Pope Francis Agrees to Appointments of Two Bishops Chosen by Syro-Malabar Church for India

Pope Francis agrees to appointments of two bishops chosen by Syro-Malabar Church for India | Catholic News Agency: The Synod of Bishops of the Syro-Malabar Church, an Eastern Catholic rite in full communion with Rome, appointed two new bishops for Changanacherry and Shamshabad in India on Friday. The appointments come after years of internal tensions among Syro-Malabar Church leaders regarding a synodal, unified liturgy of the ancient Oriental Church.

This Sunday, Our Lord teaches us how to recognize pure and undefiled religion when we see it

This%20Sunday%2C%20Religion%20That%20Is%20Pure%20and%20Undefiled%20Is%20This%20%u2013%20Benedictine%20College%20Media%20%26%20CultureHOOPES: “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this:” St. James says in the Second Reading. Then he fills in the blank. But how would we fill in the blank if we didn’t have this reading? After five weeks of Gospel readings from John 6, the Eucharistic discourse of Jesus, the Church offers an important qualification in the readings for the 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B.

Vatican replaces ‘Before Christ’ with ‘Before Common Era’ in official English translation of document

Outrage as Vatican drops 'Before Christ' for 'Before Common Era' - Catholic Herald: Catholics have accused the Vatican of betraying Jesus by substituting the term “Before Christ” for “Before Common Era” in official documentation. The traditional term BC was replaced by BCE in the English translation of a July letter by Pope Francis on the role of literature in Christian formation. Ann Widdecombe, a convert to the Catholic faith and a former Conservative Party minister, was among the Catholics all over the world who were angered by the move.

What Does Jesus Mean When He Talks About Vultures Gathering Where The Body Is?

What%20Does%20Jesus%20Mean%20When%20He%20Talks%20About%20Vultures%20Gathering%20Where%20The%20Body%20Is%3F%20%u2013%20St.%20Paul%20CenterHARROLD: One of the stranger verses in the New Testament comes in Matthew 24:28: “Wherever the body is, there the vultures will be gathered together.” This enigmatic saying is repeated almost word-for-word in Luke 17:37. What on earth are we supposed to make of it? To begin with, a couple of translation notes are in order. First, the Greek word used for “body” in Matthew’s account is ptōma, which literally means “carcass” or “corpse”...

Giant ‘living tractors’ are bringing nature back to post-industrial wastelands

Giant 'living tractors' are bringing nature back to post-industrial wastelands: When water buffalo make a home for themselves in abandoned spaces, they can bring with them a rich array of frogs, bats and plant life. Each autumn, as tadpoles outgrow their tails, the Kizilirmak Delta on Turkey's Black Sea erupts into chaotic commotion with the emergence of marsh frogs. While the fist-sized frogs are at home in the delta's wetlands, dozens can be seen hopping out of the muddy waters...

Pope Francis Sides with Moscow in Ukraine’s Clash of the Patriarchs

Pope%20Francis%20Sides%20with%20Moscow%20in%20Ukraine%u2019s%20Clash%20of%20the%20Patriarchs%7C%20National%20Catholic%20RegisterDESOUZA: A dramatic Catholic disagreement has received less attention than it deserves. On Sunday, at his weekly Angelus appointment, Pope Francis decried a new Ukrainian law concerning the Russian Orthodox Church and its presence in Ukraine. Popes don’t usually criticize national laws so specifically. Moreover, the most senior Catholic in Ukraine...

At 87, Pope Francis is defying expectations with a planned 12-day voyage to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Singapore

At 87, pope defies expectations with epic voyage: By embarking aged 87 on the farthest journey of his papacy, Pope Francis is doing something some believed impossible -- and seeking to silence those who doubt his ability to fulfil his role. The pontiff's 12-day trip to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Singapore starting next week involves 43 hours of flight time and a distance of 32,000 kilometres (almost 20,000 miles)...

Spain’s Iconic La Sagrada Familía Finally Has a Completion Date

Spain%u2019s%20Iconic%20La%20Sagrada%20Famil%EDa%20Finally%20Has%20a%20Completion%20Date%20%u2014%20Daily%20Passport: At one time in history, there was nothing extraordinary about a building project dragging on for many years. Places of worship could take centuries to complete. For instance, the Cologne Cathedral, once the world’s tallest building, took 632 years to finish, while construction of the Duomo in Milan was a mammoth 579-year affair...

The Pearl of York, Why It Matters, and Canned Heat

The Pearl of York, why it matters, and canned heatCONDON: For those of you unfamiliar with the Pearl of York, a martyr for the faith under the brutal reign of Bloody Queen Bess, her’s is a beautiful story. She converted to Catholicism as an adult, already married, and was imprisoned several times for refusing to attend Protestant services. She also hid priests in her house in the Shambles, the chaotically labyrinthine district of York which gave its name to total messes everywhere...

‘Sinicization’ is not inculturation

%u201CSinicization%u201D%20is%20not%20inculturationWEIGEL: “Inculturation” has been a Catholic buzzword for over a half-century. It’s not the most elegant neologism, smacking as it does of sociologese. Still, it expresses a truth of Catholic missionary practice two millennia old: the Church uses whatever appropriate materials are at hand in a given culture to make the Gospel proposal come alive in that milieu...

African Archbishops on Western Nations: ‘They Are Sending Us Missionaries of Evil’

African%20Archbishops%3A%20%u2018They%20Are%20Sending%20Us%20Missionaries%20of%20Evil%u2019%7C%20National%20Catholic%20RegisterLIEDL: The West used to send Africa the Gospel. Now, African Church leaders are warning that Western nations and individuals are spreading a far different message throughout the continent, in what they describe as a warped form of proselytization. From Kenya to Cameroon, Ghana to Tanzania, local archbishops tell the Register that Western aid workers...

The Vatican rumor mill is already turning about a possible consistory. Here are 6 US bishops who could soon be named cardinal...

America%u2019s%20Next%20Cardinal%3A%206%20Bishops%20Who%20Could%20Soon%20Receive%20a%20Red%20Hat%7C%20National%20Catholic%20RegisterLIEDL: If 2024 turns out like most years of Pope Francis’ decade-long reign, the Catholic Church will soon be getting a new slate of cardinals. And if Pope Francis does call his 10th consistory before 2024 ends, it’s reasonable to think that an American could be among those to receive a “red hat.” Since becoming pontiff in March 2013, Francis has created new cardinals in every full calendar year of his pontificate except 2021...

Life changed when a nun returned to her habit after many years in ‘ordinary’ clothing

(3) Religious garb in public places, Part II - by tmattMATTINGLY: Whenever Pope John Paul II travels, the events that receive the most attention are his spectacular public Masses and encounters with heads of state and other dignitaries. But these tours also include quieter rites and meetings with priests, nuns and lay people. The pope leads prayers, delivers words of advice or encouragement, offers his blessing and shares a few moments of fellowship.

It’s the Place of a Husband to Forge Peace in the Home

A Husband's Place: Forging Peace in the Home - LifeCraftCUDDEBACK: A husband and father struggles to discover his place in the home. What exactly is his mission and how does he go about achieving it? A proper notion of peace, and of home, can offer clarification. Augustine’s definition of peace is my all-time favorite definition. Peace is the tranquility of order. These words speak to something deep within us...

Fr. Thomas Rosica accused of sexually assaulting a younger priest before Toronto’s 2002 World Youth Day

Rosica faces sexual assault lawsuit: Well-known media figure Fr. Thomas Rosica has been accused of sexually assaulting a younger priest during the lead up to the Church’s 2002 World Youth Day in Toronto, Canada. Rosica has denied any “improper conduct” with the priest, and urged a judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed against him, so that allegations can be addressed in a canonical court...

Live Action President Lila Rose: ‘Trump Is Losing Pro-Life Votes’ With Shift to Pro-Abortion Rhetoric

Live%20Action%20President%20Lila%20Rose%3A%20%u2018Trump%20is%20Losing%20Pro-Life%20Votes%u2019%7C%20National%20Catholic%20Register: Live Action president Lila Rose is increasing her criticism of 2024 Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump — arguing that his recent statements are alienating pro-life voters such as herself. “Given the current situation, we have two pro-abortion tickets,” Rose said in a post on X on Thursday, Aug. 29.

Israeli archaeologists discover unique ancient seal affirming biblical account of Jerusalem 2,700 years ago

Israeli archaeologists discover unique ancient seal affirming biblical account of Jerusalem 2,700 years ago | Fox News: Archaeologists in the City of David National Park in Israel have discovered a rare stone seal from the first temple period – one of the oldest finds since the start of excavations in the country, affirming the biblical role of Jerusalem 2,700 years ago. "The seal, made of black stone, is one of the most beautiful ever discovered in excavations in ancient Jerusalem, and is executed at the highest artistic level," Dr. Yuval Baruch and Navot Rom, excavation directors, said in a press release.

Veils in Church: Style, Threat, or Testimony?

Veils in Church: Style, threat, or testimony? | Catholic CultureMIRUS: A very well-informed friend sent me a link to an article on the increased numbers of young Catholic women wearing veils in Church. I have certainly noticed this among Hispanic women in my own parish, for whom this is still a tradition, and among those characterized by a kind of piety that cherishes, and I do not mean “brandishes,” external signs of devotion. But apparently it is a wider trend, and includes a generation of younger women who were not raised in veils.

The sacraments are not little extras to embellish our existence. The sacraments restore and elevate human nature...

Avoiding the Excesses of Materialism and Spiritualism | Catholic CulturePOKORSKY: We sometimes hear that a particular person is not religious but is “deeply spiritual.” But spirituality detached from God’s good creation is out of touch with reality and can be harmful. Authentic Catholic spirituality engages body and soul, spirit and creation, divine faith and human reason, and avoids the excesses of materialism and spiritualism...

Piety is an essential virtue, and humility is the catalyst that makes it work...

Give the Pharisees their due | Catholic CultureLAWLER: Pharisees take a lot of abuse these days. Let’s give them fair treatment. Today, if you call someone a Pharisee, you’re insulting him. If you call him a Samaritan, that’s a compliment. That fact shows how thoroughly our Lord’s parables changed our perceptions, because at the time of Christ, Pharisees were respected figures, while Samaritans were objects of scorn...

150 years after his birth, GK Chesterton is still going strong, despite the naysaying

GK Chesterton is still going strong despite the naysaying - Catholic Herald: This year saw the 150th anniversary of the birth of Gilbert Keith Chesterton in London’s Notting Hill on 29 May 1874. It has been suggested that 150 years on from his birth, GK Chesterton has largely been forgotten. But so far this year we have seen Chesterton Conferences in the United States, Argentina, England, Croatia and Italy, with more to follow before the year ends, including at least one in Australia this November.

God gave you the capacity to know and speak the truth. So always tell the truth. It means more than you think...

%283%29%20Is%20This%20Fake%20News%3F%20We%20can%20All%20Practice%20Truthfulness%3A%20A%20Lost%20Virtue%u2014And%20It%20Means%20More%20than%20You%20Think%21DANIELGORDON: In an age of fake news, we would all appreciate a little more truthfulness in the world. It can be difficult to sort out fact from fiction, reality from illusion, and opinion from knowledge. As it happens, truthfulness is not only something that we can cultivate in our speech and writing but in our lives as well.

More Catholic leaders than you realize hardly pray at all. Here’s how I can tell...

The Interior Life, Renewal, and Catholic Leaders - A Problem - Catholic Missionary Disciples - College Station, TXLEJEUNE: The meeting started like a lot of meetings at Catholic dioceses (or parishes, schools, ministries, etc.) - with a prayer. We bowed our heads and the leader said, “Lord, please bless our meeting as we pray, Hail Mary…hour of our death. Amen.” The closing prayer was an Our Father. In between, we took care of the REAL business. I am guessing you have experienced similar prayers at other Catholic institutions.

Science or Materialism? Pick a Lane...

Science or Materialism? Pick a Lane - Word on FireKACZOR: Is all reality nothing but a collection of atoms? Materialism can be defined as the worldview that nothing exists but what is material or physical. As Julian Baggini explains in his book Atheism: A Very Short Introduction, “There is one kind of stuff in the universe and it is physical, out of this stuff comes minds, beauty, emotions, moral values—in short the full gamut of phenomena that gives richness to human life.” If materialism is true, there is no God, no soul, and no afterlife.

St. Teresa of Ávila’s Tomb Reopened With 10 Keys After Being Sealed for 110 Years — Her Body Remains Incorrupt

St. Teresa of Avila's tomb reopened 110 years later: her body remains incorrupt - Rome Reports: For 10 years, the tomb of St. Teresa of Avila has been closed. But on the 28th of August, her tomb was opened and revealed that her body is still incorrupt. Her remains are in a silver urn that requires ten keys to open and was last done so in 1914. The black and white photos that were taken that year show that her state is the exact same.

Holy C-Suite? The Rise of the Diocesan COO

Holy C-suite? The rise of the diocesan COOLAROSA: If you walk into most corporate boardrooms today, you’ll probably run into a chief operating officer — an executive responsible for daily operations, overseeing staff and various departments, who is typically second in command to the CEO. You might not expect to find people with the same title if you walk into a diocesan chancery...

Why Pope Francis is sending a Venezuelan cardinal to the International Eucharistic Congress in Ecuador

Why Pope Francis sent a Venezuelan cardinal to a Eucharistic congressBELTRAN: Pope Francis appointed this weekend Cardinal Baltazar Porras, emeritus archbishop of Caracas, as the pontifical legate for the International Eucharistic Congress to be celebrated in Quito, Ecuador, between September 8 and 15 of this year. Those kinds of appointments are often perfunctory. But this one came at an unusual time: Venezuela is in turmoil, as citizens claim President Nicolás Maduro committed election fraud...

In Significant Step Forward, China Recognizes Vatican’s 95-Year-Old Non-CCPA Bishop of Tianjin

Why%20China%u2019s%20recognition%20of%20an%2095-year-old%20bishop%20could%20be%20a%20very%20big%20dealCONDON: The Holy See announced Tuesday that the Chinese government has recognized an underground mainland bishop as the legitimate leader of his diocese. Bishop Melchior Shi Hongzhen, 95, has led the Diocese of Tianjin since 2019 — having previously been coadjutor of the diocese since 1982. He is believed to be the first Catholic bishop government authorities have recognized who has not formally joined the state-sponsored Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association.

The path to Jesus the Divine Lord is not that difficult. St. Augustine shows us the way...

The Path to Jesus the Divine Lord is not that difficult, St. Augustine Shows us the Way. | Knowing Is DoingTORRE: The act of faith requires that the human intellect and human will direct their attention and be in communion with the Son of God Jesus Christ. Hence, faith I argue can be seen as a gift that allows the person to worship the one true God. The Catechism defines faith as a gift from God, a supernatural virtue infused by him...

The Church can’t compete with the world for peoples’ attention. When we try, we turn people into consumers. Here’s what we should do instead...

Rethinking Parish Life | Church Life Journal | University of Notre DameREGNER: Earlier this year, I participated in my first-ever triathlon. My weakest event was the swim, so I spent a lot of time in the pool leading up to the race. Like many, I learned enough as a child to get by without drowning, but my technique more or less stayed where it was. Now, as a mid-thirties, reasonably active man, I have discovered that swimming is not very intuitive...

The Problem With Faith and the Enemy Within

The Problem with Faith and the Enemy Within | Knowing Is DoingTORRE: In his second letter to St. Timothy, St. Paul with great urgency reminds him to follow the pattern of the sound words he received in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus; and, guard the truth that has been entrusted to him by the Holy Spirit who dwells within us. This exhortation serves as a helpful backdrop to describe the nature, premise, and content of all forms of religious instruction associated with the Catholic faith...

These Florida teens have collected 12,000 pairs of shoes for the poor this year — now they’re expanding, and recruiting their younger siblings

ADOM :: Feet on their faithJIMDAVIS: “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace,” St. Paul wrote. He might well say the same about the hands of those who provide the shoes. In South Florida, those hands belong to Loving Soles, a group of teens who collect thousands of shoes, then donate them to the Camillus House shelter for the homeless, more than 60,000 since they began in 2011...

Pope Francis Makes Surprise Visit to St. Monica’s Tomb at Basilica of St. Augustine in Rome

Pope%20Francis%20makes%20surprise%20visit%20to%20St.%20Monica%u2019s%20tomb%20in%20Rome%20%7C%20Catholic%20News%20AgencyMARES: Pope Francis made a surprise visit to the Basilica of St. Augustine on Tuesday to pray at the tomb of St. Monica. During his visit to the basilica near Piazza Navona in Rome’s historic center, the pope prayed in the side chapel containing the tomb of St. Monica on her feast day, Aug. 27. St. Monica is honored in the Church for her holy example and dedicated prayerful intercession for her son, St. Augustine, before his conversion...

Do you have loved ones who have fallen away from the faith? Divine love, not human genius, will save them...

Love, Not Genius, Will Save Your Fallen-Away Loved Ones| National Catholic RegisterCALIGUIRE: There is a problem with geniuses. The problem is that most people aren’t geniuses. So, when we do discover a genius every so often, we have to do our best with our ordinary minds to understand the insights of a brilliant mind. Such is the case with the genius of St. Augustine. Augustine was not only a prolific writer, writing more than almost anyone will read in a lifetime...

Pure Religion: A Reflection on the Upcoming 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Pure%20Religion%3A%20Scott%20Hahn%20Reflects%20on%20the%20Twenty-Second%20Sunday%20in%20Ordinary%20Time%20%u2013%20St.%20Paul%20CenterHAHN: Today’s Gospel casts Jesus in a prophetic light as one having authority to interpret God’s law. Jesus’ quotation from Isaiah today is ironic (see Isaiah 29:13). In observing the law, the Pharisees honor God by ensuring that nothing unclean passes their lips. In this, however, they’ve turned the law inside out, making it a matter of simply performing certain external actions.

The Maduro regime has been an 11-year nightmare for the people of Venezuela — and the Vatican’s ‘positive neutrality’ response isn’t helping

Vatican%u2019s%20Response%20to%20Venezuela%20Leaves%20Observers%20Perplexed%7C%20National%20Catholic%20RegisterDESOUZA: It should have been the best week South America had in recent memory. On March 5, 2013, the death of Hugo Chávez, the Venezuelan commandante of the Castro mold, was announced. A week later, the conclave began that would elect Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina on March 13 — the first-ever supreme pontiff from South America...

6 Card Games Everyone Should Know

6 Card Games Everyone Should Know | The Art of Manliness: Card games have been around for a long time. They’ve existed in various forms for a millennium, having been invented in the Far East. From there, they came West with trading, and in the 1400s the French solidified the 52-card deck and the four suits — spades, clubs, hearts, and diamonds — that we use today. While different cultures and nations use different sets of cards, that system is the most widely used around the world...

David Deavel on Solzhenitsyn and American Culture: The Russian Soul in the West

RLR Interview with David Deavel - Solzhenitsyn and American Culture: The Russian Soul in the West | Respect Life Radio: "If you don't know what you're talking about, you won't be able to convince anyone to take you seriously, no matter how pious you seem or how good your works are. If people can see that you lack understanding, they won't listen," asserts David Paul Deavel, an Associate Professor of Theology at the University of St. Thomas-Houston. Prof. Deavel is a prolific and widely published writer.

Pope Francis on Ukraine’s Russian Orthodox Church Ban: ‘Churches Are Not to Be Touched!’

Pope%20Francis%20on%20Ukraine%u2019s%20Russian%20Orthodox%20Church%20ban%3A%20%u2018Churches%20are%20not%20to%20be%20touched%21%u2019%20%7C%20Catholic%20News%20Agency: Pope Francis on Sunday sharply denounced the Ukrainian government’s recently enacted ban on Russian Orthodox Church worship, arguing that the faithful should not be barred from worshipping as they please. The new Ukrainian law, which passed the country’s Parliament on Aug. 20, bans the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukrainian territory. The measure comes roughly two-and-a-half years after Russia invaded Ukraine in a major escalation of the two countries’ ongoing conflict.

A new generation of worshippers is longing for a ‘lost type of Catholicism’ — and among young women, veils are making a comeback

The Young Catholic Women Bringing Back Veils | The Free Press: “I definitely don’t feel like the odd woman out anymore.” Nicole Moore, 30, wears a veil to church every Sunday. Sometimes called a mantilla, these sheer head coverings are usually made of lace or silk; Nicole’s is gray, with a floral-like pattern. Worn by women throughout the Catholic church’s history, chapel veils fell out of favor during the late twentieth century, but in recent years there’s been “an explosion of veiling,” says Moore...

‘Renew Your Hope in Jesus’: Pope Francis Prays for Persecuted Catholics of Nicaragua at Sunday Angelus

%u2018Renew%20Your%20Hope%20in%20Jesus%u2019%3A%20Pope%20Francis%20Prays%20for%20People%20of%20Nicaragua%20at%20Sunday%20Angelus%7C%20National%20Catholic%20Register: Pope Francis prayed Sunday for a renewed hope for the people of Nicaragua, where the Catholic Church is experiencing harsh persecution under the regime of President Daniel Ortega. “To the beloved people of Nicaragua: I encourage you to renew your hope in Jesus. Remember that the Holy Spirit always guides history toward higher designs,” Pope Francis said at the end of this Angelus address on Aug. 25.

Opus Dei Prelate Responds to Those Who Consider Group ‘Conservative, Powerful and Secretive’

Opus%20Dei%20prelate%20responds%20to%20those%20who%20consider%20group%20%u2018conservative%2C%20powerful%20and%20secretive%u2019%20%7C%20Catholic%20News%20Agency: During his recent trip through Latin America, the prelate of Opus Dei, Monsignor Fernando Ocáriz, gave an interview to the Chilean newspaper El Mercurio, in which he spoke about various topics, such as the role of women, the reform ordered by Pope Francis, and a response to those who consider Opus Dei to be “conservative, powerful and secretive.”

‘We’re taking the long view’ - Why the American Solidarity Party runs for office

%u2018We%u2019re%20taking%20the%20long%20view%u2019%20-%20Why%20the%20American%20Solidarity%20Party%20runs%20for%20office: As Republicans and Democrats compete in a fractious American election cycle, a small third-party is trying to woo Catholic voters, with a political vision it says is drawn from the principles of Catholic social teaching. Peter Sonski, 61, is a Connecticut grandfather, a former local public school board member, and the presidential nominee for the American Solidarity Party...

Donald Trump on Truth Social: ‘My Administration Will Be Great for Women and Their Reproductive Rights’

Trump's Abandonment of Pro-Lifers Is Complete | National Review: Over the course of the campaign, as he’s internalized the idea that opposition to abortion is a drag on Republicans, President Trump has been tempted to revisit his old pro-choice positions. Up until now, however, he has calibrated his statements in a way that could still be defensible from a pro-life perspective.

All That Matters: Sisters of Life Solemn Profession of Vows

All That Matters: Sisters of Life Solemn Profession of Vows| National Catholic RegisterBRUNO: I just saw something. Covering events like the solemn profession of the Sisters of Life, ordinations, Eucharistic pilgrimages, and all manner of sacraments is always entirely too much to process in the moment. While worrying about getting a decent shot, which lens to use … and my aching back, so much passes that I don’t see at the time. Until I look at the photographs.

The Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe

The Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe ~ The Imaginative ConservativeCARDINALBURKE: All that my family gave to me came with me as I entered the diocesan minor seminary, Holy Cross Seminary in La Crosse, Wisconsin, in the Fall of 1962, which coincided with the beginning of the first session of the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council. At that time, the seminary was filled to overflowing with seminarians. Upon entering, I was issued a personal copy of the Liber Usualis so that some hours each week could be devoted to perfecting the singing of Gregorian Chant, especially to learning the proper chants for each Sunday and Feast.

The problem in our culture is much deeper than disenchantment. It is desecration...

The%20Exultant%20Nature%20of%20Today%u2019s%20Abortion%20Advocacy%20%7C%20Carl%20R.%20Trueman%20%7C%20First%20ThingsTRUEMAN: Planned Parenthood mobile clinic has been offering free abortions just a few blocks from the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, which concludes today. The DNC is not officially involved, but that is a minor detail, given that abortion has the status of a creedal non-negotiable in the upper echelons of the Democratic Party...

This Sunday, Decision Time: It All Led Up To This

This%20Sunday%2C%20Decision%20Time%3A%20It%20All%20Led%20Up%20To%20This%20%28Jesus%u2019s%20Eucharistic%20Congress%2C%20Day%205%29%20%u2013%20Benedictine%20College%20Media%20%26%20CultureHOOPES: Jesus puts a hard question to the Apostles, and to us, on the 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B. The Church does a great job of situating his question in a context that shows exactly what is at stake: Do we want to live a one-flesh union of minds and wills with Jesus Christ — or do we want to place ourselves in servitude to his powerless opponents?

Sister Wilhelmina Medical Evaluation Finds ‘Lack of Any Detected Features of Decomposition’ of Body and Clothing

Update regarding remains of Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster, OSB - Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph: Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster died on May 29, 2019, and was buried within days in a grave on the property of the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles monastery in Gower, Mo. She was buried without any embalming or other treatment of her body, in a simple unsealed wooden casket. Following the exhumation of the body of Sister Wilhelmina on April 28, 2023, for the purpose of moving her body into the Abbey church for interment, it was discovered that her body did not exhibit signs of decomposition that would normally have occurred after nearly four years of burial under the conditions described above.

Summer School, Rorschach Tests, and Some Thoughts About Pork Bellies and Human Hearts

Summer%20school%2C%20Rorschach%u2019s%20prayer%2C%20and%20one%20man%u2019s%20meatCONDON: I have reached that point in summer where my internal emotional tension has reached its breaking point. The news cycle slows over August, inevitably. And of human necessity people cycle in and out of the office on vacation. If you have, as I do, a disordered Pelagian disposition towards work as self-justification, this can become more oppressive than restful very quickly.

Scoundrel or Saint? A Return to Robin Hood...

Scoundrel or Saint? A Return to Robin Hood ~ The Imaginative ConservativeDEAVEL: The most difficult conflicts are often with those with whom one agrees on the general lay of the land. That was apparent to me many years ago when my wife and I started publishing positive articles on the Harry Potter series. In contrast to those who assumed that this was a series leading readers to actual witchcraft, we had read the books and found them to be wonderful tales animated by a concern for virtue and character...

The Secular Priest for a Secular Age

%22The%20Secular%20Priest%20for%20a%20Secular%20Age%22%20by%20Fr.%20Brad%20Doyle%20%u2014%20Joie%20de%20VivreDOYLE: I don’t know how other priests put their names in the hat for parish assignments. Some dioceses don’t even let you ask. I’m sure many that do ask write a formal email to the bishop cc’ing the vicar general. I’ve only asked for an assignment once, and the vicar general was sitting in his recliner beside me. It was in the height of the COVID lockdown and we each had a COVID-era sized pour of an Old Fashioned...

Camps and scouting vs. ‘screens culture’?

(3) Camps and scouting vs. "screens culture"? - by tmattMATTINGLY: I almost made it to Eagle Scout status, in a Boy Scouts troop based at the Southern Baptist congregation led by my late father, the Rev. Bert Mattingly. The church had a Royal Ambassadors missions chapter as well, of course. It was normal to be a Boy Scout, even for a sports challenged (except for golf) teen addicted to books and classical choral music. Well, I also liked to set up stage equipment for local rock bands (even those ZZTop guys from Houston).

We were created in a garden. Now we live in the most art-less age in history. Creation needs our craftsmanship...

Restoring Craftsmanship to Restore Humanity - LifeCraftCUDDEBACK: Cultivating the earth is an exercise in being human. And this exercise is more important today than ever before as we suffer an increasing loss of a sense of the human difference. Here I mean all of us, not just confused intellectuals or mislead youth. Human life is a matter of exercising various ‘arts.’ To be attentive then to the nature of art in the broad and most important sense can reveal much about the human difference and how better to live it out.

New Poll Brings Good News: Florida Could Become First State to Defeat Abortion Amendment

New poll: Florida could become first state to defeat abortion amendment | Catholic News Agency: Several pro-life leaders have told CNA that defeating the Florida abortion amendment would reverse the momentum in the national abortion fight. A new poll by Mainstreet Research and Florida Atlantic University (FUA) now suggests they could succeed.

When Was Baseball’s Golden Age?

When%20Was%20Baseball%u2019s%20Golden%20Age%3F%7C%20National%20Catholic%20RegisterWEIGEL: Amidst a presidential campaign in which many of our countrymen deplore the choices we face in November, let’s take a break, follow the counsel of Ecclesiastes 3:1 (“For everything there is a season”), and turn our attention to a question of major, even transcendental, import: Are we in the Golden Age of baseball? Or was that the 1920s-1930s? Perhaps the 1950s-1960s? Cases can be made for each by considering their paradigmatic greats.

Pope’s Wednesday Audience: Baptism of Christ Marks a Key Moment in Salvation History

Pope at Audience: Jesus' Baptism marks a key moment in salvation history - Vatican News: Jesus' Baptism marks "a very important moment" of Revelation and of salvation history, noted Pope Francis during his Wednesday General Audience in the Vatican's Paul VI Hall. As the Pope continued his catechesis on the Holy Spirit, the Holy Father discussed the descent of the Holy Spirit upon Jesus at His baptism in the River Jordan. "It would do us well," the Holy Father encouraged, "to re-read this Gospel passage."

Ortega Dictatorship in Nicaragua Shuts Down 1,500 Nonprofits and Exiles Two More Priests

Ortega dictatorship in Nicaragua shuts down 1,500 nonprofits and exiles two more priests | Catholic News Agency: The dictatorship of President Daniel Ortega and his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo, in Nicaragua have canceled the legal status of 1,500 nonprofit organizations — also known as nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) — including Caritas of Granada and a large number of Catholic and evangelical associations in addition to exiling two more Catholic priests to Rome.

Are We All Therapists Now?

Are We All Therapists Now? - A Review of Abigail Shrier's Bad TherapyGRANNIS: This spring saw the publication of two books arguing forcefully that our children are struggling and the adults are to blame. One of the books met with nodding heads all around and generated real enthusiasm for curbing the pernicious effects of technology on adolescent mental health. The other, Abigail Shrier’s ‘Bad Therapy’ met with a much chillier reception, but it confronts parents and teachers of adolescents with questions that are both challenging and important...

How Gender Ideology Is Forcing Christian Families Out of Foster Care

How Gender Ideology Is Forcing Christian Families Out of Foster Care| National Catholic Register: I keep being told that most Americans simply don’t care about religious freedom. As a committed Catholic and religious-freedom advocate, I find that intensely frustrating. So I’m doing my best to remind people of the value of religious freedom — and warn them of the nasty things that happen when it’s lost. A powerful way to do this is through storytelling. I’m sharing the stories of ordinary Americans whose religious liberty has been trampled upon or jeopardized by overzealous government officials pushing newly embraced progressive policies and laws...

There’s a Price to Pay When the Church Dispenses With Her Traditions

There%u2019s%20a%20Price%20to%20Pay%20When%20the%20Church%20Dispenses%20With%20Its%20Traditions%7C%20National%20Catholic%20RegisterGAGLIARDUCCI: On Aug. 8, Pope Francis received José-Lluis Serrano Pentalant, coadjutor bishop of Urgell, in audience. On paper, it looked like just another visit with one of the many newly elected bishops in the world. But there was something more interesting about this meeting. The bishop of Urgell is, with the president of the French Republic, also co-prince of the tiny state of Andorra, a small enclave between France and Spain in the Pyrenees.

Two priests and a baby? What's happening at this Steubenville, Ohio, parish?

Two priests and a baby? What's happening at an Ohio parish?: Two Steubenville priests made headlines this month, when the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that they have legal custody of a two-year-old boy, who is living at their downtown parish rectory. A judge will consider the boy’s situation at a custody hearing in October, with the child’s mother reportedly seeking to regain legal care of her son.

Tim Walz says he’s a ‘Minnesota Lutheran.’ But long before that, he was a Nebraska Catholic...

Tim%20Walz%u2019s%20Catholic%20Roots%7C%20National%20Catholic%20Register: Walz, 60, doesn’t say much about religion publicly, though he says he became a Lutheran after he got married in 1994. He has described his family as New Deal Democrats. The Minneapolis Star Tribune described Walz in October 2018 as “steeped in the Catholic social justice traditions of his parents.” He noted that his mother was pregnant with him when Kennedy was assassinated in November 1963...

Amateur Fossil Hunter Finds 7-Foot Mammoth Tusk In Mississippi

Amateur Fossil Hunter Finds 7-Foot Mammoth Tusk In Mississippi: In rural Madison County, Mississippi, amateur fossil hunter Eddie Templeton just made a mammoth discovery. As he was walking along a creek earlier this month, looking for fossils and other artifacts, he stumbled upon a massive tusk.

UK Police Pay 13,000 Pounds to Christian Woman Arrested for Silent Prayer, But Stronger Crackdown on Pro-Life Witness Looms

UK police pay 13,000 pounds to Christian woman arrested for silent prayer | Catholic News AgencyWIMMER: West Midlands Police have paid 13,000 pounds (about $16,800) in compensation to Isabel Vaughan-Spruce, the Christian volunteer who was twice arrested for praying silently near an abortion facility in Birmingham, England. The settlement comes as the U.K. government is reportedly set to strengthen its crackdown on silent prayer near abortion facilities...

Lay Parliament to Help Pick New Bishop in Switzerland’s Diocese of St. Gallen

Lay parliament to help pick new Swiss bishopCOPPEN: One of the Catholic world’s most unusual episcopal selection processes is underway in the Swiss Diocese of St. Gallen, involving cathedral canons and a lay parliament, as well as the pope, of course. The St. Gallen diocese, in northeastern Switzerland, announced Aug. 15 that Pope Francis had approved the start of the process to find a new bishop after incumbent Bishop Markus Büchel submitted his resignation upon turning 75.

Always Take Pictures of Your Stove Before Your Vacation

Always Take Pictures of Your Stove Before Your Vacation | Reader's Digest: Vacations are meant to be relaxing, but they can also be downright stressful. Don’t get us wrong—we’re all for taking some much-needed rest and relaxation, but leaving the house to travel can be a huge source of anxiety (which these tips for stress-free travel can help with).

6 Inspiring Books to Jump-Start Your Inner Evangelist

Six inspiring books to jump-start your inner evangelist | Catholic CultureMIRUS: Evangelization is not just a matter of preaching the Gospel. For any effectiveness at all, it requires that we first live the Gospel. We don’t have to live it perfectly, but we have to be seen to be “different” in that respect, and when we fall, we need to get up and try again. Where relevant, we also have to apologize. In other words, to evangelize others we must be seen not only to preach the Gospel, but to live the Gospel...

Rearranging the Deck Chairs

Rearranging the Deck Chairs - The Catholic ThingMAIER: It’s tempting to simply ignore the upcoming Synod on Synodality’s second session, despite its importance for the Francis pontificate. But that would be a mistake. Bishops and other attendees will gather in Rome this October for discussions based on the Synod’s latest instrumentum laboris, or working document, released last month...

What did Jesus mean by saying, ‘I saw you under the fig tree?’ Why did Nathanael react so strongly? Here are some clues...

Why%20Did%20Nathanael%20Believe%20in%20Jesus%3F%20%u2013%20St.%20Paul%20Center: In John 1:43-51 we encounter the puzzling scene of Nathanael coming to accept Jesus as the Messiah on the basis of what seems like very little evidence. In the narrative, Nathanael is approached by his friend Philip, who comes bearing the startling news that “We have found him of whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph” (v. 45). Faced with this outrageous claim, Nathanael retorts...

Patrick O’Hearn: How the Holy Eucharist Is Not Loved

RLR Interview with Patrick O'Hearn: The Holy Eucharist is Not Loved | Respect Life Radio: “It's like the more we worship ourselves, and we certainly see this on social media, the less we worship God,” says Patrick O'Hearn, a devout Catholic, husband and father. "Most of the time I'm just telling Jesus what I think, even complaining to him. How often do I say to the Lord "What do you want from me? What do you need from me?" In his new new article in Catholic Exchange, How the Eucharist is Not Loved...

Former US Ambassador Mary Ann Glendon Offers an Insider’s Look at 3 Papal Courts

Mary%20Ann%20Glendon%20Offers%20an%20Insider%u2019s%20Look%20at%203%20Papal%20Courts%7C%20National%20Catholic%20RegisterCLARK: Over the past six decades, Mary Ann Glendon has compiled a fascinating résumé. She has taught at Harvard Law School; been appointed to significant leadership posts under Pope St. John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis; and served as the U.S. ambassador to the Holy See under President George W. Bush...

Pope’s Sunday Angelus: ‘Christ Himself Becomes True Food and True Drink’

Pope at Angelus: Welcome the gift of heavenly Bread found in Jesus - Vatican News: Pope Francis addressed pilgrims and visitors for the midday Angelus, offering his traditional reflections on the Sunday Gospel, which today speaks of Jesus who, after multiplying the loaves of bread, tells the crowds, "I am the living bread that came down from heaven". The Gospel recounts how some argued over what Jesus meant by this and how He could offer His own flesh as nourishment, a question the Pope said we can also ask ourselves today, but with an attitude of wonder and gratitude.

Sister Agnes Sasagawa, Purported Our Lady of Akita Visionary, Dies at 93

Sister Agnes Sasagawa, Our Lady of Akita visionary, dies at 93 | Catholic News Agency: Sister Agnes Sasagawa, a Japanese nun whose purported visions of the Virgin Mary under the title of Our Lady of Akita included stark warnings for humanity and instructions to pray the rosary and repent of sin, died Aug. 15 at age 93.

Vatican wrong to open door to euthanasia, says British whistleblower

EXCLUSIVE: Vatican wrong to open door to euthanasia, says LCP whistleblower - Catholic HeraldCALDWELL: The doctor who blew the whistle on abuses carried out under the notorious Liverpool Care Pathway (LCP) has warned Catholics that new guidance from the Vatican on end-of-life care is lethally flawed. The Rev. Dr Patrick Pullicino, a former hospital doctor who was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Southwark after he retired from the NHS, made his remarks in a homily preached during a Mass in the Jesuit church in Valletta, the capital of Malta.

Why is Jesus asking us to eat his flesh? Why would he want that?

This%20Sunday%2C%20Why%20Would%20He%20Want%20Us%20To%20Eat%20His%20Flesh%3F%20%28Jesus%u2019s%20Eucharistic%20Congress%2C%204%29%20%u2013%20Benedictine%20College%20Media%20%26%20CultureHOOPES: Why is Jesus asking us to eat his flesh? That’s the big question on the 20th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year B. Jesus has been leading his own Eucharistic Congress — five Sunday Gospels from the sixth chapter of the Gospel of John that this year came, providentially, in the Sundays that followed the National Eucharistic Congress...

A Novel Idea: Seminarians Read Literature as Prep for Priesthood

A Novel Idea: Seminarians Read Literature as Prep for Priesthood| National Catholic RegisterLIEDL: When Carter Anderson started seminary formation two years ago, he likely knew that hitting the books would be on the agenda. But what the Diocese of Helena, Montana, seminarian might not have known at the time was that, in addition to sacred Scripture and theological texts, works of fiction would also play an important part in his preparation for the priesthood...

A Crooked Cross, Choosing to Care, and Being Two

A crooked cross, choosing to care, and being twoCONDON: Happy Friday friends, and a happy feast of St. Stephen of Hungary. I will be honest, my own patron included, I have always had mixed feelings about most monarchical saints. Some notable examples to one side, for much of Western history, the messy business of running a kingdom effectively often seemed to call for the shedding of much blood for the preservation of social orders at variance with human dignity and the radical equality of the Gospel.

Nigeria’s bishops decry ‘alarming’ rise in liturgical abuses

Nigeria%u2019s%20bishops%20decry%20%u2018alarming%u2019%20rise%20in%20liturgical%20abusesCOPPEN: Nigeria’s bishops’ conference expressed “righteous indignation” Thursday at an “alarming increase” in liturgical abuses. In a letter to the country’s priests, dated Aug. 15, the Solemnity of the Assumption, bishops’ conference officials said clergy had committed “grave violations” that were “a source of scandal and embarrassment to the Church in Nigeria.”

Is the Pontifical Academy for Life really an ‘academy’ at all?

Is%20the%20Pontifical%20Academy%20for%20Life%20really%20an%20%u2018academy%u2019%20at%20all%3FJDFLYNN: The Pontifical Academy for Life has been at the center of controversy in recent weeks, as ethicists and moral theologians criticize a newly-published text on moral questions concerning end-of-life healthcare. According to Pontifical Academy for Life officials, The “Little Lexicon on the End-of-Life,” published last month in Italian, was meant to clarify terminology and concepts regarding ethical decision for people facing terminal illnesses or ongoing conditions of brain injury or disability.

Notre Dame Suspends Men’s Swim Team for Entire Year Over Gambling Scandal

Notre%20Dame%20Suspends%20Men%u2019s%20Swim%20Team%20for%20Entire%20Year%20Over%20Gambling%20Scandal%7C%20National%20Catholic%20RegisterLIEDL: The University of Notre Dame has suspended its men’s swimming program for at least one academic year after an investigation uncovered an internal betting ring and a toxic team culture. The external review “confirmed and expanded on our initial concerns about a deeply embedded team culture dismissive of Notre Dame’s standards for student-athletes, including our expectation that they treat one another with dignity and respect”...

Mary’s Assumption Reveals the Destiny Jesus Gave You Through His Resurrection

Mary%u2019s%20Assumption%20Reveals%20the%20Destiny%20Jesus%20Gave%20You%20Through%20His%20Resurrection%7C%20National%20Catholic%20RegisterGRONDELSKI: The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is not mentioned in the Bible, but it has been part of the Tradition of the Church from earliest times. One can find mention of the Church’s faith — which Pope Pius XII finally defined — “that the Immaculate Mother of God, the ever Virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory” (Munificentissimus Deus)...

Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary: ‘Together With Her Son, She Enjoys the Joy of Eternal Life Forever’

Pope on Assumption: The Blessed Mother leads us toward eternal life - Vatican News: During his Angelus address on the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Pope Francis reminds the faithful that the Blessed Mother should never be confused for a motionless statue, but rather always recognized as our hardworking companion, preceding us joyfully on our quest toward Heaven with the Lord.

French Government Warns Catholics of ‘Very High’ Terrorist Threat on Thursday’s Solemnity of the Assumption

French%20Government%20Warns%20Catholics%20of%20%u2018Very%20High%u2019%20Terrorist%20Threat%20on%20Thursday%u2019s%20Solemnity%20of%20the%20Assumption%7C%20National%20Catholic%20Register: The French government is urging “extreme vigilance” in the face of a “very high” terrorist threat to religious demonstrations and places of worship on the Solemnity of the Assumption, one of the most holy days in the Catholic calendar. Gérald Darmanin, the French Minister of the Interior, warned regional officials in a Tuesday message through the messenger app Telegram that the country...

EWTN Friars Draw Inspiration From Unusual Relic — St. Maximilian Kolbe’s Beard

EWTN%20Friars%20Draw%20Inspiration%20From%20Unusual%20Relic%20%u2014%20St.%20Maximilian%20Kolbe%u2019s%20Beard%7C%20National%20Catholic%20RegisterMCKEOWN: Aug. 14 is the feast day of St. Maximilian Kolbe, a saint best known for his heroic martyrdom at Auschwitz in 1941, when he volunteered to be executed in place of another prisoner. Like many Catholic saints, there exist today relics of Father Kolbe — pieces of a saint’s body (first-class) or objects they owned (second-class) that are honored by the Catholic faithful because of the saint’s closeness to God.

To be mature means to keep one’s eyes focused where they should be — to attend to what calls for attending

Maturity: Focus in a Distracted World - LifeCraftCUDDEBACK: As research continues to expose the catastrophic consequences of unreflective social media use—especially but not only for the young, we realize it is emblematic of a deeper problem affecting all of us. Most troubling is that this problem is so normal and so fostered by common attitudes and practices that it grows unnoticed. What is this problem?

Repurposing the Catholic Campaign for Human Development

Repurposing the Catholic Campaign for Human DevelopmentWEIGEL: The Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD), rhetorically oversold as the “U.S. Church’s anti-poverty program” – Do no other such programs exist? – was an interesting idea in its time. That time has passed. A new model is needed. The American bishops created CCHD in 1969 as a kind of Catholic analog to Lyndon B. Johnson’s Great Society programs...

Our words define us, and sinful gossip has many expressions

Gossip | Catholic CulturePOKORSKY: Scrutinize the words of Jesus in the Gospel. He’s not a gossip. He speaks compelling words of truth. He confronts the Pharisees directly and, echoing John the Baptist, courageously indicts them as a “brood of vipers.” He takes accountability for every word. He warns His disciples of the wiles of Herod, referring to him as a fox. When He asks the Twelve, “Who do men say that I am?” He elicits their honest opinion. But we often are chatterboxes in contrast—sometimes sinful gossips.

There is great beauty and rhetorical power in Sacred Scripture

Sacred%20Scripture%u2019s%20rhetorical%20power%20%7C%20Catholic%20CultureMIRUS: St. Augustine, who was trained in the heights of the Latin rhetorical tradition, found Scripture rhetorically primitive when he was looking at it from the outside, before his conversion. But he became far more impressed with the rhetorical power of both the Old and the New Testaments once he began to grasp their inner meaning. There are in fact many different rhetorical flourishes in Scripture...

A Reflection on the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Scott%20Hahn%20Reflects%20on%20the%20Solemnity%20of%20the%20Assumption%20of%20the%20Blessed%20Virgin%20Mary%20%u2013%20St.%20Paul%20CenterHAHN: On this feast, we praise God who has taken the sinless Virgin Mary, body and soul, into His glory. In our first reading, from Revelation, we find God’s temple in heaven opened and the Ark of the Covenant revealed. The most sacred item in Israel’s history, the Ark had been missing since the Temple’s destruction in 586 B.C. Thus, John reports some startling news...

Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Asks Catholics Worldwide to Pray for Peace in the Holy Land on the Solemnity of the Assumption

A special prayer for peace in the Holy Land on the feast of the Assumption of Mary | Catholic News Agency: In a letter to his brothers and sisters in Christ, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, appealed for peace in the Holy Land and included a prayer to Our Lady on the feast of her Assumption to be recited by all Christians on Aug. 15.

Hillbilly Thomists perform for sold-out show following release of fourth album

Hillbilly Thomists perform for sold-out show following release of fourth album | Catholic News Agency: Following the release of their new album, titled “Marigold,” the Hillbilly Thomists performed in Washington, D.C., as part of their ongoing Marigold Tour on Aug. 8, the feast of St. Dominic. Playing at St. Francis Hall to a sold-out crowd of more than 150 people, the band of Dominican friars played various songs from all four of their albums...

Donald Trump has put social conservatives in a dilemma

Donald%20Trump%20has%20put%20social%20conservatives%20in%20a%20dilemma%20%u2013%20Catholic%20World%20ReportFESER: Let’s begin with the obvious. No social conservative could possibly justify voting for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz. They are pro-abortion extremists, as Ryan Anderson shows in an article on Harris at First Things and Dan McLaughlin shows in an article on Walz at National Review. Their records on other matters of concern to social conservatives are no better...

Divine Providence and Near Assassinations, From George Washington to John Paul II

A Brush With Death and a Zest for Life| National Catholic RegisterDEMARCO: Near-assassination attempts make us pause. God can intervene. But does he? Consider the following. After the Battle of Monongahela on July 9, 1755, a 23-year-old soldier wrote a letter to his brother in which he said, “But, by the all-powerful dispensations of God, I have been protected beyond all human probability or expectation, for I had four bullets through my coat, and two horses shot under me, yet escaped unhurt, although death was leveling my companions on every side.” That soldier was none other than George Washington, America’s first president...

Cardinal O’Malley’s Retirement Expands His Mission

Cardinal%20O%u2019Malley%u2019s%20Retirement%20Expands%20His%20Mission%7C%20National%20Catholic%20RegisterLANDRY: On Aug. 5, Pope Francis accepted the retirement of Boston Cardinal Seán O’Malley and replaced him with Archbishop-elect Richard Henning, formerly of Providence, Rhode Island. It was a fitting day. Aug. 5 is the memorial of the dedication of St. Mary Major Basilica, Cardinal Seán’s favorite of the four patriarchal basilicas in Rome and in many ways the center of Rome’s Marian devotion across the centuries and still today...

This Is a Hospital Newsletter

This is a hospital newsletterJDFLYNN: Today is the memorial of Pope St. Pontian, who reigned — and was killed — during a third century persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire —- along with his collaborator, the martyr priest Hippolytus. Pontian’s pontificate started out ok — the Church was not persecuted by the emperor Severus Alexander, who led the Roman Empire until 235...

In Lisieux and Around the World, Why Are the Crown Jewel Carmelite Convents Failing?

Why Are the Crown Jewel Carmelite Convents Failing? ~ The Imaginative ConservativeHORVAT: Among the religious orders dedicated to the contemplative life, the Carmelites have a special role. Carmelite convents are found all over the world. They have given the Church countless saints and models. Many Carmelite convents are now in crisis because they have no vocations. The nuns are dying off. Convent after convent is closing. Each closure represents a tragedy and the end of the convent’s intercession before God for the local community, the Church, and the world.

Lourdes Baths Fully Reopened for First Time Since 2020 as 30,000 Expected for Assumption Pilgrimage

Lourdes baths have fully reopened as 30,000 expected for Assumption pilgrimage | Catholic News AgencyMARES: The baths at the Marian shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes in France have fully reopened for the first time in four years for France’s national pilgrimage for the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary this week.

I Cheated, But I Won Anyway

I Cheated, But I Won Anyway - Word on FireKACZOR: While at Blanchet High School in Seattle, my friends and I wanted nothing more than to repeat as the undefeated state champions. Our coach Leo Genest, “G-man,” had led his teams to the last three out of four state championships in cross country. He was ultracompetitive, and so were we. As an incoming senior, I trained hard...

The goal of Catholic education should be to teach from a Catholic worldview

Words Made Flesh ~ The Imaginative ConservativeSTAUDT: A sacramental approach to education flows from the Incarnation: “The Word became flesh.” The Word (the Logos) is the Truth itself, the one spoken forth by the Father in eternity and through whom all that is made comes into being. Made in the image and likeness of God, human beings have a mind (a logos) like the Word, capable of receiving his truth and expressing our own words in response. Human beings are called to an everlasting dialogue with the Father through the Word made flesh...

VP Nominee Tim Walz Supports the Right to Infanticide

VP Nominee Tim Walz Supports the Right to Infanticide | Charles C. Camosy | First ThingsCAMOSY: Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris has picked Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota as her running mate. Walz recently legalized infanticide in the state of Minnesota. As someone who does not identify as conservative, I’d be delighted if this claim could be dismissed as a right-wing fever dream. Unfortunately, it is all too real. And by infanticide, I really do mean aiming at the death of newborn infants.

Has the Pope taken the “hot potatoes” off the Synod’s agenda by setting up 10 study groups? Synodality expert Rafael Luciani doesn’t think so...

Synodality expert: We are in an ecclesiological transition - english.katholisch.de: Rafael Luciani is a professor of theology at the Andrés Bello Catholic University in Caracas, the capital of his home country Venezuela. However, Luciani also advises the Latin American Bishops' Council CELAM and is an advisor to the Theological Commission of the Synod on Synodality...

In our day, is apostolic work impossible?

In our day, is apostolic work impossible? | Catholic CultureMIRUS: My title question masks a deeper one which is perhaps more to the point. Are the indifference and even hostility to Christ so great in the world today that we are excused from meeting the challenges of raising our children Catholic, seeking to deepen the faith and commitment of our fellow Catholics, and attempting to evangelize others in the midst of a secular culture that is just not interested?

What Advice Does the Bible Offer to Young Men About Overcoming Habitual Vice?

What%20Advice%20Does%20the%20Bible%20Offer%20to%20Young%20Men%20for%20Overcoming%20Habitual%20Vice%3F%20%u2013%20St.%20Paul%20CenterHARROLD: Among the many challenges young men face today, a common one is the struggle with habitual vice, oftentimes in connection with sexual sin. In the face of near-overpowering societal pressures to live a lifestyle of vice and spiritual slavery, what encouragement can today’s aspiring “man of God” (1 Tim 6:11) find in the Scriptures?

Eucharist Survives Florida Church Fire: ‘A Work of God’s Extraordinary Providence’

Eucharist%20Survives%20Church%20Fire%3A%20%u2018A%20Work%20of%20God%u2019s%20Extraordinary%20Providence%u2019%7C%20National%20Catholic%20RegisterBUKURAS: After Henry and Paula Kones’ Orlando, Florida, church burned down last year, they were devastated for their small parish, but were given a sense of hope in the aftermath. Despite the fire being concentrated on the sanctuary, with both the altar and the tabernacle being incinerated, a sole Eucharistic Host, covered under the ash, survived the blaze.

Breaking the power of poverty doesn’t come cheaply

Breaking the Cycle of Poverty ~ The Imaginative ConservativeLONGENECKER: I make no claims to be an expert in the church’s ministry to the poor, but after a few mission trips to El Salvador, leading a parish in an economically challenging part of town, and a recent pilgrimage to Mexico, I’ve seen what works and what doesn’t. Robert Lupton has worked in urban relief programs for decades, and in his book Toxic Charity he outlines the ways our charitable efforts often sabotage the very people we intend to help...

That 3D whale in your virtual headset: Is it real?

(3) That 3D whale in your virtual headset: Is it real?MATTINGLY: This past spring, the Mattinglys of East Tennessee did something that we have wanted to do for several decades — we took a cruise to Alaska. Basically, and I say this as someone who lived in Colorado for a wonderful decade, the Alaska coast looks a lot like the Rockies, only with an ocean. One of the highlights was cruising up into Glacier Bay on a cruise ship that is small enough...

Paul Gannucci is a young man in Minnesota unable to eat solid food. But he yearned for Holy Communion. What he did next was heroic...

Receiving the Real Presence: Tube-Fed Catholic Consumes Christ in the Eucharist| National Catholic Register: Every night for 11 months, Paul Gannucci prayed the Rosary with his family and then practiced receiving Holy Communion. He received the Eucharist for the first time on June 3, a few days before his 21st birthday. Unlike other first Communicants, the Host is the only solid food he has ever consumed.

Pope’s Sunday Angelus: ‘May Mary Help Us Listen With Faith to the Lord’s Voice, and Do His Will Courageously’

Pope at Angelus: Faith is not true if based on our prejudices - Vatican News: Pope Francis prayed the noon-day Angelus on Sunday with pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square, and reflected on the day’s Gospel (Jn 6:41-51). Ahead of the traditional Marian prayer, the Pope noted that Jesus’ contemporaries refused to believe His word that He had “come down from heaven.” Since they knew His father and mother, as well as His profession as a carpenter, they doubted that God could manifest Himself in such a familiar, ordinary way.

UK Catholics Voice ‘Shock And Concern’ At New Outbreak Of Nationwide Disorder

UK%20Catholics%20voice%20%u2018shock%20and%20concern%u2019%20at%20new%20outbreak%20of%20nationwide%20disorder%20-%20OSV%20News: Prominent Catholics have joined church leaders in condemning a wave of riots across the United Kingdom, while also urging greater understanding of current social grievances.

This Sunday’s Gospel: God Had the Holy Eucharist In Mind All Along

This%20Sunday%2C%20God%20Had%20the%20Eucharist%20In%20Mind%20All%20Along%20%28Jesus%u2019s%20Eucharistic%20Congress%2C%203%29%20%u2013%20Benedictine%20College%20Media%20%26%20CultureHOOPES: In five straight Sunday Gospels after the National Eucharistic Congress, the Church is reading from the Sixth Chapter of John’s Gospel. In the first, Jesus took the food a boy gave him and multiplied it like a new manna, to show his power and to prepare for the Eucharist. In the second, he answered the doubts of the crowd with strong testimony suggesting he is a new Moses — and more. He commanded: “This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent.”

Potholes on the road to Synod 2024

Potholes on the road to Synod 2024WEIGEL: The ecclesiastical propaganda machine created for last October’s Synod on Synodality for a Synodal Church is still grinding away, and it’s getting both tiresome and worrisome. As for tiresome: Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, SJ, the General Rapporteur of Synods 2023 and 2024, informed us in a June 14 “news” release from the Vatican’s Synod office that...

Catholic Herald Editorial: It's a reckoning when there is only one seminarian for the whole of Dublin

EDITORIAL: It's a reckoning when there is only one seminarian for the whole of Dublin - Catholic Herald: The maxim that the sins of the fathers are visited on the sons is true in a particularly grim sense in Ireland where, in the archdiocese of Dublin, there is only one man training for the priesthood, with another entering seminary formation in September. Others are in the process of discernment but it is a dispiriting prospect for a capital where there are a million Catholics and almost 200 parishes. The vocations director for the archdiocese, Fr Seamus McEntee, observed that the situation was indicative of a broader “crisis of faith”.

Linking Phenomenology to Faith: The Philosophical Legacy of Edith Stein

Linking Phenomenology to Faith: The Philosophical Legacy of Edith Stein - Diocese of WestminsterMACKENZIE: One night in 1921, the 28-year-old Edith Stein stayed up all night reading a book that she had recently discovered. This book was the autobiography of Saint Teresa of Avila, a renowned Carmelite saint. Edith was profoundly moved by Teresa's mystical description of the soul's connection with the absolute God. The next morning, she declared, "This is the truth," and was baptized the following year. Soon after, she joined the Carmelite order, taking the name Teresa Benedicta of the Cross...

The Paris Olympics ‘Last Supper,’ the French Revolution and punching down on a Catholic minority

The%20Paris%20Olympics%20%u2018Last%20Supper%2C%u2019%20the%20French%20Revolution%20and%20punching%20down%20on%20a%20Catholic%20minority%20%7C%20America%20MagazineLUSVARDI: It’s déjà vu all over again. Or at least that’s the way the French Olympic controversy feels. Cultural elites mocking Christian symbols? In France? Sacrébleu! How did they come up with something so original? Drag queens? How transgressive! Only the flabby Smurf was new. My first reaction to the silhouette of Da Vinci’s “The Last Supper” filled in with a tableau of bacchanalia was, I’ll admit, a yawn...

Edith Stein’s Niece, Max’s Trophy, and Bob’s Bear

Edith%u2019s%20niece%2C%20Max%u2019s%20trophy%2C%20and%20Bob%u2019s%20bearCONDON: Stein was a towering intellectual and moral figure living in an age that yearned for such people. As an Italian I know once explained to me with great condescension: “She lived through two world wars, you know, the first and the second; she died during the second.” Well, indeed. But I also want to draw your attention today to Edith’s niece, Eva, who was born with an intellectual disability in Germany in 1915...

Paris Blasphemy: What Took the Vatican So Long to Respond?

Paris Blasphemy: What Took the Vatican So Long to Respond?| National Catholic RegisterDESOUZA: It was a very strange week for Vatican communications. Pope Francis was badly served in June when his communications chief, Paolo Ruffini, defended his department’s ongoing use of Father Marko Rupnik’s art by invoking the unofficial motto of the pontificate, “Who am I to judge?” Certainly, the Holy Father could not have been pleased that his most famous phrase was being deployed to defend art that...

Grandparenting is the pinnacle of marriage...

Grandparenting: the Pinnacle of Marriage - LifeCraftCUDDEBACK: There is much more than meets the eye in grandparenting. In grandparenting is perhaps the single greatest instance of the active human life coming to fruition. If this seems an exaggeration, it at least bears closer examination. We should not be misled by a popular caricature of grandparenting, where grandchildren are a pleasant accoutrement in the life of a couple pursuing their golden retirement. The grandparenting of which I speak...

Pope Grants Interview to Chinese Jesuits, Says He Desires to Visit Sheshan Shrine of Mary Help of Christians Near Shanghai

Pope Francis offers message of hope for the Chinese people - Vatican News: The heart of the interview given by Pope Francis to Father Pedro Chia, director of the press office of the Chinese Province of the Society of Jesus, is “a message of hope” and a blessing for the entire Chinese people. It is an interview with a strong spiritual focus, punctuated by the Pope's personal memories and his reflections on the future of the Church.

Preliminary Hearing Date Scheduled for Suspect in 2023 Murder of LA Auxiliary Bishop David O’Connell

Bishop%20O%u2019Connell%20death%3A%20Next%20hearing%20scheduled%20for%20suspect: A preliminary hearing date was scheduled in the case of the man suspected in the shooting death of LA Auxiliary Bishop David O’Connell in his Hacienda Heights home in February 2023. Carlos Medina, 63, is charged with one felony count of murder and a special allegation that he used a firearm. During a court appearance on Aug. 6, Medina’s preliminary hearing was scheduled for Oct. 17, where a judge will determine if there is enough evidence for Medina to stand trial.

The most stolen artwork of all time is the famous and astonishing Ghent Altarpiece

The%20most%20stolen%20artwork%20of%20all%20time%20is%20a%20painting%20of%20a%20lamb.%20%u2014%20History%20Facts: You might not have heard of the “Ghent Altarpiece,” also known as the “Adoration of the Mystic Lamb,” but thieves certainly have. Since its completion in 1432, the 12-panel oil painting by Flemish brothers Hubert and Jan van Eyck has become the most stolen artwork of all time. It’s been taken at least seven times...

The future of the McGrath Institute for Church Life, Notre Dame’s renowned ‘Catholic think tank,’ is in question after a leadership shakeup

Future%20of%20Notre%20Dame%u2019s%20Renowned%20%u2018Catholic%20Think%20Tank%u2019%20in%20Question%20After%20Leadership%20Shakeup%7C%20National%20Catholic%20RegisterLIEDL: Over the past two decades, the McGrath Institute for Church Life (MICL) has established itself as a vital “think tank” for the U.S. Catholic Church, helping dioceses across the country tackle pastoral challenges like young-adult disaffiliation and gender dysphoria with faith and creativity. But now, benefactors, faculty and bishops who have been involved with the University of Notre Dame institute...

Does Pope Francis need a new batch of cardinals? And if he does, where will they come from?

Does Pope Francis need a new batch of cardinals?CONDON: As the traditionally quiet month of August continues in Rome, Pope Francis is gearing up for a slate of international trips next month, setting off September 2 for a 10-day tour of Asia and Oceania before returning to Europe for a swing through Belgium and Luxembourg. But September is also a traditional month for popes, including Francis, to convene consistories of the college of cardinals and appoint new members.

‘They Are Trying to Finish the Diocese of Matagalpa’: At Least 12 Priests Arrested in New Surge of Nicaraguan Repression

At least 12 priests arrested in new surge of Nicaraguan repression: The dictatorship of Daniel Ortega has initiated a new crackdown against the Catholic Church in Nicaragua, with the arrest of at least 12 priests across the country.

The Church’s opposition is hiding in plain sight

The%20Church%u2019s%20Opposition%3A%20Hiding%20in%20Plain%20Sight%20-%20The%20Catholic%20ThingGRESS: Resentment is a powerful thing. Marxist revolutionaries have fostered it in the heart of followers for over a century. Few are aware that envy and resentment are also at the heart of the feminist ideology. I’ve written previously about the power of the “Gospel of Discontent.” Most believe feminism was some kind of spontaneous cultural spark necessary to recognize the humanity of women...

Take and Eat: A Reflection on the 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Take%20and%20Eat%3A%20Scott%20Hahn%20Reflects%20on%20the%20Nineteenth%20Sunday%20in%20Ordinary%20Time%20%u2013%20St.%20Paul%20CenterHAHN: Sometimes we feel like Elijah in today’s First Reading. We want to lie down and die, keenly aware of our failures—that we seem to be getting no better at doing what God wants of us. We can be tempted to despair, as the prophet was on his forty-day journey in the desert. We can be tempted to “murmur” against God...

I tried one of the world’s hottest chillis to see why we’re becoming obsessed by spice (with a bonus story of how my Catholic faith helped me overcome addiction)

Watch%3A%20I%20tried%20one%20of%20the%20world%u2019s%20hottest%20chillis%20to%20see%20why%20we%u2019re%20becoming%20obsessed%20by%20spice: On a sunny morning at his farm outside Charlotte, North Carolina, Smokin’ Ed Currie, the world’s greatest cultivator of hot peppers, hands me a spoon bearing a sliver of yellow chilli. He has no name for this one yet, he says, but heat-wise it sits between the Carolina Reaper, his previous world-record-breaking pepper, and Pepper X, which re-broke the record last August.

Vatican Approves India’s Sanctuary of Our Lady of Good Health Ahead of Shrine’s Feast Day

Vatican%20approves%20India%u2019s%20Sanctuary%20of%20Our%20Lady%20of%20Good%20Health%20ahead%20of%20shrine%u2019s%20feast%20day%A0%20%7C%20Catholic%20News%20Agency: The Vatican has approved devotion at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Good Health in Vailankanni, India, the site of reported apparitions of the Virgin Mary in the 16th century.

What’s wrong with the Vatican statement on the Olympic blasphemy? Nearly everything...

The lukewarm Vatican response to the Paris Olympic outrage | Catholic CultureLAWLER: Start with the timing. More than a week passed between the opening ceremonies of the Paris Olympics and the release of the tepid Vatican response. During that week thousands of people had expressed their shock and anger over a deliberate insult to the Blessed Sacrament—the source and summit of the Catholic faith. So the world naturally turned to Rome for an authoritative response, and for several days heard—nothing at all.

That unholy parody: Why the ‘It’s just jolly Dionysus’ claim makes things even worse

That%20unholy%20parody%3A%20Why%20the%20%27It%u2019s%20just%20jolly%20Dionysus%27%20claim%20makes%20things%20even%20worse%20-%20Catholic%20HeraldCASEMORE: Most will be familiar by now with how the controversy over the Last Supper parody during the Olympics’ opening ceremony was followed by an insincere “apology” along with claims and gaslighting arguing it was actually a Greco-Roman bacchanal feast being depicted. In trying to unravel all this and the counter claims that have been banded around...

8 Hidden Features of Airplanes You’ve Probably Never Noticed

8%20Hidden%20Features%20of%20Airplanes%20You%27ve%20Probably%20Never%20Noticed%20%u2014%20Daily%20Passport: On an average day, more than 100,000 flights take to the skies around the globe. That fact is even more remarkable when you consider the complex nature of air travel — it takes careful coordination among pilots, flight attendants, gate agents, aircraft cleaners, baggage handlers, flight dispatchers, air traffic controllers...

The Transfiguration is the interpretive key of the Second Coming

Second Peter - Homiletic & Pastoral ReviewTSAKANIKAS: Saint Peter’s Second Epistle soars the heights of the Spirit akin to the spiritual heights of John’s proclamation of the Gospel (Jn 1:1–14). He whose gift of faith caused Christ to change his name to the “Rock” is no less gifted in spiritual insight and writing than Saint Paul and John the Evangelist. Too often, exegetes have developed a filter through which they hear a Galilean fisherman instead of “Kephas” (Jn 1:42); the one anointed with heavenly wisdom and the prophetic spirit. The wisdom that comes from above is always higher than the knowledge that comes from earthly matters.

Because Mark’s Gospel is the recorded tradition of Saint Peter, and Mark doesn’t seem to emphasize Jesus’s pre-existence as do the other Gospel writers, it is often argued by modern exegetes that Peter has a “lower Christology” than John. Saint John’s Gospel has clearer and more numerous statements from Jesus about his divinity. Nothing is further from the truth concerning Peter. John and Peter both have a “high Christology” if one will consider the internal structure of Mark’s Gospel instead of imposing false 19th-century presuppositions upon the Gospels. Following Peter, Mark proclaims Jesus is the “Son of God” from his very first verse. He does not mean it simply according to the title of Judaic kings of David’s line or in any attenuated sense, but rather in the fullest sense possible since he is writing after the Transfiguration and the Resurrection.

Rosary College, South Carolina’s ‘first Catholic college,’ is opening this month

South%20Carolina%u2019s%20%u2018first%20Catholic%20college%u2019%20launches%20%7C%20The%20College%20Fix: The “first Catholic college” in South Carolina is opening this month. Rosary College in Greenville, South Carolina will start by offering an associates degree of Catholic studies in integrated humanities. Founders of the college provided further information to The College Fix...

Architectural Digest Says These Are the 20 Most Beautiful Cities in the World

The 20 Most Beautiful Cities in the World | Architectural Digest: Creating a definitive list of the most beautiful cities in the world is a downright impossible task. Depending on who you ask, you’d yield wildly different results. As expected, Frank Lloyd Wright judged a city’s beauty on architecture (he was a fan of Chicago), while Ezra Pound was taken by the poetry of a place’s sky at night (“And New York is the most beautiful city in the world? It is not far from it. No urban night is like the night there…” he wrote). Walt Whitman said it’s the people that make a city great, and Aristotle pointed out that “a great city is not to be confounded with a populous one.”

How to Fight (and Win) the War on Mediocrity

Upstream Podcast: The War on Mediocrity on Apple PodcastsLENCIONI: Accepting low standards comes at a cost. So, why do leaders tolerate it? In this episode, Pat sits down with his good friend Chris Jenson, a management consultant, and discusses what mediocrity really is, why leaders let it occur, and how to overcome it.

Kamala Harris Chooses Radically Pro-Abortion, Pro-Trans Tim Walz as Her Running Mate

5 Things to Know About VP Front-Runner Tim Walz: Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris is expected to announce her vice president pick Tuesday, and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz may be her second-most-likely choice. Professional oddsmaking companies BetOnline, Oddschecker, Polymarket, and PredictIt all show Walz behind Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro as Harris’ most likely pick, The Center Square reported.

The Pope Just Asked Catholics to Read More Literature and Poetry — Here’s a Good Place to Start

The%20Pope%20Just%20Asked%20Catholics%20to%20Read%20More%20Literature%20and%20Poetry%20%u2014%20Here%u2019s%20a%20Good%20Place%20to%20Start%7C%20National%20Catholic%20RegisterPEARCE: Images of the Blessed Virgin are almost ubiquitous in the visual arts. From the earliest times, the Madonna and Child have been a favored source of inspiration for artists, so have images of the Nativity and visions of the Assumption and Coronation of the Virgin. Even in art depicting Our Lord’s Passion, the Mother of God can be seen standing at the foot of the Cross, accompanying her Son in his suffering...

Watch: Rome celebrates traditional Miracle of the Snow with the Pope present

New Advent: Watch: Rome celebrates traditional Miracle of the Snow with the Pope present: Tradition holds it snowed on the site of the Basilica of St. Mary Major in the middle of summer in the 4th century.

Letter of the Holy Father on the Role of Literature in Formation

Letter of the Holy Father on the Role of Literature in Formation (17 July 2024) | FrancisCOATOFARMS: I had originally chosen to give this Letter a title referring to priestly formation. On further reflection, however, this subject also applies to the formation of all those engaged in pastoral work, indeed of all Christians. What I would like to address here is the value of reading novels and poems as part of one’s path to personal maturity...

6 Reasons Why Manual Transmissions Are Dying

6 Reasons Why Manual Transmissions Are Dying: I love manual transmissions. I grew up driving with a stick. I still own one as my technical “daily driver,” even though it’s seldom driven daily while I’m testing cars. But each year, the list of vehicles offering manual transmissions grows smaller. And my sentiments feel like even more of an anachronism.

Restless in an Age of Distraction? How To Make Peace With Yourself and Others...

%283%29%20Restless%20in%20an%20Age%20of%20Distraction%3F%20How%20To%20Make%20Peace%u2014With%20Ourselves%20and%20Others.DANIELGORDON: Are you looking for peace? What if instead of success and excitement, happiness meant something more like rest, fulfillment, peace? Interestingly, many ancient philosophers and theologians thought about happiness precisely in terms of peace and rest. This is an intriguing idea because we might be tempted to think about happiness in terms of frenzied activity and experience...

5 Movies for the Twilight of Western Civilization

Five Movies for the Twilight of Western Civilization ~ The Imaginative ConservativeKLUGEWICZ: As Western Civilization proceeds from “dawn to decadence,” here are five movies that may help viewers ponder what went wrong and what they should do at “the end of all things.” Allie Fox (Harrison Ford in one of his best performances) is an eccentric inventor who is disgusted by the crassness of American consumer culture and alarmed by increasing crime and the looming threat of nuclear war.

To accept contraception is to welcome transgenderism

OPINION: To accept contraception is to welcome transgenderismVIVIANBORGES: The artificially hollowed-out reproductive organs of the hyper sexed 1990’s are completed, even perfected, in the neutered version of womanhood presented today. Young women in the generations which followed were offered a narrative surrounding sexuality which heralded freedom from service to their families – enabling promiscuity and empty encounters to become an idol which found little pushback from the secular structure...

Theology is not a trivial pursuit

Theology%20is%20not%20a%20trivial%20pursuit%20%u2013%20Catholic%20World%20ReportDEAVEL: It shouldn’t be shocking to me anymore, but it was. A “professor of public theology” at a Catholic institution criticized another person on social media encouraging people to evangelize. What was the problem? Was he advocating deceitful means? The use of force? Offering people money to convert? None of these.

Do not obsess over bread and circuses. Do not lose hope. Focus rather on Jesus Christ our light...

Controversies & A Sign | Parishable ItemsFELTES: Some of the people who were present at the feeding of the 5,000 caught up with Jesus and his apostles at Capernaum. Jesus told them, “You are looking for me not because you saw signs but because you ate the loaves and were filled.” If Jesus’ sign had generated proper faith in them they would be seeking him for what he might reveal from God...

Pope Francis Appoints Providence Bishop Richard Henning to Succeed Cardinal O’Malley as Archbishop of Boston

Pope Francis appoints Providence Bishop Richard Henning as archbishop of Boston | Catholic News Agency: Pope Francis has appointed Providence, Rhode Island, Bishop Richard Henning as the archbishop of Boston as longtime Archbishop Cardinal Sean O’Malley is retiring at age 80.

Catholics Fire Away With Funny Viral Olympics Marksmen Meme

Catholics Fire Away With Funny Viral Olympics Marksmen Meme| National Catholic RegisterLIEDL: A meme juxtaposing the contrasting styles of two Olympic marksmen is circulating the internet, and Catholics are giving it a shot. Catholics on X (formerly known as Twitter) have used the viral concept, which plays off the dramatically different approaches of two sharpshooters, to humorously take aim at distinctions between everything from the outlooks of priests and seminarians to the writing styles of different Gospel authors.

Cracking open a 117-year-old Antarctic milk time capsule

Cracking open a 117-year-old Antarctic milk time capsule | Popular Science: As dairy alternatives such as almond, oat, and soy milk continue to grow in popularity, an centuries old question regarding cow’s milk still remains. How does today’s dairy differ from what previous generations consumed?

What Should I Meditate on for the Third Luminous Mystery?

What%20Should%20I%20Meditate%20On%20For%20The%20Third%20Luminous%20Mystery%3F%20%u2013%20St.%20Paul%20CenterHARROLD: In his 2002 apostolic letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae, Pope St. John Paul II reminded the faithful of the enduring value of the rosary in the life of the church: “Simple yet profound, it still remains ... a prayer of great significance, destined to bring forth a harvest of holiness” (§1). At the same time, the Holy Father clarified that in spite of—or rather, because of—the clearly Marian character of the rosary...

The little-known story of how Our Lady saved the island of Corvo from pirates

The%20little-known%20story%20of%20how%20Our%20Lady%20saved%20the%20island%20of%20Corvo%20from%20pirates%20%u2014%20Brian%20Fraga%20-%20The%20DialogFRAGA: Our Lady’s hands are said to have once repelled pirates from the small, secluded island of Corvo in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Every year, on the Aug. 15 feast of the Assumption, the people of Corvo, the smallest of nine islands in the Azores, celebrate their patroness, Nossa Senhora dos Milagres (“Our Lady of Miracles” in Portuguese), with Mass, a procession and a daylong feast in the village.

After 8 Days, Vatican Breaks Silence on Paris Olympics ‘Last Supper’ Mockery, Says It ‘Deplores the Offense’

Vatican 'deplores the offense' of Paris Olympics' opening ceremony tableau | AP News: The Vatican said Saturday it “deplored the offense” caused to Christians by the Olympic Games opening ceremony, a scene of which evoked Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper” and featured drag queens.

Minnesota Man Charged in I-94 Killing Said Voices Told Him to Strangle 76-Year-Old Priest

St. Paul man charged in I-94 killing: He said voices told him to strangle priest: Murder charges filed Friday allege a St. Paul man strangled a 76-year-old priest on the side of Interstate 94 Thursday while en route to a mental health evaluation with the suspect telling police voices told him to commit the act.

This Sunday, Trust God More Than Sin

This%20Sunday%2C%20Trust%20God%20More%20Than%20Sin%20%28Day%202%20of%20Jesus%u2019s%20Eucharistic%20Congress%29%20%u2013%20Benedictine%20College%20Media%20%26%20CultureHOOPES: In the Sunday readings following the National Eucharistic Congress, the Church’s liturgy presents Jesus’s own deep dive into the Eucharist: Five consecutive weeks of Gospel readings from John, Chapter 6, starting last week and now continuing on the 18th Sunday of Ordinary Time Year B...

5 Places That Were Almost U.S. States

5%20Places%20That%20Were%20Almost%20States%20%u2014%20Daily%20Passport: America has long been defined by people and communities keen to forge their own independent path. Look no further than its 50 states, which each have a distinct government and cultural identity. While there are still hopes for places like Washington, D.C., or Puerto Rico to join them one day, other proposed states over the centuries have fallen by the wayside. Here are five would-be states from America’s past.

Pillar Post: Cardinal Müller Investigation, More Converts in South London, Archbishop George Lucas Lawsuit, and More

Back in the game, no teams, and 'sports entertainment'CONDON: Cardinal Gerhard Müller and the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith were investigated in 2015, amid charges of significant financial improprieties in the Vatican department, The Pillar reported today. Sources in and around the DDF, the Vatican’s Secretariat for the Economy, and the Office of the Auditor General all described how a spot check on dicastery finances discovered an official...

The New York Times says today’s Catholic priests are “young, confident and conservative.” If that’s true, why is that so?

(3) Crossroads -- Why are young priests more conservative?MATTINGLY: More than two decades ago, a veteran Catholic priest and educator explained some ecclesiastical math to me. The late Father Donald Cozzens was talking about one of the biggest religion-news stories of the past half century — the growing shortage of priests at Catholic altars. To understand the problem, he said, you need to view it through the eyes of mothers and fathers.

How NOT to respond to the recent Olympics blasphemy in Paris

How NOT to respond to the blasphemy in Paris | Catholic CultureLAWLER: Yesterday Thomas Mirus offered some good thoughts on how Catholics should respond to blasphemous public acts, such as those in the Olympic opening ceremonies. I would also recommend the simple and straightforward advice from Archbishop Anthony Fisher. For a bit more detail see the reflection by Father Thomas Weinandy, who makes an important point:

Jesus Has a Solution to the Problems in the Catholic Church

Jesus Has A Solution To The Problems In The Catholic Church! - Catholic Missionary Disciples - College Station, TXLEJEUNE: Several of my friends and family are what you could describe as high-achievers. Still, some of these high-achievers cross over into being workaholics too. In conversation with one of them recently, I mentioned that even Jesus took a day of rest every week (he took the Sabbath rest very seriously). The response of my friend was that Jesus didn’t have kids...

You Are What You Read

(3) The Imagination and Literature - by Susanna SpencerSPENCER: In our home, one of the most commonly quoted chapters from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen is the one in which Elizabeth Bennet is in the sitting room at Netherfield conversing with the Bingleys and Mr. Darcy while her sister is convalescing with a cold upstairs. During the conversation, Caroline Bingley starts to enumerate the many attainments a young woman...

Vatican Says Five Holy Doors Will Be Opened During 2025 Jubilee, Including at a Prison

Vatican Says Five Holy Doors Will Be Opened During 2025 Jubilee, Including at a Prison| National Catholic Register: The Dicastery for Evangelization issued a note on Thursday reaffirming that the Holy Doors of the 2025 Jubilee of Hope in Rome will be located at the four papal basilicas as well as at a prison. The Jubilee of Hope will take place from Dec. 24, 2024 — Christmas Eve — to Jan. 6, 2026, the feast of the Epiphany.

Gaslit By the Olympic Torch

Gaslit By the Olympic Torch | Catholic Answers MagazineAGLIALORO: In the aftermath of the Olympics’ opening ceremony last Friday, at which a flamboyant troupe of dancers in drag performed a burlesque of the Last Supper, the inevitable and entirely just Christian uproar has been met with its own backlash. Christ-haters and online know-it-alls (many of them the same people) have been posting and sharing on social media that, ackshully, the scene was not meant to evoke the Last Supper...

Catholic Bishops Around the World Demand IOC Formal Apology for ‘Blasphemous’ Olympic Opening

Catholic%20bishops%20around%20the%20world%20demand%20IOC%20formal%20apology%20for%20%u2018blasphemous%u2019%20Olympic%20opening%20%7C%20Catholic%20News%20Agency: In a strongly worded open letter, Catholic cardinals and bishops from around the world are calling on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to “repudiate” and “apologize” for the “intentionally hateful mockery” of the Last Supper during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics.

How many Holy Days of Obligation are there? (And is August 15 one of them?)

Q: How many holy days of obligation are there? - Adoremus: The Code of Canon Law lists 10 holy days of obligation besides Sunday: Holy Mary the Mother of God (January 1), the Epiphany (January 6), St. Joseph (March 19), the Ascension (Thursday of the Sixth Week of Easter), the Body and Blood of Christ (Thursday after Trinity Sunday), Saint Peter and Saint Paul the Apostles (June 29), the Assumption (August 15), All Saints (November 1), the Immaculate Conception (December 8), and the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ (December 25)...

Vatican Judge Named in Mafia Corruption Probe Declares Innocence

Vatican judge named in mafia corruption probe declares innocence: The chief judge of the Vatican City’s tribunal has declared his innocence after being named in a corruption probe by Italian authorities in Sicily. Giuseppe Pignatone has served as a judge in Vatican City since 2019, before which he worked as one of Italy’s most prominent anti-mafia public prosecutors in Rome and Sicily. The judge was named in an investigation by prosecutors in Caltanissetta, Sicily...