ST. APOLLINARIS was the first Bishop of Ravenna; he sat twenty years, and was crowned with martyrdom in the reign of Vespasian. He was a disciple of St. Peter, and made by him Bishop of Ravenna. St. Peter Chrysologus, the most illustrious among his successors, has left us a sermon in honor of our Saint, […]
Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion Mass Readings: 1st Reading 2 Kings 4:42-44 2nd Reading: Ephesians 4:1-6 Responsorial: Psalm 145:10-11, 15-18 Gospel: John 6:1-15 Growing in Humility, Our Call to be Like Jesus He withdrew again to the mountain alone. (John 6:15) Did you ever think that Jesus would let the crowd make […]
By Oliver Maksan HOMS, Syria—Bright colors set off the sullen grey of destruction: children and young people have painted one of the streets in the ravaged Old City of this ancient Christian center in Syria. On house walls, the young artists have expressed in brilliant colours what moves them, what they hope for. “The aim […]
Of the earlier life of Mary Magdalen we know only that she was “a woman who was a sinner.” From the depth of her degradation she raised her eyes to Jesus with sorrow, hope, and love. All covered with shame, she came in where Jesus was at meal, and knelt behind him. She said not […]
Parishioners at North American Martyrs Parish in Seattle have friends in high places—in more than one sense. To be sure, St. Isaac Jogues and his missionary brothers intercede for the souls in their namesake’s parish, but parishioners who attend the 8:00 am Mass at Holyrood Cemetery’s mausoleum have an additional friend likely in Heaven, whose […]
The latest undercover video of a Planned Parenthood employee, done by David Daleiden, project lead at the newly public Center for Medical Progress, is shocking on several levels. In the video, we see obstetrician/gynecologist Deborah Nucatola openly discussing charging for baby body parts. According to LifeSiteNews, Nucatola “seemed to describe performing an abortion procedure outlawed […]
After a hearty meal, a male dinner guest and my husband reclined on the sofa where they set about solving all of the world’s problems. After a few laughs, the conversation turned serious as they speculated about the probability of coming persecutions like those already faced daily by Christians in the Middle East. They proclaimed […]
THE Emperor Maximian, reeking with the blood of the Thebæan legion and many other martyrs, arrived at Marseilles, where the Church then flourished. The tyrant breathed here nothing but slaughter and fury, and his coming filled the Christians with fear and alarm. In this general consternation, Victor, a Christian officer in the troops, went about […]
Saint Lawrence of Brindisi (July 22, 1559, Brindisi, Apulia – July 22, 1619), born Giulio Cesare Russo, was a Roman Catholic priest and a member of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin. He was beatified in 1783 by Pope Pius VI, canonized in 1881 by Pope Leo XIII and declared a Doctor of the Church by […]
ST. APOLLINARIS was the first Bishop of Ravenna; he sat twenty years, and was crowned with martyrdom in the reign of Vespasian. He was a disciple of St. Peter, and made by him Bishop of Ravenna. St. Peter Chrysologus, the most illustrious among his successors, has left us a sermon in honor of our Saint, […]
ST. VINCENT was born in 1576. In after-years, when adviser of the queen and oracle of the Church in France, he loved to recount how, in his youth, he had guarded his father’s pigs. Soon after his ordination he was captured by corsairs, and carried into Barbary. He converted his renegade master, and escaped with […]
THE early years of Camillus gave no sign of sanctity. At the age of nineteen he took service with his father, an Italian noble, against the Turks, and after four years’ hard campaigning found himself, through his violent temper, reckless habits, and inveterate passion for gambling, a discharged soldier, and in such straitened circumstances that […]
Part one of this series dealt with how Jesus, Scripture, and the saints described and identified false teachers. In this installment we examine the example of St. Athanasius. The Arians and Their False Teachers The Arian heresy is named after a priest named Arius (A.D. 250-336) who taught several false doctrines that flowed from a […]
After receiving thousands of complaints of adverse side-effects, the FDA has decided to conduct a hearing on the safety and effectiveness of Essure. The controversial sterilization implant involves pushing micro coils made of nitinol (a nickel-titanium alloy) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) fibers into a woman’s fallopian tubes via a hysteroscope and catheter. This scars the […]
At the beginning of his papacy, by Pope Benedict XVI’s 2005 homily for the Mass Imposition of the Pallium and Conferral of The Fisherman’s Ring For the Beginning Of The Petrine Ministry Of the Bishop Of Rome, His Holiness said: “There is nothing more beautiful than to be surprised by the Gospel, by the encounter with […]
I’ve wondered, since my conversion, why some found it so much harder to believe in God than in Science. When I was younger in college, I took the pronouncements of my teachers–Nobel Prize winners* and graduate students–as holy writ (although I didn’t know then what holy writ was). In laboratories we repeated famous experiments, Galileo’s […]
Lots of perks come with being the boss, whether you are the boss of a church, company, or nation. You get to call the shots, for starters. Then there is good food, good drink. Travel. Parties. Expense accounts. Pomp and circumstance. Bodyguards. Technology has changed a lot, but people haven’t. In ancient times as in […]
ST. ALEXIUS was the only son of parents pre-eminent among the Roman nobles for virtue, birth, and wealth. On his wedding-night, by God’s special inspiration, he secretly quitted Rome, and journeying to Edessa, in the far East, gave away all that he had brought with him, content thenceforth to live on alms at the gate […]
How does one speak about those with hierarchical authority who contradict church teaching, leading the faithful astray? Even if they are priests, bishops, and cardinals? Should one have sensitive dialogue with schismatics and heretics? Compromise for the sake of unity and peace? Avoid stirring the ecclesial pot? Meet them where they are and find common […]
By Antonia von Alten NEW YORK—Six months after extremist Muslims attacked Christians and burned down a number of churches, the local faithful remain fearful—but a local bishop reported that Catholic life in Niger continues to flourish. In an interview with international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need, Bishop Ambroise Ouédraogo of Maradi recalled […]
The idea and ideology of “transhumanism”: that human beings are basically just brains in containers, and that if we could just find a way to upload our brains into computers or robots or such–we could live on forever–is the subject of the new film Self/less. It was also the subject of the recent film Transcendence. […]
Not only among members of the Carmelite Order but also among increasing numbers of the laity is today’s Feast held in great honor. According to old records, it commemorates an incident in the life of St. Simon Stock. In 1251 at Aylesford in England, the holy friar was privileged to witness an apparition of Our […]
Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion Mass Readings: 1st Reading: Jeremiah 23:1-6 2nd Reading: Ephesians 2:13-18 Responsorial: Psalm 23:1-6 Gospel: Mark 6:30-34 Being Open to the Promptings of the Holy Spirit His heart was moved. (Mark 6:34) In today’s Gospel, we see Jesus both encouraged and discouraged. He was encouraged because the apostles […]
