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April 27, 2014Sunday of Divine Mercy    Reading 1 Acts 2:42-47 They devoted themselves to the teaching of the apostles and to the communal life, to the breaking of bread and to the prayers.Awe came upon everyone,and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles.All who believed were together and had all things in common;they would sell their property and possessionsand divide them among all according to each one’s need.Every day they devoted themselvesto meeting together in the temple areaand to breaking bread in their homes.They ate their meals with exultation and sincerity of heart,praising God and enjoying...

Images of the Priest in the Life and Thought of John Paul II Images of the Priest in the Life and Thought of John Paul II | George Weigel | HPRIf there is one great truth to be learned from the luminous, world-transforming priestly ministry that Karol Wojty³a, Pope John Paul II, gave to the Church, it is this: a true priestly vocation begins with a commitment to radical discipleship.It has been nine years since the remarkable events that unfolded between February and April, 2005—and still our minds and imaginations, and perhaps our prayers as well, come back, time and...

Two Modern Saints for the Modern World Sean FitzpatrickPope Francis shook the Catholic world on July 5th, 2013, with the announcement that Pope John XXIII and Pope John Paul II will be canonized together on April 27th, 2014.Pope Francis approved the healing of Floribeth Mora of Costa Rica from a brain aneurysm as miraculous, making it the second approved miracle attributed to the beloved Polish pope who passed away in 2005. The first miracle was the healing of a French nun, Sister Marie Simon-Pierre, who had been afflicted with Parkinson’s disease—the very ailment that John Paul II suffered from....

Meet the SAINTS ! The saints of the Holy Catholic Church lived exemplary lives, giving up the temporary pleasures of earth for the eternal joy of Heaven. Their lives were marked by a sincere wish to imitate the life of Christ.  St. Paul says in Hebrews 13:7 to imitate them.  It is important to understand what "the communion of saints" means to us as Catholics. Most Protestants don't know anything about what it means, but as Catholics, it is a very important component of our faith.  A lot of people think that they are dead and gone, but that...

St. George might be the world’s most popular saint. Really, you might ask, what about St. Francis or St. Joseph? You’re probably not alone in your skepticism, but have you ever heard of the story of a knight saving a princess from a dragon? Well, that’s the legend of St. George. I suppose everyone who has seen a Disney film “knows” about St. George. His appeal, though, goes far beyond the most famous chivalrous tale. He’s not only venerated by Catholics, but also by Protestants, especially Anglicans. Furthermore, he’s one of the most popular saints in the Orthodox tradition, and...

VATICAN CITY (RNS) While millions of pilgrims are expected to attend the Catholic Church’s first-ever double canonization at the end of April, the Vatican is preparing its most ambitious TV and social media campaign for the millions who don’t make it to Rome.View down Via della Conciliazione to St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. Photo courtesy of Jimmy Harris via Flickr City officials are expecting more than 5 million people to attend the ceremony when Pope Francis declares his predecessors Pope John Paul II and Pope John XXIII saints in St Peter’s Square on April 27.For the first time viewers will...

Painting of St. Gemma Galgani, taken from St. Gemma Galgani blog "...I have...to believe that God...raised up this child of Heaven at a time of so much falling away in piety as an example and stimulus to Christians to venerate and love the most Holy Sacrament of the Altar..." ..."'Oh, what immense happiness and joy...my heart feels before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament! And if Jesus would allow me to enter sacred Tabernacle where He, Soul, Body, Blood, and Divinity is present, should I not be in Paradise?'..." "...We read in the lives of different Saints that, as sometimes they...

April 11, 2014Friday of the Fifth Week of Lent   Reading 1 Jer 20:10-13 I hear the whisperings of many:“Terror on every side!Denounce! let us denounce him!”All those who were my friendsare on the watch for any misstep of mine.“Perhaps he will be trapped; then we can prevail,and take our vengeance on him.”But the LORD is with me, like a mighty champion:my persecutors will stumble, they will not triumph.In their failure they will be put to utter shame,to lasting, unforgettable confusion.O LORD of hosts, you who test the just,who probe mind and heart,Let me witness the vengeance you take on...

Pope Francis aims to unite conservative and reformist strands of Catholicism with the first canonisation of two popes this month -- an impressive masterstroke that has already stirred dissent in some quarters.

April 7, 2014Monday of the Fifth Week of Lent    Reading 1 Dn 13:1-19, 15-17, 19-30, 33-62 In Babylon there lived a man named Joakim,who married a very beautiful and God-fearing woman, Susanna,the daughter of Hilkiah;her pious parents had trained their daughteraccording to the law of Moses.Joakim was very rich;he had a garden near his house,and the Jews had recourse to him oftenbecause he was the most respected of them all. That year, two elders of the people were appointed judges,of whom the Lord said, “Wickedness has come out of Babylon:from the elders who were to govern the people...

April 5, 2014Saturday of the Fourth Week of Lent    Reading 1 Jer 11:18-20 I knew their plot because the LORD informed me;at that time you, O LORD, showed me their doings. Yet I, like a trusting lamb led to slaughter,had not realized that they were hatching plots against me:“Let us destroy the tree in its vigor;let us cut him off from the land of the living,so that his name will be spoken no more.” But, you, O LORD of hosts, O just Judge,searcher of mind and heart,Let me witness the vengeance you take on them,for to you I...

April 4, 2014Friday of the Fourth Week of Lent    Reading 1 Wis 2:1a, 12-22 The wicked said among themselves, thinking not aright:“Let us beset the just one, because he is obnoxious to us;he sets himself against our doings,Reproaches us for transgressions of the lawand charges us with violations of our training.He professes to have knowledge of Godand styles himself a child of the LORD.To us he is the censure of our thoughts; merely to see him is a hardship for us,Because his life is not like that of others,and different are his ways.He judges us debased;he holds aloof...

April 2, 2014Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Lent  Reading 1 Is 49:8-15 Thus says the LORD:In a time of favor I answer you,on the day of salvation I help you;and I have kept you and given you as a covenant to the people,To restore the landand allot the desolate heritages,Saying to the prisoners: Come out!To those in darkness: Show yourselves!Along the ways they shall find pasture,on every bare height shall their pastures be.They shall not hunger or thirst,nor shall the scorching wind or the sun strike them;For he who pities them leads themand guides them beside springs of...

When a body is described as being incorrupt it means that it does not decay after death. The same cannot be said of a body that is well preserved or mummified, or has undergone an embalming process. Most such corpses become stiff, but incorruptible saints remain completely flexible, as if they are only sleeping.... There is a whole list of saints, however, whose bodies have been found to be incorrupt. Not all of them were Roman Catholics. The Russian Orthodox Church is well represented by such as St. Alexander of Svir, who was a monk, and by the martyrs of...

Was "Babylon The Great" a Symbolic Name for Jerusalem? Recall that Jesus said: "… it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem" (Luke 13:33.) That is a very important statement to keep in mind when considering the following passages: and later in the same chapter of Luke, Jesus added: "…I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they shall slay and persecute: That the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation; From the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias which...

March 19, 2014Solemnity of Saint Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary   Reading 1 2 Sm 7:4-5a, 12-14a, 16 The LORD spoke to Nathan and said:“Go, tell my servant David,‘When your time comes and you rest with your ancestors,I will raise up your heir after you, sprung from your loins,and I will make his kingdom firm.It is he who shall build a house for my name.And I will make his royal throne firm forever.I will be a father to him,and he shall be a son to me.Your house and your kingdom shall endure forever before me;your throne shall...

March 18, 2014Tuesday of the Second Week of Lent    Reading 1 Is 1:10, 16-20 Hear the word of the LORD,princes of Sodom!Listen to the instruction of our God,people of Gomorrah! Wash yourselves clean!Put away your misdeeds from before my eyes;cease doing evil; learn to do good.Make justice your aim: redress the wronged,hear the orphan’s plea, defend the widow. Come now, let us set things right,says the LORD:Though your sins be like scarlet,they may become white as snow;Though they be crimson red,they may become white as wool.If you are willing, and obey,you shall eat the good things of the...

Featured Term (selected at random:LOUGH DERG Island shrine on a small lake in County Donegal, northwest Ireland, a place of pilgrimage since early Christian times. The principal edifice is the Basilica of St. Patrick, near the cave known as St. Patrick's Purgatory, where in answer to the saint's prayers the incredulous could experience something of the burning of hell. Penal legislation by the British Government was repealed in 1871, so that now thousands of pilgrims visit the shrine, especially between June 1 and August 15. The custom is to stay for three days, doing penance and praying. Only one meal...

March 17, 2014Monday of the Second Week in Lent    Reading 1 Dn 9:4b-10 “Lord, great and awesome God,you who keep your merciful covenant toward those who love youand observe your commandments!We have sinned, been wicked and done evil;we have rebelled and departed from your commandments and your laws.We have not obeyed your servants the prophets,who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes,our fathers, and all the people of the land.Justice, O Lord, is on your side;we are shamefaced even to this day:we, the men of Judah, the residents of Jerusalem,and all Israel, near and far,in all...

The Thousand Year Reign of Christ on Earth: Is it Biblical? This is the passage in question: "And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished....