gender from Human Bones

Pittsburgh%20Law%20and%20Anthropology%20Professor%20Causes%20Uproar%20in%20Denying%20Ability%20to%20Tell%20Gender%20from%20Human%20Bones%20%u2013%20JONATHAN%20TURLEY: There is an interesting controversy that has erupted at the University of Pittsburgh after Dr. Gabby Yearwood, who teaches in both the anthropology and law schools, was asked by swimmer Riley Gaines if he could tell the gender of persons from skeletal remains. He denied that it was possible despite the widely accepted ability to do so in his field. The answer may reflect the ongoing push in anthropology...

Cardinal Hollerich’s less than ‘Honest to God’ moment

Cardinal%20Hollerich%u2019s%20less%20than%20%u201CHonest%20to%20God%u201D%20moment%20%u2013%20Catholic%20World%20ReportOLSON: Raised in a Fundamentalist Protestant home and Bible chapel, I held to more than a few incorrect (and even wildly false) notions about the Catholic Church. Most of these involved Mary and the papacy. Catholics worship Mary! Catholics believe Mary is the fourth Person of the Trinity! Catholics worship the pope!

‘The Splendor of Truth,’ and Why It Still Matters

%u2018The%20Splendor%20of%20Truth%2C%u2019%20and%20Why%20It%20Still%20MattersCHAPUT: August 2023 marks the 30th anniversary of the release of Veritatis Splendor, John Paul’s great encyclical on the “splendor of truth.” Written to encourage a renewal in Catholic moral theology and a return to its classical Catholic roots, Veritatis Splendor grounds itself in a few simple convictions. Briefly put: Truth exists, whether we like it or not. We don’t create truth; we find it, and we have no power to change it to our tastes...

How to carry the crosses we didn't choose

How to carry the crosses we didn't chooseMILLS: We should have had several more years with him, but we had to put our dog, Toby, to sleep a few Sundays ago. A tri-color Aussie, and one of the sweetest dogs ever, he’d been the first of our dogs my wife really liked. His devoted attention had been a comfort to her, since six years ago the pain in her upper back proved not to be a sprain but a tumor pressing on the spinal cord. Her breast cancer had returned and spread through the long and flat bones.

Holy Land Franciscans advance next phase of Terra Sancta Museum

ADOM :: Holy Land Franciscans advance next phase of Terra Sancta Museum: The priest-director of the Cultural Heritage Office for the Custodia Terrae Sanctae in Jerusalem opened a drawer of vestments and casually dropped a historical tidbit about a clerical chasuble he was showing a group of foreign guests. The chasuble was part of a collection of vestments that the bishop of Paris wore for the marriage of Napoleon II with the Empress Eugenie, which the empress later donated to the Church in the Holy Land.

Holy Saturday 2023: ‘He Descended Into Hell’

12 Things You Need to Know About Holy Saturday| National Catholic Register: Everytime we say the creed, we note that Jesus "descended into hell." Holy Saturday is the day that commemorates this event. What happened on this day, and how do we celebrate it? Here are 12 things you need to know.

Wild West nun Sister Blandina is focus of planned TV series ‘Trinidad’

Wild%20West%20nun%20Sister%20Blandina%20is%20focus%20of%20planned%20TV%20series%20%u2018Trinidad%u2019%20%7C%20Catholic%20News%20Agency: Sister Blandina Segale was an Italian immigrant who came to the Wild West town of Trinidad, Colorado, at the age of only 22. Amid her efforts to start schools and hospitals, she intervened against lynch mobs, conversed with outlaws, and lived such a life that she is now a candidate for sainthood. Her life and the history of 1870s Trinidad have inspired a television series in development...

Why Did Christ Descend to Hell?

Why Did Christ Descend to Hell?| National Catholic RegisterBEALE: While most Catholics well-versed in their faith could probably provide a robust explanation as to the question of why Jesus suffered and died on the cross, the reasons for why he subsequently descended to hell are more elusive and less known even among the faithful. Demonstrating the reality of his death on the cross is certainly one reason, but there are many others. In the Summa Theologiae, Aquinas offers a total of four explanations.

Sister Lucia and Our Lady of Fatima Explain Fasting and Sacrifice

Sister Lucia and Our Lady of Fatima Explain Fasting and Sacrifice| National Catholic RegisterPRONECHEN: We would do well on Good Friday and Holy Saturday to consider what Sister Lúcia of Fatima has to say about fasting and sacrifice. She has a way of making palatable what some think unpalatable, so let’s begin with a little foundation, then look at some clear and simple suggestions. Sister Lúcia starts by reminding us that must “offer prayers and sacrifices constantly to the Most High.” This emphasizes a message of Our Lady of Fatima that tends to be passed over

10 Tips for Those Entering the Church This Easter

10 Tips for Those Entering the Church This Easter - The Coming Home NetworkSAVARYN: Easter Vigil marks the anniversary of my entry into the Catholic Church. Here are ten things I found helpful when approaching my reception into the Church. I hope they are helpful to any of you out there who will be becoming Catholic this year! Several of the items on this list are helpful for us all to remember, no matter how many years we have been a part of the Catholic Faith.

The Seven Last Words: Christ’s Invitation from the Cross

The Seven Last Words: Christ's invitation from the CrossSTAUDT: During the Lenten season, an austere time of the desert, we keep our eyes fixed on Christ crucified. The focus is not on the “no” of penance, but the “yes” of love that comes from sacrifice. Jesus models this for us and even invites us into it, especially from his throne of the Cross. He invites us to enter into his kingdom through forgiveness, humility, trust and love. As he speaks to us from this vantage point over all of human history...

The book every new (and seasoned) Catholic should have in his personal library

The book every new (and seasoned) Catholic should have in their personal libraryPERNA: As we approach the high holy days of the Catholic liturgical cycle, I am reminded of my time when I oversaw the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (RCIA) at a parish in Gilbert, AZ. This is the time of the year when the Church receives many new converts at the Easter Vigil Mass on Holy Saturday Night. If you never attended an Easter Vigil, I would highly encourage it. It is by far one of the best liturgies of the entire liturgical cycle and a personal favorite of mine.

In the long battle for the human soul, there are only two alternatives laid out by God: life or death...

The Middle of Every Human Heart ~ The Imaginative ConservativeDEAVEL: One of the most chilling and yet strangely familiar quotations in Philip A. Rolnick’s The Long Battle for the Human Soul is from Robespierre’s associate Sainte-Just: “You have to punish not only the traitors but also the indifferent; you have to punish whoever is passive in the Republic and does nothing for it.” Chilling in its totalitarianism, it is familiar insofar as we have all heard today that...

Pirates, communists, and revolutionaries

Pirates, communists, and revolutionariesCONDON: I don’t know how your Lent has gone. But if you have been worrying that you’ve not really entered the season well, fasted as hard as you’d hoped, prayed as often as you’d planned, or given alms as much as you could have, I’d suggest now is the time to stop thinking about that. Good Friday is, for sure, a day for self-examination. Confronted with our own proper places in the crowd in today’s Gospel, baying for the death of the Lord of life, we should consider the crucifix...

‘Letter From Birmingham Jail’: Martin Luther King’s Good Friday 60 Years Ago

Martin%20Luther%20King%u2019s%20Good%20Friday%2060%20Years%20Ago%7C%20National%20Catholic%20RegisterDESOUZA: “Never before have I written so long a letter,” wrote Martin Luther King 60 years ago this Easter. “I can assure you that it would have been much shorter if I had been writing from a comfortable desk, but what else can one do when he is alone in a narrow jail cell, other than write long letters, think long thoughts and pray long prayers?”

Good Friday 2023: “They Will Look Upon Him Whom They Have Pierced”

5 ways to solemnly celebrate Good Friday | Catholic News Agency: Good Friday is considered for many one of the holiest days of the liturgical year. Part of the Triduum, Good Friday is the day the Church turns its attention to the cross on Calvary. It is the somber day Jesus Christ was crucified.

Vatican says Pope Francis will miss Stations of the Cross at the Colosseum due to “intense cold,” with nighttime temperatures dropping to the 50s in Rome

Vatican: Pope Francis will not attend Stations of the Cross at the Colosseum due to cold weather | Catholic News Agency: Pope Francis will not be attending the annual Good Friday Stations of the Cross at the Colosseum this year due to cold weather, according to the Vatican. The Holy See Press Office released a statement on April 7 saying that the pope will follow the meditations for the Way of the Cross from his residence, Casa Santa Marta, and will join his prayers with those who will gather at the Colosseum for the Roman Holy Week tradition.

‘Life Is Beautiful When We Help Others’: Pope Francis Visits Juvenile Prison on Outskirts of Rome for Holy Thursday Mass

Pope on Holy Thursday: Life is beautiful when we help each other - Vatican News: At the Mass of the Lord's Supper at Rome's Casal del Marmo juvenile penitentiary, Pope Francis reminds us of how the Lord, in washing the feet of his disciples, teaches us the importance of humility and service that are born of a noble heart.

Idaho governor signs abortion trafficking bill into law, first of its kind

Idaho governor signs 'abortion trafficking' bill into law, 1st of its kind: Idaho Gov. Brad Little signed a bill into law on Wednesday that makes it illegal for an adult to help a minor get an abortion across state lines without parental consent. The new law is the first of its kind in the United States and comes less than a year after Idaho banned nearly all abortions. "With the U.S. Supreme Court's reversal of Roe vs. Wade last summer, the right and duty to establish legal policy on abortion was finally returned to our state democratic process," Little, a Republican, wrote in a letter to Idaho lawmakers on Wednesday, announcing he had signed the legislation.

Lenten Fasting: Could You Hack It as a Catholic in 1873?

Lenten Fasting: Could You Hack It as a Catholic in 1873?| National Catholic RegisterMATTMCDONALD: Consider how Catholics around seven generations ago lived it. For many in the 19th century, Lent meant no meat, eggs, butter, cheese or milk, for 40 days. Nearly every day during Lent also was a fast day — meaning long periods of no eating. Rules varied by time and place. But before the 20th century, Catholics generally were required to restrict their intake (fasting) or refrain from eating certain foods (abstaining) or both...

Maryland Attorney General’s Report Released to Public, Detailing ‘Staggering’ Sexual Abuse and Coverup in Archdiocese of Baltimore

Report details 'staggering' church sex abuse in Maryland | AP News: More than 150 Catholic priests and others associated with the Archdiocese of Baltimore sexually abused over 600 children and often escaped accountability, according to a long-awaited state report released Wednesday that revealed the scope of abuse spanning 80 years and accused church leaders of decades of coverups.