What’s Happening at the Presentation of the Lord?
The first thing to note is that Luke is not talking about the time of Jesus' circumcision. That occurred on the eighth day after his birth. Luke has already talked about that and is now referring to a later time. Specifically, he's talking about the 40th day after Christ's birth. We know that because of he quotes from Leviticus 12:8...
Candlemas is upon us once again. It is one of my favorite feasts in the Church year...
Walking in the footsteps of St. Paul and the Church Fathers in Turkey...
The Cat’s Out of the Bag Now, With the Synod on Synodality...
The recent letter to the world’s bishops from Cardinal Mario Grech, head of the Vatican synod secretariat, and Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, relator general of the Synod on Synodality, shows that managing a synod is not as easy as it used to be. The previous synods under Pope Francis were relatively easy to handle compared to the current synodal process on synodality for a synodal Church...
Pope Francis ‘Left Without Words’ After Children’s Shocking Stories of Violence in Eastern Congo...
Here are the world’s 20 most beautiful places that you didn’t know existed...
“So put your mind to it. You have been appointed watchman...”...
I’d like to you consider a 16th century woman from the Low Countries. No, don’t run. Give me a minute. If you take a look at what I’ve got below, you might see a couple of things: First, to intelligently discuss “the role of women in the Church” is not as simple as some try to make it...
Architectural Digest ranks the 13 most beautiful McDonald’s in the world...
St. John Bosco reminds us that the soul must be both nurtured and nourished toward a relationship with Jesus Christ...
The evangelist St. John the Baptist introduces us to the drama that affects every human being when he reminds both Jews and Gentiles to repent and believe in the Gospel. The battle of good and evil we inherit at birth reveals the Baptist’s initial message to the entire world, focused on the need to renounce sin and make a profession of faith to God the Father. The message to repent reflects the need to nurture the soul, and the message to believe in the Word of God reflects the need to nourish the soul.
Bosco, a “polarization” warning, and running aground...
Pope Francis departed this morning on a trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo, and to South Sudan. The pontiff was supposed to take this trip last year, but he couldn’t, because of his health. But he’s off now, and a lot of local Catholics have high hopes for the papal journey — in fact, in South Sudan, one priest organizer said recently that...
A terrible unity: Tyre Nichols cries out and the nation hears...
The call, the voices — they come like distant echoes, and always when I am least expecting it. Often, they resound through my memory in those shadowed minutes before sleep comes. “Mama!” The small piping voice of a little one, excitedly seeking my attention to share a new discovery. “Mom!” The panicked holler for assistance because the adolescent has done something unwise, as adolescents do. “Ma!” The collegiate-cool bark of a young man who has decided that “Mom” (or “Mommy”) sounded wrong riding on basso profundo air.
We need a more complete vision of Catholic conservatism...
The modern ideal of conservatism arose as a rejection of Enlightenment principles and their instantiation in political revolution, particularly the French Revolution. Conservatives such as Burke and de Maistre defended the centrality of religion, family, land, and morality in bolstering society. Today, the word has lost much of its meaning as it’s largely become the name of the opposition party against liberal progressivism...
Candlemas and Four English Martyrs...
Although our liturgical calendar doesn’t completely reflect it in the season of Ordinary Time, the Feast of the Presentation, also called the Feast of the Purification of Mary or Candlemas, is the last feast of the Christmas cycle. Forty Days after Our Lord’s Nativity, the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Joseph, as St. Luke’s Gospel tells us, fulfill their obligations of purification and offering at the Temple. It’s finally time to put the Nativity crèches and festive greenery away; Christmas is officially over.
Pope Benedict XVI has found what he’s been looking for...
The approach of Jesus was not simply “inclusive” or “welcoming” — it was truly loving. He drew sinners to Himself on His terms, not theirs...
The other night, I had the privilege of participating in one of the listening sessions for the continental phase of the Synodal process. The basis for our discussion was a lengthy document produced by the Vatican after it had compiled data and testimony from all over the Catholic world. As I have been studying and speaking about synodality, I very much enjoyed the exchange of views. But I found myself increasingly uneasy with two words that feature prominently in the document and that dominated much of our discussion—namely, “inclusivity” and “welcoming.”
Father Ed Broom: How to seek holiness through humility...
This mess-free potato peeling hack is better (and much faster) than the way you’re doing it now...
“There is no greater blessing on earth,” said Aristotle, “than when husband and wife rule their home in harmony of mind and will”...
The notion of ‘ruling’ a home might seem outdated. We can wonder whether some other notion or term could better capture the blessing of what man and wife do together. In answer I suggest the notion of ruling highlights precisely what is sorely missing in our understanding and practice of household. Household is a central venue of human life. It’s not a side-stage...
The Catholic Church is a house with a hundred gates...
Any book of Catholic convert stories not only allows the solid rock of the Catholic faith to be expounded, but it also reveals the unique attraction of the Catholic faith. People give up everything to be received into the Catholic Church in a way that they do for no other denomination, and this is bewildering and worrying for family members and friends...
New podcast: Exploring the Catechism of the Council of Trent (in less than a year)...
Friends, I have long been interested in exploring The Catechism of The Council of Trent on lionandox. Inspired by the popular Fr. Mike Schmitz and his podcasts The Bible in a Year, and now The Catechism in a Year, it seemed to me (as imitation is the highest form of flattery), that we could do no better than Exploring The Catechism of the Council of Trent, intending that we also would complete the project in a year!
How the CIA helped subsidize the work of the “Rosary Priest,” Venerable Patrick Peyton...
What happened when a Baptist preacher’s kid discovered the healing power of Confession...
Concerning Pope Francis, hockey, Pride night and putting “scare quotes” around “beliefs”...
I have no idea if Pope Francis follows professional hockey — but that really isn’t what this post is about. This post starts with some fascinating “scare quotes” in a headline with a Reuters report about another Pride Night controversy in the National Hockey League. The use of “scare quotes” is a topic that, to put it mildly, consistently pushes buttons for GetReligion readers. Once again, here is a Merriam-Website definition of that term...
Julia Greeley — former slave, Catholic convert, Servant of God, Secret Angel to the Poor...
The next pope’s dilemma — and ours...
If you are looking forward to the next papal election, you are not alone—but you are overwhelmingly likely to be a Catholic who accepts everything the Church teaches. If this describes you, you may also be worrying about whether Pope Francis has changed the complexion of the College of Cardinals sufficiently to elect a clone, which may cloud your expectations. But on that score, at least, you needn’t worry. Papal elections have never been predictable in the same way that political elections are.
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The full contents of the New Advent website are available as a digital download. It includes the Catholic Encyclopedia, Church Fathers, Summa, Bible and more — and it's only $19.99...
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