Pope Leo XIV Arrives in Lebanon

LIVE%20UPDATES%3A%20Pope%20Leo%20XIV%u2019s%20historic%20first%20papal%20trip%20to%20Turkey%20and%20Lebanon%20%7C%20Catholic%20News%20Agency: Pope Leo XIV concluded the first half of his six-day apostolic journey to Turkey and Lebanon by praying with Orthodox Christian communities in Istanbul, before departing for Beirut, Lebanon, for the rest of his historic trip.

Pope Leo XIV Finishes Third Day in Turkey With Mass at Soccer Stadium

LIVE%20UPDATES%3A%20Pope%20Leo%20XIV%u2019s%20historic%20first%20papal%20trip%20to%20Turkey%20and%20Lebanon%20%7C%20Catholic%20News%20Agency: Pope Leo XIV finished the third day of his apostolic journey to Turkey and Lebanon with a Mass at Volkswagen Arena, a soccer stadium in Istanbul's Maslak neighborhood. The Holy Father marked the day in part by joining Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I for a declaration pledging continued dialogue aimed at restoring full communion between the Catholic and Orthodox Churches. The two leaders also participated in a Doxology together.

In the Beginning: The Catholic Answers I Knew

In the Beginning - Patrick MadridMADRID: I’ve told this story more times than I can count, and it never gets old. What happened changed my life in ways I couldn’t have imagined. I first crossed paths with Karl Keating in early 1987 after reading a short, unremarkable notice in our diocesan newspaper about a public debate on the papacy between Catholic attorney Karl Keating and one Bill Jackson...

For 300 years, the early Church learned from ‘The Shepherd of Hermas’

The Shepherd of Hermas ~ The Imaginative ConservativeWINSTONELLIOTT: The Shepherd of Hermas is an inspiring combination of instructions for living the Christian life and an apocalyptic vision of the saved and the damned. At the most basic level, it is “an uncomplicated guide for repentance and moral living that will lead mankind to justification in the sight of God.” Using parables and allegories, the author instructs the early Church so that its members may lead lives pleasing to God.

Advent and the Deliverance from Evil

Advent and the Deliverance from Evil | Knowing Is DoingTORRE: When the first child of any parent is born, there is great expectancy and anticipation that both parents and the entire family experience, as the joy that the first child brings to both parents and the extended family is shared. Specifically, the joy I reference can be described as an act of faith, because after the initial joy of birth, the family rejoices in the gift of this new member...

The Fragility and Stability of the Liturgical Benedict Option

The Fragility and Stability of the Liturgical Benedict Option - Crisis MagazineROLANDMILLARE: When I was attending a daily Mass in my home diocese during college, I genuflected (as was my practice at the time) before receiving Holy Communion. Before the priest gave the final blessing, he made an announcement that he noticed that there were several people who genuflected before receiving the Eucharist. We were reminded that the local bishop had issued a letter...

A Meal of Toads and Other Gruesome Punishments

A Meal of Toads and Other Gruesome PunishmentsTOMMCDONALD: Caesarius of Heisterbach (d. 1240) was one of the most popular hagiographers of the Middle Ages. The prior of the Cistercian Heisterbach Abbey, he’s most famous for his Dialogue on Miracles, which was rivaled only by the Golden Legend in popularity. Over the course of a dozen thematic books, Caesarius tells hundreds of miracle stories categorized by themes like Contrition, Confession, Demons, and so on, but the final chapter is what concerns us today...

How Plato Turned Socrates’ Death Into a Blueprint for True Learning

How%20Plato%20Turned%20Socrates%u2019%20Death%20Into%20a%20Blueprint%20for%20True%20Learning%7C%20National%20Catholic%20RegisterENGELLAND: I begin my Introduction to Philosophy course by reading Socrates’ defense of the philosophical way of life. Democratic Athens had found him guilty of corrupting the youth, of making the weaker argument defeat the stronger, of not believing in the gods of the city. These are serious charges, but as Plato later argued, they were sham charges designed to hide the shame of all those whose errors were revealed by the Socratic art of question and answer.

Pope Leo XIV Visits Nicene Basilica on 1,700th Anniversary of Council of Nicaea

LIVE%20UPDATES%3A%20Pope%20Leo%20XIV%u2019s%20historic%20first%20papal%20trip%20to%20Turkey%20and%20Lebanon%20%7C%20Catholic%20News%20Agency: The second day of Pope Leo XIV’s apostolic journey to Turkey is focused on praying with the Christian community. Watch LIVE the major events of this trip at youtube.com/@ewtnnews and follow our live updates of his historic visit:

On the surprising sanity of Bill Gates on climate change…

On%20the%20surprising%20sanity%20of%20Bill%20Gates%20on%20climate%20change%u2026%20%u2013%20Catholic%20World%20ReportRAMAGE: I didn’t see this coming. I could hardly believe the news article that came across my desk the other day: none other than Bill Gates was urging climate advocates to rethink their priorities and rhetoric so that their work truly serves the good of the world. Remarkably, he even says something that could have come straight from a papal encyclical...

Gratitude Without Limit

Gratitude Without Limit - LifeCraftCUDDEBACK: The place of gratitude in human life is at once obvious and remarkably complex. Great pagan philosophers (such as Seneca) as well as Christian theologians (such as Thomas Aquinas) have treated it at some length. This much is clear: learning both to be grateful and to express it regularly are central to the art of living a good life.

How to Keep Politics From Colonizing Your Soul

How to Keep Politics From Colonizing Your SoulMERING: We didn’t used to think of the holiday dinner table as a flashpoint for heated family disagreements about health care, abortion, and Donald Trump. But somewhere along the way, we began to…or maybe we were taught to. In 2022, the Biden White House released talking points for correcting your wayward relatives over the holidays. A decade earlier an ad with a young man clad in a plaid onesie...

Pope Leo: Repent Sins, Bear Witness, Foster Christian Unity

Pope Leo: Repent sins, bear witness, foster Christian unity | Catholic CultureMIRUS: In the new Apostolic Letter In Unitate Fidei it is a pleasure to see Pope Leo doubling down on the importance of Christian unity precisely by not watering down the Catholic Faith, but rather by insisting on the absolute truth of the fundamental Catholic creed set forth by the Council of Nicaea in AD 325.

The Vatican’s Unhappy Return of Canadian Indian Gifts

The%20Vatican%u2019s%20unhappy%20return%20of%20Canadian%20Indian%20gifts%20%7C%20Catholic%20CultureLAWLER: The Catholic Church in Canada has been backpedaling since 2021, when the reports first appeared of mass graves at the “residential schools” run by Catholic religious orders for children of the indigenous (Indian) tribes. To date, exactly zero such “mass graves” have actually been discovered. But critics of the Church have never let a lack of evidence interfere with a good story, so the narrative endures...

Vatican Reports First Budget Surplus After Years of Deficits

Vatican reports first budget surplus after years of deficits | Reuters: The Vatican closed 2024 with a budget surplus of 1.6 million euros ($1.85 million), it said on Wednesday, signalling a turnaround after years of deficits that had frustrated Church leaders, including the late Pope Francis. In its first budget report since 2022, the Vatican said it had seen a "significant recovery" in its accounts last year, thanks mainly to higher donations and strong investment gains.

No Duty Is More Urgent Than That of Returning Thanks

%u2693%20Daily%20Anchor%3A%20Happy%20Thanksgiving%21STEFANICK: “What most attracts God’s graces is gratitude,” says the Little Flower, “because if we thank him for a gift, he is touched and hastens to give us ten more, and if we thank him again with the same enthusiasm, what an incalculable multiplication of graces! I have experienced this; try it yourself and you will see! My gratitude for everything he gives me is limitless, and I prove it to him in a thousand ways.”

Pope Leo XIV Arrives in Ankara to Begin First Apostolic Journey to Turkey and Lebanon

LIVE%20UPDATES%3A%20Pope%20Leo%20XIV%u2019s%20historic%20first%20papal%20trip%20to%20Turkey%20and%20Lebanon%20%7C%20Catholic%20News%20Agency: Pope Leo XIV began the first apostolic journey of his papacy to Turkey and Lebanon from Nov. 27 to Dec. 2. Watch LIVE the major events of this trip at youtube.com/@ewtnnews and follow our live updates of his historic trip:

Angels are the REAL Guardians of the Galaxies

Angels: The REAL Guardians of the GalaxiesMADRID: A caller on my radio show today asked whether angels are responsible for the “vibrations” heard throughout the universe. He had come across a speaker who suggested something along those lines and wanted to know if it was odd speculation or if the Church actually teaches anything that resembles it. His description mixed a few ideas together, but it touched on something more significant than he realized.

In a Dark Hour: A Reflection on the First Sunday in Advent

In a Dark Hour: Scott Hahn Reflects on the First Sunday in Advent - St. Paul CenterHAHN: Jesus exaggerates in today’s Gospel when He claims not to know the day or the hour when He will come again. Christ occasionally makes such overstatements to drive home a point we might otherwise miss. His point here is that the exact “hour” is not important. What is crucial is that we not postpone our repentance, that we be ready for Him, spiritually and morally, when He comes...

On ‘Beautiful Feast’ of Thanksgiving, Gratitude Should Accompany Your Turkey and Pie, Pope Leo Says

Gratitude should accompany your turkey and pie, pope says - OSV News: Thanksgiving is a “beautiful feast” that reminds everyone to be grateful for the gifts they have been given, Pope Leo XIV said. “Say thank you to someone,” the pope suggested two days before the U.S. holiday when he met reporters outside his residence in Castel Gandolfo before returning to the Vatican after a day off. Pope Leo, the first U.S.-born pope, was scheduled to spend his Thanksgiving Nov. 27 in Ankara and Istanbul, Turkey, the first stops on his first foreign trip as pope.

Vatican ends routine use of Latin in sweeping overhaul of Curia governance

Vatican ends routine use of Latin in sweeping overhaul of Curia governanceLIMBU: The Vatican has announced the most far-reaching overhaul of its internal administration in a quarter of a century, with Pope Leo XIV approving two major regulatory texts that will reshape daily life inside the Holy See. Signed on the Feast of Christ the King and published on 24 November, the new Regulation of the Roman Curia...

‘The Sinner,’ Vatican Terms, and Stretching Curds

%u2018The%20Sinner%2C%u2019%20Vatican%20terms%2C%20and%20stretching%20curdsJDFLYNN: Before anything else, take a minute to pray this morning for 253 students and 12 teachers who were kidnapped last Friday from St. Mary’s School in Papiri, northwestern Nigeria. In fact, more than 300 students were kidnapped last week, but 50 managed to escape their captors late Friday night, and to run home. The students are between 12 and 17 years old. Most of them live at the school...

Why Does Jesus Heal Some People and Not Others?

Why Does Jesus Heal Some People and Not Others? - St. Paul CenterHARROLD: In the Gospels it often seems as if Jesus grants healing to anyone who asks for it. For many of us, this raises the question of why the same doesn’t hold true today. We all know people who have prayed for healing for years without ever seeming to receive what they ask for. Perhaps we’ve even had that experience ourselves. So why is Jesus apparently less willing to heal people today than He was when He walked on earth?

Rian Johnson Turns to Denver Priests for Catholic Accuracy in New ‘Knives Out’ Film

A%20Denver%20Priest%2C%20a%20Hollywood%20Director%20and%20a%20Bowl%20of%20Fettuccine%3A%20Father%20Scott%20Bailey%20Advises%20on%20Catholic%20Life%20for%20New%20%u2018Knives%20Out%u2019%20FilmSORGI: Sometimes, God uses big meals with fettuccine alfredo to open doors for encounter, wisdom and subtle evangelization. Father Scott Bailey, pastor of Risen Christ Parish in Denver, created that opportunity in guiding and consulting for a top Hollywood film writer, producer and director who happens to be the nephew of one of his parishioners...

The U.S. Coast Guard has search-and-rescue capabilities that are the envy of the world. They say one man is responsible for that. Meet Art Allen...

The Drift Of Things | BoatUS: I found Art Allen a few miles inland from some uninviting Connecticut beach. He was in his mid-60s at the time, a scientist with a man-of-action feel to him. He wore a Coast Guard Search and Rescue polo, a massive Fenix 3 GPS watch, and he had this snow-white Hemingway beard. Six canoes hung from hooks inside his garage, mountain bikes leaned against the wall, and all looked as if they had a lot of miles on them. So did he.

Greenville, South Carolina, Traditional Catholic Haven in the Bible Belt

New Catholic Hubs: Greenville, South Carolina, Traditional Faith Haven in the Bible Belt| National Catholic RegisterCALDWELL: When Heather Vreeman’s husband called her from Greenville, South Carolina, where he was interviewing for a job, she was eager to hear what he thought of the area. “I think you are going to love it, and I think I found our church,” he told her. That church, St. Mary’s in downtown Greenville, wasn’t the reason they moved from San Diego...

How Close Can East and West Get in Nicaea?

How close can East and West get in Nicea? - by Ed. CondonCONDON: Pope Leo XIV called for renewed commitment to ecumenism among Christian denominations on Sunday, urging all Christians and their leaders to deepen their communion in the commonly confessed tenets of the faith. In an apostolic letter released ahead of a papal trip to Nicea — during which Leo will join the Patriarch of Constantinople to mark the 1700th anniversary of the ecumenical council...

Pope Leo XIV Prepares to Depart Thursday for ‘Demanding Journey’ to Turkey and Lebanon

Voice of peace and hope: Pope Leo's visit to Turkiye and Lebanon - Vatican News: The Holy See Press Office Director, Matteo Bruni, has presented Pope Leo XIV’s first apostolic journey, which will take him to Ankara, Istanbul, and Beirut, with a significant stop in İznik, ancient Nicaea, for the 1700th anniversary of the Council. The pilgrimage carries a strong ecumenical character and places interreligious dialogue at its center...

Full Text: Apostolic Letter ‘In Unitate Fidei’ on the 1,700th Anniversary of the Council of Nicaea

Apostolic Letter In Unitate Fidei on the 1700th Anniversary of the Council of Nicaea (23 November 2025)COATOFARMS: In the unity of faith, proclaimed since the beginning of the Church, Christians have been called to walk in harmony, guarding and transmitting the gift they have received with love and joy. This is expressed in the words of the Creed, “I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God… for our salvation he came down from heaven,” that were formulated 1700 years ago by the Council of Nicaea, the first ecumenical gathering in the history of Christianity.

Pope Leo XIV Issues Apostolic Letter 'In Unitate Fidei' on 1,700th Anniversary of Nicene Council

Pope Leo issues Apostolic Letter 'In unitate fidei' on Nicaea Anniversary - Vatican News: Ahead of his upcoming Apostolic Journey to Turkey, Pope Leo XIV issued on Sunday, 23 November, the Solemnity of Christ the King, the Apostolic Letter 'In unitate fidei' on the 1700th Anniversary of the Council of Nicaea. The full Letter, which has the hope of "encouraging the whole Church to renew her enthusiasm for the profession of faith," is broken down into twelve points...

315 Children and Staff Kidnapped in Predawn Raid on St. Mary’s Catholic School in Nigeria as Attacks on Christians Grow

Nigeria sees one of worst mass abductions as 315 taken from school: More than 300 children and staff are now thought to have been kidnapped by gunmen from a Catholic school in central Nigeria, making it one of the worst mass abductions the country has seen. The Christian Association of Nigeria said 303 students and 12 teachers were taken from on St Mary's School in Papiri, Niger state - substantially more than previously estimated.

Pope Leo XIV Warns Against ‘False Mercy’ in Marriage Annulment Proceedings

Pope%20Leo%20XIV%20warns%20against%20%u2018false%20mercy%u2019%20in%20marriage%20annulment%20proceedings%20%7C%20Catholic%20News%20Agency: In a firm call to avoid “false mercy” in marriage annulment proceedings, Pope Leo XIV reminded that compassion cannot disregard the truth. During a Friday audience with participants in the legal-pastoral training course of the Roman Rota, the Holy See’s court of appeals, the Holy Father read a lengthy speech in which he recalled the importance of the reform of marriage annulment processes initiated by Pope Francis 10 years ago.

This Sunday, Christ the King Moves You From Satan’s Tyrannical Rule to the Kingdom of God

This%20Sunday%2C%20Jesus%20Transfers%20You%20From%20Satan%u2019s%20Kingdom%20to%20His%20%u2013%20Benedictine%20College%20Media%20%26%20CultureHOOPES: God created us, his beloved children, to “have dominion” over all things on earth, giving us every plant, every animal and every bird. We were to rule in his place in Paradise — and God saw his plan working and said it was “very good.” But then we blew it. We agreed with Satan that God is a tyrant and took God’s kingdom, and we handed it over to his enemy...

I Can’t Do the Push-Ups for You...

I Can't Do the Push-Ups for You! - Catholic Missionary Disciples - College Station, TXLEJEUNE: Some days I hate working out. I feel tired, maybe it is too hot, maybe I am just feeling lazy. Whatever the reason, I have to choose to overcome the obstacles I face, if I want to be healthy. I have been working out for decades and have the good habits of working out continually. So, imagine how hard it is to get in shape after years of couch-potato living...

Abortion Is a Preeminent Priority

Abortion as a Preeminent Priority - Word on FireKACZOR: In their 2023 introductory note to Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship, the US Catholic bishops taught, “The threat of abortion remains our pre-eminent priority because it directly attacks our most vulnerable and voiceless brothers and sisters and destroys more than a million lives per year in our country alone.” It is worth reflecting on what grounds this prioritization...

Presenting Yourself, Zuppi and Me, and High Rollers

Presenting yourself, Zuppi and me, and high rollersCONDON: The Biblical tradition of presentation in the temple is something which has always appealed to me, aesthetically and spiritually, though we tend to think of it most in the context of its fulfillment in the presentation of Christ by his earthly parents, prompting Simeon’s famous prayer. Though, in a sense, the presentations of Mary and Christ, while complementary parts of the history of salvation, are rather distinct.

Pope Leo XIV Participates in Live ‘Digital Visit’ With National Catholic Youth Conference in Indianapolis

LIVE%20UPDATES%3A%20NCYC%202025%20%u2014%20Pope%20Leo%20XIV%u2019s%20historic%20first%20digital%20encounter%20with%20young%20U.S.%20Catholics%20%7C%20Catholic%20News%20Agency: The 2025 National Catholic Youth Conference will feature prayer, community, evangelization, and service among Catholic teenagers from Nov. 20–22 in Indianapolis. Follow CNA’s live coverage of the event here.

Watch Live: Pope Leo XIV Participates in ‘Digital Visit’ With Youth Conference in Indianapolis

New%20Advent%3A%20Watch%20Live%3A%20Pope%20Leo%20XIV%20Participates%20in%20%u2018Digital%20Visit%u2019%20With%20Youth%20Conference%20in%20Indianapolis: Join Pope Leo XIV live from the Vatican as he participates in a first-ever digital visit to the United States for a real-time dialogue with 5 American teenagers about their concerns in front of over 15,000 youth in Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, IN.

‘The Carpenter’s Son’ Reimagines the Boyhood of Christ — Badly

%u2018The%20Carpenter%u2019s%20Son%u2019%20Reimagines%20the%20Boyhood%20of%20Christ%20%u2014%20Badly%7C%20National%20Catholic%20RegisterTOMMCDONALD: A title card at the beginning of The Carpenter’s Son informs us that the movie is based on The Infancy Gospel of Thomas, which “describes events missing in the gospel timeline.” That’s certainly an interesting way to characterize this obscure early text, already mined by Anne Rice for her novel Christ the Lord...

Co-Redemptrix Si, ‘Fifth Marian Dogma’ No

Co-Redemptrix si, dogma no | Catholic CultureWOLFGANG: I believe that the Virgin Mary is the Co-Redemptrix. And I think Rome was quite right not to define her as such. For all (or most) of the reasons the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) stated in Mater Populi Fidelis (“The Mother of the Faithful People of God”). The reactions against Mater Populi Fidelis are, to my eyes, overwrought...

What the Church Teaches About the End Times, Antichrist, and the Second Coming

Fear Tactics | Catholic CulturePOKORSKY: In the 1970s, an old man with disheveled white hair sat in front of the White House holding a sign that read, “Repent, the end is near.” After fifty years, joking about the end of the world is less carefree, as anxiety quietly creeps in. The end is indeed near for many of us inching toward the top of the actuarial tables...

Enter Your Birthdate Here to Find Out What Was Happening the Day You Were Born

Birthday Headlines - Discover News and Notable Events from Your Birth Date: I was wondering if anything interesting on the news was going on when I was born, and decided to create this website for fun. The purpose is to show people what was going on when they were born. With this website I've found out that it was a pretty slow news day on my birthday, but I bet it would feel cool to know a historical event happened on your birthday.

Notre Dame Professor Secretly Books Campus Rooms for Condom and Plan B Distribution

Associate Director of Gender Studies Secretly Books Rooms for Condom, Plan B Distribution - Irish Rover: Gender Studies professor has secretly booked rooms for Irish 4 Reproductive Health (I4RH) using a fake club name. I4RH, an unofficial student group, uses the reservations to meet and distribute contraceptives on campus—a direct violation of university rules. Professor Pamela Butler, Associate Director and Director of Undergraduate Studies for the Gender Studies Department...

Humanities Syllabus for November: The Harvest of Love

Humanities Syllabus for November: The Harvest of LoveCONLEY: November is a month for gratitude, the time of harvest and remembrance of the dead. In the United States, Thanksgiving Day calls us to pause, gather as families, and thank God for his many blessings. Earlier in the month, Martinmas Day, in honor of St. Martin of Tours, serves as a Catholic celebration of the fall harvest and its new wine. Giving thanks is at the heart of our faith through the Eucharist...

Apostles’ Tombs, and What’s Notre Dame?

Apostles' tombs, and what's Notre Dame? - by JD FlynnJDFLYNN: Every diocesan bishop in the world is obliged to make a pilgrimage — every five years — to pray and offer Holy Mass at the tombs of the apostles, Peter and Paul. It’s an ancient tradition for bishops to make themselves pilgrims at the tombs of those holy men, in the Roman basilicas of St. Peter and St. Paul Outside the Walls. And that tradition has been for centuries a normative expectation.

World’s Tallest Our Lady of Fatima Monument Inaugurated in Brazil

World%u2019s%20tallest%20Our%20Lady%20of%20F%E1tima%20monument%20inaugurated%20in%20Brazil%20%7C%20Catholic%20News%20Agency: The world’s tallest monument dedicated to Our Lady of Fátima was inaugurated and blessed on Nov. 13 during the closing Mass of the Marian Jubilee in Crato, located in Ceará state in northeastern Brazil. The 177-foot-tall statue was created by the artist Ranilson Viana, inspired by the replica of the pilgrim image venerated in the cathedral of Our Lady of Penha, a work by the Portuguese sculptor Guilherme Ferreira Thedim.

Latin Mass supporters welcome ‘signs of policy change’

Latin%20Mass%20supporters%20welcome%20%u2018signs%20of%20policy%20change%u2019%20-%20OSV%20News: Supporters of the traditional Latin Mass have welcomed hints of an easing of restrictions, while cautioning that traditionalist practices still face tough resistance from some church leaders. “Bishops already have discretionary powers to request permits for the Latin Mass — but many have chosen instead to reduce it to just one or two locations,” said Joseph Shaw, chairman of the London-based Latin Mass Society.

In this TikTok test of a baby formula emergency, one Catholic church really stood out

In this TikTok test of a baby formula emergency, 1 Catholic church really stood out - OSV News: A TikTok content creator’s following exploded after she posted videos of her informal study on whether churches across the country would give baby formula to a mother whose 2-month-old infant had not eaten in more than half a day. Of the dozens of churches Nikalie Monroe called, nine said yes including at least three that are Catholic.

Notre Dame discards Catholic mission statement for staff

Notre Dame bins Catholic mission statement for staff: The University of Notre Dame has removed its long-standing expectation that staff should “understand, accept and support” its Catholic mission. In a press release, the University of Notre of Dame explained that it was removing its Catholic mission statement for staff. It will be replaced with a streamlined set of secular values that no longer makes explicit reference to the religious character of the institution.

Hope Springs Eternal in ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’

Hope Springs Eternal in A Charlie Brown Christmas | Church Life Journal | University of Notre DamePIRTLE: On December 9, 1965, 45 million Americans tuned in to CBS to watch the premiere of A Charlie Brown Christmas. The half-hour animated Christmas special has aired every year since then. As A Charlie Brown Christmas turns 60 this year, it is worth asking why this program, with its unapologetically Christian treatment of the holiday season, continues to be embraced year after year by a culture that has become increasingly secularized...

To the ordinary human eye, St. Charbel is simply an oddity. To those who know better, he’s one of the greatest miracle-workers in history...

St. Charbel & the Relevance of the Irrelevant ~ The Imaginative ConservativeDEAVEL: This coming Saturday, the Latin Rite Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Houston is hosting Eparch Elias Zaidan of the Maronite Catholic Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon of Los Angeles. His Grace will be celebrating the Maronite Divine Liturgy (which originated as the Antiochene Liturgy) in honor of one of the greatest miracle-workers in history, a nineteenth-century monk and hermit called St. Charbel Makhlouf...

The Most Extreme Red Bull Wingsuit Obstacle Course Ever Attempted

New Advent: The Most Extreme Red Bull Wingsuit Obstacle Course Ever Attempted: The world’s best aerial athletes and pilots come together to make the ultimate obstacle course in the sky. Precision flying meets creativity as wingsuiters take on a complex series of obstacles including jet planes, paramotors, skydivers, catapults, skyscrapers and drones in order to reach their final landing zone...

The Kingdom of the Son: A Reflection on the Upcoming Solemnity of Christ the King

Kingdom of the Son: Scott Hahn Reflects on the Solemnity of Christ the King - St. Paul CenterHAHN: Week by week, the Liturgy has been preparing us for the revelation to be made on this, the last Sunday of the Church year. Jesus, we have been shown, is truly the Chosen One, the Messiah of God, the King of the Jews. Ironically, in today’s Gospel we hear these names on the lips of those who don’t believe in Him—Israel’s rulers, the soldiers, a criminal dying alongside Him...

Does God Have a Sense of Humor?

Does God Have a Sense of Humor? - St. Paul CenterHARROLD: Humor and laughter are essential parts of what it means to be a human being. Aristotle regarded risibility as one of the features that distinguishes us from non-rational animals. Indeed, humor is such a beautiful and complex part of being human that it’s difficult to see how it could have developed through purely natural means...

New York Post: New Yorkers turning to the Church, number of Catholic converts soaring, priests say

New Yorkers turning to the church, number of Catholic converts soaring, priests say | New York Post: Young people come to New York City to chase careers, materialism and pleasure. The pursuit of faith isn’t exactly on the Big Apple checklist. However, at a recent, very crowded Sunday night mass at St. Joseph’s Church in Greenwich Village, Father Jonah Teller, OP made a simple announcement indicating that times are changing...

The Love That Sees Everything in My Life

The Love That Sees Everything in My Life - LifeCraftCUDDEBACK: There is nothing like the experience of being seen by eyes that love you. Here, and perhaps here alone, we feel truly seen. But actually our happiness is grounded in, and indeed requires, an astounding, unique instance of such love: a love that not only sees everything but also orchestrates everything. Too often we forget or ignore this, much to our unhappiness...

Pope Leo XIV’s Wednesday Audience: Christ Beckons Us to ‘Reverse Course’ and ‘Change History’

Pope at Audience: We must lend our voice to those who have none - Vatican News: We are called "to reverse course," as Jesus asks us, and to "change history," Pope Leo XIV insisted during his Wednesday General Audience in St. Peter's Square, as he continued his catechesis series on "Jesus Christ, Our Hope." The Holy Father began his remarks considering Christ’s Resurrection and its impact on the challenges of today’s world...

9 Brief Thoughts on the Future

Nine Brief Thoughts on the Future - The Catholic ThingMAIER: We’re just weeks from 2026, and just months from America’s 250th birthday. We’re also just days from Advent, a season of self-examination and hope for Christians in preparing for the central event of human history: the birth of Jesus. It’s a beautiful, serious, reflective time of year. Which makes it a perfect time for some awkward thoughts about who we are as a believing people and the character of the “American Experiment,” the nation we call home and help sustain...

Teaching the Faith Begins Here: ‘Why Did Jesus Become Man?’

The Aim of Christian Instruction | Knowing Is DoingTORRE: There is an important narrative that many Catholic educators neglect to present to their students when introducing, teaching, and discussing the Catholic faith. The narrative in question is typically associated with the following question: Why did Jesus come? The nature of this Incarnational question is fundamental because it connects all human beings to the Father by way of the Son...

Pope Leo Asks for Liturgy That Is ‘Sober in Its Solemnity’ While Respecting Popular Piety

Pope%20Leo%20XIV%20asks%20parishes%20for%20liturgy%20that%20is%20%u2018sober%20in%20its%20solemnity%u2019%20while%20respecting%20popular%20piety%20%7C%20Catholic%20News%20Agency: Pope Leo XIV urged parishes to invest in liturgical formation, especially for lectors, while also encouraging people to pray the Liturgy of the Hours and calling for attention to be paid to popular piety. While receiving participants in a course organized by the Pontifical Liturgical Institute of St. Anselm in Rome...

Robert George resigns from Heritage Foundation board over Kevin Roberts video

Robert George resigns from Heritage Foundation board over Kevin Roberts video | Catholic News Agency: Robert P. George, a Catholic academic focused on philosophy and law, resigned from his board position at the conservative Heritage Foundation on Nov. 17 after the think tank’s leader Kevin Roberts posted a video defending Tucker Carlson’s interview with Nick Fuentes. In the interview, Carlson and Fuentes bonded over criticism of Israel...

Pope Leo XIV: Where the World Sees Threats, the Church Sees Children

Pope Leo XIV: Where the world sees threats, the Church sees children | Catholic News Agency: Celebrating Mass for the Jubilee of the Poor on the Ninth World Day of the Poor, Pope Leo XIV urged Christians not to retreat into a closed or “religious” world of their own, but to help make human society “a space of fraternity and dignity for all, without exception.” Presiding in St. Peter’s Basilica on Sunday...

New Study Explores the Paradox of ‘Jesus Without a Church’

Study%20explores%20%u2018Jesus%20without%20Church%u2019%20paradox%20%7C%20Catholic%20News%20Agency: The number of people who believe their faith does not depend on attending Mass has increased as more Catholics are cultivating a personal relationship with Jesus, according to a recent survey of U.S. Catholic beliefs.

Heresy Type Indicator: Manichaeism

Heresy Type Indicator: Manichaeism | Catholic CulturePOKORSKY: Various psychological tests claim to promote self-understanding. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, for example, helps us identify our personality types. Years ago, perhaps less so today, the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) was used to screen out potential psychopaths from sensitive professions...

This Sunday: When Everything Ends, We Will Be Transformed by Love

This%20Sunday%3A%20When%20Everything%20Ends%2C%20We%20Will%20Be%20Transformed%20by%20Love%20%u2013%20Benedictine%20College%20Media%20%26%20CultureHOOPES: The liturgical year has a lot of hope-filled points — birthdays, Easter, Marian days. It also has dark moments — Ash Wednesday, Good Friday and the Beheading of John the Baptist. But never does it get as dark — or as hope-filled — as this Sunday. Here are five takeaways about the the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C, from Sunday Readings columns at this site and the Extraordinary Story podcast.

Thanks for Coming, Procedural Shenanigans, and Being Cool

Thanks for coming, procedural shenanigans, and being coolCONDON: JD and I spent the bulk of this week in Baltimore, together with our ever more accomplished and reliable freelance colleague Jack Figge. It was a good week of reporting, with several substantive issues discussed and passed by the bishops at their plenary assembly, and a few surprises among the election results. We will come on to all of that in a minute...

The Real Faces of Saints

The Real Faces of Saints - by Deacon Tom - Weird CatholicTOMMCDONALD: Most images of saints today show the lingering style of 19th century technique and sentimentality, which is … not great. They’re disconnected from the reality of these great saints and bathed in a saccharine glow established in perhaps the worst century of Catholic artistic endeavor. From holy cards to statues, Catholics really need to step up our game and starting showing these great men and women either as they were...

Nuncio to UK Says Contrary to Reports, Pope Leo Has No Immediate Plans to Lift TLM Restrictions

Nuncio in Britain says pope won't overturn restrictions on old Latin Mass | USCCB: Pope Leo XIV does not intend to overturn Pope Francis' limits on celebrating the traditional Latin Mass but will grant two-year dispensations to bishops who ask, a nuncio said. Archbishop Miguel Maury Buendía, the apostolic nuncio to Great Britain, told bishops Nov. 13 that Pope Leo told him he would not abrogate "Traditionis Custodes," Pope Francis' 2021 letter greatly restricting...

Pope Leo XIV Calls for ‘Prudent’ Evaluation of Supernatural Phenomena to Avoid Superstition

Pope%20Leo%20XIV%20calls%20for%20%u2018prudent%u2019%20evaluation%20of%20supernatural%20phenomena%20to%20avoid%20superstition%20%7C%20Catholic%20News%20Agency: Pope Leo XIV during an address at the Vatican on Thursday called for the “prudent” evaluation of supernatural phenomena to avoid falling into superstition. “To avoid falling into superstitious illusion, it is necessary to evaluate such events prudently, through humble discernment and in accordance with the teachings of the Church,” the Holy Father said to participants...

Archbishop Alexander Sample elected chairman of US bishops’ Committee for Religious Liberty in 111-111 race

Archbishop%20Alexander%20Sample%20elected%20chairman%20of%20US%20bishops%u2019%20Committee%20for%20Religious%20Liberty%20in%20close%20race: Archbishop Alexander Sample has been elected chairman of the US bishops’ Committee for Religious Liberty after an unusual tie in the conference vote. The plenary meeting of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops delivered an unexpected moment when the routine election of a committee chair ended in an extraordinary stalemate.

Why 3 Popes Say the Antichrist Novel ‘Lord of the World’ Predicted Our Times

Why%203%20Popes%20Say%20the%20Antichrist%20Novel%20%u2018Lord%20of%20the%20World%u2019%20Predicted%20Our%20Times%7C%20National%20Catholic%20RegisterTURLEY: In 2015, on a flight back to the Vatican from the Philippines, Pope Francis told journalists: “There is a book ... it is called Lord of the World. The author is Benson. ... I suggest you read it. Reading it, you’ll understand well what I mean by ideological colonization.” He went on to describe the novel as prophetic, especially in regard to modern developments such as secularism, relativism and the notion...

Today Is the Day: A Reflection on the Upcoming 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

%u201CToday%u201D%20is%20the%20Day%3A%20Scott%20Hahn%20Reflects%20on%20the%20Thirty-Third%20Sunday%20in%20Ordinary%20Time%20-%20St.%20Paul%20CenterHAHN: It is the age between our Lord’s first coming and His last. We live in the new world begun by His life, death, Resurrection, and Ascension, by the sending of His Spirit upon the Church. But we await the day when He will come again in glory. “Lo, the day is coming,” Malachi warns in today’s First Reading. The prophets taught Israel to look for the Day of the Lord, when He would gather the nations for judgment (see Zephaniah 3:8; Isaiah 3:9; 2 Peter 3:7). Jesus anticipates this day in today’s Gospel...

What Do You Mean? When Religious Instruction Becomes Incoherent...

What Do You Mean? When Religious Instruction Becomes Incoherent | Knowing Is Doing: Within the walls and corridors of an academic institution that proposes to convey and reaffirm the teachings of the Catholic Church, prudence would dictate that the institution's teachers be consistent in their articulation and dissemination of the Catholic faith. Even more, it would be imperative that anyone charged with echoing the teachings of Jesus Christ be acutely aware of the responsibility to deliver a clear message of both the Gospel of Christ and its content, the Creed. Hence, any teacher would champion the importance of clarity and fidelity to the Christian message conveyed to students to avoid any spiritual or moral confusion...

Cry out to the Lord in your suffering. Never was it known, that such a cry was not heard...

Learning to Call the Physician - LifeCraftCUDDEBACK: Already Plato used bodily health as a helpful analogy for understanding health of the soul. The entire complex realm of cultivating and restoring bodily health is rife with truths applicable to spiritual health, which two healths, of course, while distinct are not unconnected. Calling a physician for help at the appropriate time is a significant aspect in both...

Bishop Cozzens: 2029 Eucharistic Congress Is ‘Going to Be Bigger and Better’

Cozzens%3A%202029%20Eucharistic%20Congress%20is%20%u2018going%20to%20be%20bigger%20and%20better%u2019FIGGE: Sixty five thousand people gathered last summer in Indianapolis for the National Eucharistic Congress — the culmination of the Church’s three-year National Eucharistic Revival. Leaders heralded it a roaring success. But the bishop who organized the Eucharist Congress said that the next one, set for summer 2029, will be “bigger and better” than the Church’s 2024 gathering.

Why Bishops Chose Flores for VP: He Is Who He Appears to Be — and He Means What He Says

Veep%20Bishop%20Flores%20%u2014%20a%20man%20without%20subtext%3F%20-%20by%20Ed.%20CondonCONDON: The bishops of the United States elected a new conference president and vice president from among their number Tuesday morning. The selection as president of Oklahoma City’s Archbishop Paul Coakley, erstwhile secretary of the conference, was widely predicted. Following a recent run of vice presidents ineligible to go on to serve as president because of age, the secretary position had become the de facto new poll position from which to run for the top office.

US Bishops Elect Archbishop Paul Coakley as USCCB President, Bishop Daniel Flores as Vice President

BREAKING: U.S. bishops elect Archbishop Paul S. Coakley as USCCB president | Catholic News Agency: Archbishop Paul Coakley of Oklahoma City was elected to serve as the next president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) in a secret ballot on Nov. 11. Bishops chose Bishop Daniel Flores of Brownsville, Texas, to serve as vice president. Flores, who serves in the southernmost diocese in Texas, finished second in balloting for president. Coakley subsequently won a runoff.

New book recounts anecdotes from Pope Leo XIV’s life, including the day he was reported dead

New%20book%20recounts%20anecdotes%20from%20Pope%20Leo%20XIV%u2019s%20life%2C%20including%20the%20day%20he%20was%20reported%20dead%20%7C%20Catholic%20News%20AgencyCARDIEL: His voice reveals, above all, the gratitude he feels toward his friend, Pope Leo XIV. From this friendship, forged over more than three decades, comes the Spanish-language book “From Robert to Leo,” published by Mensajero, in which Armando Lovera, originally from Iquitos, Peru, recounts various little-known episodes from the pontiff’s life, like the day many parishioners in Trujillo, Peru, thought that Father Robert Prevost had died.

Can I Celebrate My Parents’ Anniversary if Their Marriage Is Invalid?

Can%20I%20Celebrate%20My%20Parents%u2019%20Anniversary%20if%20Their%20Marriage%20Is%20Invalid%3F%7C%20National%20Catholic%20RegisterBRUGGER: Thank you for your thoughtful question and for the evident care with which you live your Catholic faith amid a complex family situation. Your circumstances involve both canonical principles and the personal realities of love and loyalty. It is often hard to reconcile fidelity to Church teaching with affection for one’s family and the wish for unity. Fidelity to demanding truths can, at times, cause unintended alienation...

Pope’s Sunday Angelus on Feast of St. John Lateran: ‘United With Christ, We Too Are Living Stones of This Spiritual Edifice’

Pope at Angelus: We are Christ's Church meant to joyfully walk with Him - Vatican News: During his weekly Angelus address, Pope Leo XIV reminds the faithful that "the true sanctuary of God is Christ" who is "the only mediator of salvation, the only Redeemer, the One who, by uniting Himself with our humanity, and transforming us with His love, represents the door that opens wide for us and leads us to the Father."

Praying for the Dead: The Sweetest of the Spiritual Works of Mercy

Praying for the Dead: Sweetest of the Spiritual Works of Mercy| National Catholic RegisterLANDRY: Throughout the month of November, Catholics aim with special dedication to fulfill the sweetest of the spiritual works of mercy, which is to pray for our beloved dead. We do so of course on Nov. 2, the Commemoration of the Faithful Departed (All Souls’ Day), which this year happily fell on a Sunday. The Church remembers our beloved dead not just on this day, however, but makes suffrage for them throughout the year — and with special fervor in November.

Dr. Peter Kreeft’s Journey to Catholicism — and the Top 5 Books He Recommends

New%20Advent%3A%20Dr.%20Peter%20Kreeft%u2019s%20Journey%20to%20Catholicism%20%u2014%20and%20the%20Top%205%20Books%20He%20RecommendsBRISCOE: Thank you for joining us for this episode of Godsplaining. My guest today is the one and only Dr. Peter Kreeft, longtime professor of philosophy at Boston College and a noted author. Perhaps you, like me, have read one of Dr. Kreeft’s many books — there are certainly plenty to choose from. I’m so excited to have the good professor with us today to discuss his latest works...

From Socrates to Rome: How Classical Education Led Me to the Catholic Church

From Socrates to Rome: How Classical Education Led Me to the Catholic ChurchELLISON: I entered the Catholic Church a little more than 20 years ago now, and my experiences in non-sectarian, public-charter classical education, first as a teacher, and then for a decade as a school leader, were a necessary condition for it. The soil of my soul was tilled by Socrates. To Tertullian’s exasperated question What does Athens have to do with Jerusalem? I say: everything, bro. Everything.

Peter Kreeft’s ‘From Calvinist to Catholic’ Is a Joyful Apologia

Peter%20Kreeft%u2019s%20Joyful%A0Apologia%20%u2013%20Catholic%20World%20ReportDEAVEL: For Catholics, the end of October marked the beginning of Hallowtide—All Hallows’ Eve, or Halloween, All Hallows (All Saints), and All Souls. For Protestant Christians who have maintained some connection with the first Protestants, October 31 is celebrated as Reformation Day, which commemorates Martin Luther’s posting of his Ninety-five Theses...

Parents, PLEASE: My Seventh-Grade Religious Ed Students Do Not Know the ‘Our Father’

Parents%2C%20PLEASE%3A%20My%20seventh%20grade%20religious%20ed%20students%20do%20not%20know%20the%20%u2018Our%20Father%u2019%20-%20OSV%20NewsSCALIA: Several years into young motherhood, I volunteered to prepare parish second graders for their first Communion. The weekly classes with 18 children often felt like 45-minute exercises in humility, but my goal was to ensure that when the children experienced their first encounter with the Flesh and Blood of Christ, they knew it really was Jesus, and that Jesus really did know them, love them, and long to be received into their bodies, hearts and minds.

The Power and Purpose of Names in Scripture

The Power and Purpose of Names in Scripture - St. Paul CenterHARROLD: Names occupy a central role in the Bible. The prophet Joel assures us that “all who call upon the name of the LORD shall be delivered.” In the Book of Proverbs, we are reminded that “[t]he name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe.” Meanwhile, the Second Commandment instructs us not to misuse the divine name: You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. It is no surprise, then, that the Catechism highlights for us the overall importance of names...

Pope Leo XIV Summons All Cardinals to Rome Jan. 7-8 for Major Meeting; No Theme or Details Announced

Pope Leo XIV Plans to Hold Major Meeting of Cardinals in January| National Catholic RegisterPENTIN: Pope Leo XIV is planning to convene an extraordinary consistory of cardinals in early January, the theme of which is not yet known. In a brief communication sent to cardinals on Nov. 6, and obtained by the Register on Friday, the Vatican Secretariat of State said that “Holy Father Leo XIV has in mind to convene an Extraordinary Consistory for the days of January 7 and 8, 2026.” When the Register asked Holy See Press Office...

Today in Papal History: Italian Normans Overpower the Pope’s Armies

Italian Normans overpower the pope's armiesSEWELL: Michael Lentz is an expert on the Normans and the creator of Memory Medieval on Substack, Youtube, and X (formerly Twitter), and he joined me to tell the story of the 11th Century Battle of Civitate, in which the Italian Normans fought the pope’s armies and emerged victorious. But we didn’t just talk about the battle itself...

Eiji Tsuburaya: The Catholic Convert Behind Godzilla

Eiji Tsuburaya: The Catholic Convert Behind Godzilla - The Coming Home Network: One of my fondest memories growing up in the 1980s was the weekly Saturday afternoon creature double feature that used to play on our local UHF station in Detroit. Before the era of streaming and 4k Blu-rays, almost every major city in America had a channel that regularly showed movies like this. My favorite films during this time were the Godzilla films. The tone of these films began in a somber way, but as the series progressed, they catered more to children...

Teaching Is an Act of Holiness Rooted in Love and Revealed in Virtue

The Primacy of Teaching As an Act of Love | Knowing Is DoingTORRE: The identity of a teacher is often misperceived as an individual who simply conveys information, regurgitates concepts, and assesses a student's academic competency. In many ways, the entire educational process resembles an assembly line of concepts that aim to construct a functional student from a utilitarian perspective. The thought of guiding a student to utilize their intellect, will, faith, and reason...

A Double Header, a Quiet Cardinal, and the Only Way to Fly

A double header, a quiet cardinal, and the only way to flyCONDON: Next week is the USCCB Fall Plenary Assembly. I am not making any predictions about what kind of session it will be this year because, frankly, I really do think it could go either way. The bishops are due to convene for the first time under the Leonine pontificate — in which the first American pope has already made it abundantly clear he takes a dim view of publicly fractious exchanges...

This Sunday, Celebrate the ‘Safe Space’ Jesus Would Die To Protect: Our Church

This%20Sunday%2C%20Celebrate%20the%20%u2018Safe%20Space%u2019%20Jesus%20Would%20Die%20To%20Protect%3A%20Our%20Church%20%u2013%20Benedictine%20College%20Media%20%26%20CultureHOOPES: You can tell a lot from verbs. In the cleansing of the Temple scene from the Gospel of John this Sunday, you get some violent ones: Jesus “made a whip,” “drove them all out,” “spilled the coins” and “overturned the tables.” Why was he so angry? Not to exact vengeance, but to correct vices: Priests and merchants were gouging a captive market for sacrificial animals and demanding fees to change money from various regions...

Pope Leo XIV Calls on Catholic Innovators to Evangelize Through AI

Pope Leo XIV urges Catholic technologists to spread the Gospel with AI - OSV News: Pope Leo XIV said artificial intelligence should support the church’s mission of evangelization, urging Catholic technologists and venture capitalists gathered in Rome to build systems that help spread the Gospel. “Whether designing algorithms for Catholic education, tools for compassionate health care, or creative platforms that tell the Christian story with truth and beauty, each participant contributes to a shared mission: to place technology at the service of evangelization and the integral development of every person,” the pope wrote. Pope Leo’s message was read aloud...

Why Cathedrals Matter

%u2693%20Daily%20Anchor%3A%20Sunday%20is%20the%20Dedication%20of%20the%20Lateran%20BasilicaSTEFANICK: This coming Sunday is the Feast of the Dedication of the St. John Lateran Basilica in Rome. Founded in 324, it’s Rome’s oldest church, the oldest basilica on earth, and a sign of the victory and perseverance of the Church after hundreds of years of Roman persecution. But why do Catholics make such a big deal out of places of worship? Some people criticize our cathedrals and ask...

Will an American Pope Have a ‘Leo Effect’ on the US Bishops?

Will%20an%20American%20Pope%20Have%20a%20%u2018Leo%20Effect%u2019%20on%20the%20US%20Bishops%3F%7C%20National%20Catholic%20RegisterLIEDL: It may not be an official agenda item. But a top priority for the U.S. bishops at their fall meeting next week in Baltimore may well be to get off on the right foot with Pope Leo XIV. Elected in May, Leo’s papacy comes after a complicated 12-year relationship between his predecessor, Pope Francis, and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). The two parties were widely viewed to be out of sync, with the USCCB facing criticism for downplaying papal priorities and Francis regularly bypassing conference leadership for key appointments.

8 Months Later, It Still Stuns Me: A Guy From My German Existentialism Class Is Now the Pope

From Classmate to Pope: The Guy From My German Existentialism Class | Church Life Journal | University of Notre DameKELLEHER: For those who have not yet had the pleasure, Villanova University stretches idyllically across Philadelphia’s Main Line, a mere pebble toss from the placid ponds and ivied arches of Bryn Mawr College. Under the stewardship of Peter Donohue, O.S.A, the Augustinian institution is expanding that Ruskinesque landscape, as Villanova looks more and more like Catholic Oxford every day. At the Western edge of its cloistering...

Wojtyla vs. ChatGPT: To Think Things through to the End

To Think Things through to the End - What We Need NowBLUM: “It could be said that present-day man does not think things through to the end.”1 Karol Cardinal Wojtyla delivered that fine bit of understatement in 1976, at the outset of the spiritual conferences he gave to the Roman Curia that Lent. At the time, his primary concern seems to have been the tendency of secular men and women to falter in the search for truth, for, as Archbishop of Krakow, he was daily confronted...

Body Building: A Reflection on the Upcoming Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome

Body Building: Scott Hahn Reflects on The Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome - St. Paul CenterHAHN: Why commemorate a church dedication that happened in fourth-century Rome? First, because St. John Lateran is no ordinary church; it’s the cathedral church of the Pope and still known as “the mother of all the world’s churches.” But more than that, because God has from all time intended the church building to be a symbol of His Church and our bodies. This is what the readings for today’s feast invite us to consider...

Sir Anthony Hopkins Is Thankful

Crossroads -- Sir Anthony Hopkins is thankful - by tmattMATTINGLY: People caught in the chaotic highways around Los Angeles have been known to shout at God from time to time — often in the form of angry curses aimed at other drivers. But that was the mysterious setting in which Anthony Hopkins had a quiet epiphany in which God quietly spoke to him, offering the actor — an atheist alcoholic at the time — a choice that changed his life. While most episodes of “Crossroads” focus on religious issues...

Why Are Fewer Catholics Having Church Funerals?

Why Are Fewer Catholics Having Church Funerals?| National Catholic Register: Death awaits at the end of every human life, and this profound event is also the entry point to the final judgment by Jesus that will determine the permanent destination of every human soul: heaven or hell. The Catholic Church consequently has always emphasized the crucial importance of celebrating a funeral Mass, since it is the instrument through which recently departed souls can be commended to the care of God — and assisted by the prayers of their families and friends — on their final journey.

Church Tribunal Acquits Priest of Charge of ‘Inciting Hatred’ Against the Holy See

Church%20tribunal%20acquits%20priest%20of%20charge%20of%20%u2018inciting%20hatred%u2019%20against%20the%20Holy%20See%20%7C%20Catholic%20News%20Agency: Father Francisco José Delgado, a priest of the Archdiocese of Toledo, Spain, and a member of the YouTube priests’ discussion group “The Sacristy of the Vendée,” has been declared innocent of the charge of “inciting hatred” against the Holy See, interfering in the investigation into the Sodality of Christian Life (SCV by its Latin acronym), and damaging the “good reputation” of layman José Enrique Escardó, one of the main promoters of proceedings against the SCV.

What Keeps a Father Up at Night

What Keeps a Father Up at Night - LifeCraftCUDDEBACK: Sleep deprivation is recognized as a form of torture, with good reason. Being kept up at night or inability to sleep is often a serious suffering. Yet being kept up, sometimes in the form of choosing to stay up, is a part of parenting. The arrival of a newborn in a home brings sleeplessness in some degree—sometimes a high one. Usually this falls first and hardest on the mother. Yet this very fact offers a husband the opportunity to consider an important question, namely, to what extent he will choose to take sleeplessness as a normal part of being a father.

My Experiences With Angels As a Hospice Nurse

New Advent: My Experiences With Angels As a Hospice Nurse: “In this video, I share my personal experience with a possible angel encounter while working as a hospice nurse. I'll discuss what research suggests about angels, including deathbed visions and common experiences.”

‘I Ask Your Prayers’: Cardinal McElroy of Washington, DC, Diagnosed With Cancer, But His Prognosis Is ‘Good’

BREAKING%3A%20Cardinal%20McElroy%20of%20Washington%2C%20D.C.%20diagnosed%20with%20cancer%2C%20but%20prognosis%20%u2018good%u2019%20%7C%20Catholic%20News%20Agency: Cardinal Robert McElroy, the 71-year-old archbishop of Washington, D.C., has been diagnosed with cancer but has a good prognosis for recovery, according to an archdiocesan announcement on Wednesday morning, Nov. 5. According to the statement, McElroy’s cancer will be surgically removed on Nov. 13, and his doctors “are in consensus that his prognosis is very good.”

Newman and the New Ultramontanism

Newman and the new ultramontanismWEIGEL: The All Saints Day proclamation of St. John Henry Newman as a Doctor of the Church was entirely welcome, if not without a certain irony. First, the good news. Newman was one of the most creative Christian minds of the nineteenth century, a truth seeker whose lifelong search for the face of Christ took him from evangelicalism through reformist, High Church Anglicanism into Catholicism...

What Are America’s Most Fruitful Dioceses? A Look at the Numbers

America%u2019s%20Most%20Fruitful%20Dioceses%3A%20A%20Look%20at%20the%20Numbers%20%u2013%20Catholic%20World%20ReportZIEGLER: The median Latin-rite diocese in the United States has one infant baptism per year for every 113 Catholics, one non-infant reception into the Church per year for every 413 Catholics, one wedding per year for every 453 Catholics, and one diocesan seminarian for every 14,473 Catholics, according to data published in the 2024 edition of The Official Catholic Directory, which chronicled statistics for the preceding year...

Mater Populi Fidelis: Doctrinal Note on Some Marian Titles Regarding Mary’s Cooperation in the Work of Salvation

Dicastero%20per%20la%20Dottrina%20della%20Fede%3A%20%u201CMater%20Populi%20fidelis%u201D%20Nota%20dottrinale%20su%20alcuni%20titoli%20mariani%20riferiti%20alla%20cooperazione%20di%20Maria%20all%u2019opera%20della%20salvezzaDDF: The present Note responds to numerous requests and proposals that have reached the Holy See in recent decades, and particularly this Dicastery, regarding questions pertaining to Marian devotion and certain Marian titles. These are questions that have concerned recent Popes and have been repeatedly addressed in the last thirty years in various areas of study within the Dicastery, such as Congresses and Ordinary Assemblies...

Pope Leo XIV Approves Doctrinal Note ‘Mater Populi Fidelis’ on ‘Co-Redemptrix’ and Other Marian Titles

Doctrinal Note on Marian titles: Mother of the faithful, not Co-redemptrix - Vatican News: The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith on Tuesday, 4 November 2025, published Mater populi fidelis (“The Mother of the Faithful People”), a Doctrinal Note “On Some Marian Titles Regarding Mary’s Cooperation in the Work of Salvation.” Signed by the Prefect, Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, and the Secretary for the Dicastery’s Doctrinal Section, Monsignor Armando Matteo, the Note was approved by the Pope on 7 October.

St. Martin de Porres Walked Through Walls — and Into Our Lives on the Day My Father Died

St.%20Martin%20de%20Porres%20Walked%20Through%20Walls%20%u2014%20and%20Into%20Our%20Lives%20on%20the%20Day%20My%20Father%20Died%7C%20National%20Catholic%20RegisterDESMOND: My mother, Gerardine Ann Frawley, a former publisher of the Register, was just 21 when she began her life-long devotion to St. Martin de Porres. And though the 17th-century mixed-race Dominican from Peru and the Canadian-born child of Irish immigrants would appear to have little in common, St. Martin offered “Gerry” great comfort during some of the darkest moments of her life. The story begins in 1945...

Pope Leo XIV’s Sunday Angelus on All Souls Day: ‘Remembering the Dead Brings Hope to the Future’

Pope at Angelus: Remembering the dead brings hope to the future - Vatican News: Addressing the faithful gathered in St Peter’s Square on Sunday, Pope Leo XIV reflected on the meaning of the first few days of November, when the Church marks the Solemnity of All Saints and the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed. The Pope said that in these days, “the resurrection of the crucified Jesus from the dead sheds light on the destiny of each one of us.” Quoting the Gospel of John, he recalled Jesus’ words when he said...

A Vision of the Saints in Heaven

A Vision of the Saints in Heaven | Parishable ItemsFELTES: On this All Saints’ Day, let us consider what we can look forward to living as saints in heaven one day. But first, how does one get to heaven? At the moment of death, our immortal souls will separate from our mortal bodies and go immediately to our particular judgment. There we will be judged according to our faith and deeds in Christ...

What Did Jesus Mean When He Said That He Is Coming Soon?

What Did Jesus Mean When He Said That He Is Coming Soon? - St. Paul CenterHARROLD: Revelation 22 is the final chapter of the Bible, and verse 20 contains Jesus’s final words in all of Sacred Scripture. And yet, with almost 2,000 years having elapsed since Christ’s Ascension into heaven, the modern reader might reasonably ask what exactly Jesus meant when He said that He is coming “soon.” The Greek word for “soon” used in these verses is tachy, which can also be translated “quickly.” The same adverb is used in Matthew 28:8...

This Sunday, the Church Radically Challenges Our Misunderstanding About Death

This%20Sunday%2C%20the%20Church%20Radically%20Challenges%20Our%20Misunderstanding%20About%20Death%20%u2013%20Benedictine%20College%20Media%20%26%20CultureHOOPES: It’s good that The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (All Souls) Day is a Sunday this year. It gives us a chance to focus on Church teaching about the four last things: Heaven, hell, death and judgment, at the beginning of November, the month dedicated to prayers for the dead. Here are six takeaways drawn from Sunday Readings columns at this site and the Extraordinary Story podcast.

Honeymooning, Canonical Trick or Treat, and ‘Tis the Season

Honeymooning%2C%20canonical%20trick%20or%20treat%2C%20and%20%u2018tis%20the%20seasonCONDON: I want to start by telling you a story about going to Mass. More than a decade and a half ago, my wife and I embarked on our honeymoon. Since we both lived and grew up in the UK, we’d both seen enough of Europe that we wanted to go somewhere else for our post-nuptial getaway. For obvious reasons — we were young, early in our careers, and had just thrown all our savings at a wedding reception — we didn’t have a lot of money to play with, but we wanted to make the most of what we had.

Faith and Death Go Hand in Hand

Fr. Joey Lirette Neal Obstat Theological Opining: Before I was a priest, I worked for a hospice for a number of years. I am no stranger to death. So much of my experience – especially now as a priest – has confirmed my belief that faith and death go hand in hand; that the full meaning of death is beyond our comprehension. I would like to share a recent experience that confirms this. I received a call recently that someone was in the hospital and they didn’t have long left in this world...

Yes, Ghosts Exist: An Interview With Catholic Apologist Jimmy Akin

Yes, Ghosts Exist, Says Catholic Apologist| National Catholic RegisterCALDWELL: Jimmy Akin is the senior apologist at Catholic Answers, with more than 30 years of experience defending and explaining the faith, and co-host of the Jimmy Akin’s Mysterious World podcast. The Register recently asked him to explain Catholic teaching on ghosts and otherworldly phenomena. The Church teaches the existence of human spirits, and the term “ghost” means the same thing as “spirit,” which is why the Holy Spirit is also called the Holy Ghost...

In its normative and noblest form, virtually every word of the Mass (including the Eucharistic Prayer) is meant to be sung

Singing the Eucharistic Prayer | Source & SummitBARTLETT: The General Instruction of the Roman Missal offers the primary basis for singing the entire Mass, including the Eucharistic Prayer, when it says: “in the rubrics and in the norms that follow, words such as ‘say’ and ‘proclaim’ are to be understood either of singing or of reciting” (GIRM, 38). Put differently, any word that can be spoken in the Mass can also be sung. More explicitly, it goes further to say that “it is most appropriate that the Priest sing those parts of the Eucharistic Prayer...

‘Wandering Souls’ or Demonic Masquerade? Why This Debate Is Still Stirring Exorcists and Theologians

%u2018Wandering%20Souls%u2019%20or%20Demonic%20Masquerade%3F%20Why%20This%20Debate%20Is%20Still%20Stirring%20Exorcists%20and%20Theologians%7C%20National%20Catholic%20Register: Can the boundary between this life and the afterlife ever blur in ways the Church has not fully defined? Each year, All Souls’ Day and the Month of All Souls renew age-old questions about life, death and the mystery that unites both. In popular culture, ghosts are often imagined as spirits trapped between two worlds, wandering among the living. This image differs significantly from the concept...

Vatican Tribunal Convicts Historian-Journalist of Slander Against Church Officials, Sentences Him to 3 Years in Prison

Vatican tribunal convicts historian-journalist of slander against Church officials: The Vatican City State Tribunal has found Nicola Giampaolo guilty of slander and sentenced him to three years and six months in prison. In a press release from the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, dated 30 October, it was announced that the tribunal had found Giampaolo, a historian from Italy’s Puglia region and a journalist by training...

Pope Leo XIV Declares St. John Henry Newman Doctor of the Church and Co-Patron of Catholic Education

Pope Leo XIV: Newman, Doctor of the Church - A light for the new generations - Vatican News: During the Mass on the Solemnity of All Saints, also the culmination of the Jubilee of the World of Education, Pope Leo XIV proclaims Saint John Henry Newman a Doctor of the Church. His legacy, the Pope emphasized, is to form people "so that they may shine like stars in their full dignity.”