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17 April 2024 Wednesday of the 3rd week of Eastertide St. Mark's Cathedral in Alexandria Readings at MassLiturgical Colour: White. Year: B(II).First readingActs 8:1-8 ©They went from place to place, preaching the Good NewsThat day a bitter persecution started against the church in Jerusalem, and everyone except the apostles fled to the country districts of Judaea and Samaria. There were some devout people, however, who buried Stephen and made great mourning for him. Saul then worked for the total destruction of the Church; he went from house to house arresting both men and women and sending them to prison....

Daily Readings from the USCCB“For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life, and I shall raise him on the last day.” John 6:40Do you believe in Jesus? Unquestionably the answer is “Yes.” However, to believe in our Lord is something that must deepen with every passing day. Therefore, if you do have faith in Jesus, you can also admit that you do not have faith enough. In this Gospel passage in which the “Bread of Life Discourse” is continued, Jesus calls us to do two things....

Daily Readings from the USCCBSo they said to Jesus, “Sir, give us this bread always.” Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.” John 6:34–35Imagine if you were to never grow hungry or never thirst again. On a natural level, this would be an interesting reality. Of course, if you never had physical hunger or thirst, then you may never enjoy the delight of good food and drink. So why would anyone want to lose out on such delights? Of course, Jesus was...

16 April 2024 Tuesday of the 3rd week of Eastertide Saint Bernadette Catholic Church, Arlington, VA Readings at MassLiturgical Colour: White. Year: B(II).First readingActs 7:51-8:1 ©'Lord Jesus, receive my spirit'Stephen said to the people, the elders and the scribes: ‘You stubborn people, with your pagan hearts and pagan ears. You are always resisting the Holy Spirit, just as your ancestors used to do. Can you name a single prophet your ancestors never persecuted? In the past they killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One, and now you have become his betrayers, his murderers. You who had...

The bridge collapse in Baltimore has ground many businesses to a halt, leaving municipal leaders scrambling to figure out what the next steps should be. But that's not the only thing collapsing in Charm City. After years of planning and adjustments, the Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore is also launching some major adjustments. In what is being described as a "retooling of operations," the Catholic Church is preparing to consolidate the number of parishes in the city and the surrounding suburbs from 61 to 21. In other words, there will be barely one-third the number of worship centers for Catholics in...

John 6:22–29Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus tells the crowd, which he just fed, to believe in him and relate to him personally. Why is this so hard? Well, it is intellectually counterintuitive. Why would this one figure, this Jesus, be the one and only? Why should I choose to relate to him and not the numerous other religious leaders and philosophers? Are all other religious people just lost or misguided? Wouldn’t it just be easier to relate to Jesus’ ideas and principles, to imitate his style of life? Yes, indeed it would, but that’s not what he says. Perhaps we...

While the number of Catholics worldwide slightly increased from 2021 to 2022, new statistics show that the number of priests continues to decline. The Vatican released the 2024 Pontifical Yearbook and the 2022 Statistical Yearbook of the Church earlier this month. Edited by the Vatican Secretariat of State's Central Statistical Office, the publications are being distributed in bookstores and published by the Vatican Printing Press.The publications highlight "statistical data to assess the main trends affecting the evolution of the Catholic Church worldwide," reports Vatican News.The latest edition of the Statistical Yearbook shows the number of baptized Catholics in the world...

15 April 2024 Monday of the 3rd week of Eastertide Ukrainian Catholic church in Star-Peno, Alberta Readings at MassLiturgical Colour: White. Year: B(II).First readingActs 6:8-15 ©They could not get the better of Stephen because the Spirit prompted what he saidStephen was filled with grace and power and began to work miracles and great signs among the people. But then certain people came forward to debate with Stephen, some from Cyrene and Alexandria who were members of the synagogue called the Synagogue of Freedmen, and others from Cilicia and Asia. They found they could not get the better of him...

Daily Readings from the USCCB“Rabbi, when did you get here?” Jesus answered them and said, “Amen, amen, I say to you, you are looking for me not because you saw signs but because you ate the loaves and were filled. Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.” John 6:25–27What do you work for in life? That which ultimately perishes? Or that which is eternal? This is an important question to sincerely answer. Too often we spend most of our lives putting most of...

14 April 2024 3rd Sunday of Easter The high (main) altar in the basilica of Saint Lidwina (Liduina) in Schiedam, Netherlands. In this church relics of the saint are kept.Readings at MassLiturgical Colour: White. Year: B(II).First readingActs 3:13-15,17-19 ©You killed the prince of life: God, however, raised him from the deadPeter said to the people: ‘You are Israelites, and it is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our ancestors, who has glorified his servant Jesus, the same Jesus you handed over and then disowned in the presence of Pilate after Pilate had decided to release...

Daily Readings from the USCCB“Why are you troubled? And why do questions arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you can see I have.” Luke 24:38–39Imagine if Jesus appeared to you. What if He showed you the wounds in His hands and feet and invited you to touch Him so as to believe. Would you believe? Most likely you would, to a certain extent. It would be the beginning of an experience that could be life-changing, just...

I see an analogy between Shyamalan’s [2002] film “Signs” and the convictions of the early Christians about the relationship of the Scriptures to the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. The Passion and Resurrection of Jesus was for the early Church like the final scenes of Shyamalan’s movie: all of a sudden, all sorts of diverse motifs from the Scriptures and the history of salvation made sense. They appeared unified, evidence of a strong hand of Providence that had been leading God’s people to a meaningful, climactic moment of salvation all along. Through the Readings for this Sunday’s liturgy runs...

Daily Readings from the USCCBWhen they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they began to be afraid. But he said to them, “It is I. Do not be afraid.” John 6:19–20On October 22, 1978, Pope Saint John Paul II was inaugurated as the 264th pope of our Holy Church. During his homily, the Holy Father said, “Brothers and sisters, do not be afraid to welcome Christ and accept his power.” The phrase “Do not be afraid” was repeated over and over again throughout his pontificate. In...

13 April 2024 Saturday of the 2nd week of Eastertide San Hermenegildo Chapel, Cathedral of Seville Readings at MassLiturgical Colour: White. Year: B(II).First readingActs 6:1-7 ©They elected seven men full of the Holy SpiritAbout this time, when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenists made a complaint against the Hebrews: in the daily distribution their own widows were being overlooked. So the Twelve called a full meeting of the disciples and addressed them, ‘It would not be right for us to neglect the word of God so as to give out food; you, brothers, must select from among...

AP) – The Vatican has issued a new document rejecting the concept of changing one’s biological sex – a setback for transgender people who had hoped Pope Francis might be setting the stage for a more welcoming approach from the Catholic Church. Around the world, major religions have diverse approaches to gender identity, and the inclusion or exclusion of transgender people. Some examples: Christianity The Catholic Church’s disapproving stance toward gender transition is shared by some other denominations. For example, the Southern Baptist Convention – the largest Protestant denomination in the United States – adopted a resolution in 2014 stating...

Italian regulators have pulled a “blasphemous” television advert in which nuns are offered crisps instead of consecrated hosts during a Mass. The advert for Amica Chips provoked a huge backlash within the Catholic nation, with claims that it “debased” and “vilified” Jesus Christ. The Institute of Advertising Self-Discipline, Italy’s advertising standards authority, has now upheld complaints against the advert and ordered it off the airwaves. In the 30-second advertisement, a group of young nuns are seen filing through a cloister into a chapel while another nun prepares for Mass but fills a ciborum with crisps instead of communion wafers. A...

Daily Readings from the USCCB“Gather the fragments left over, so that nothing will be wasted.” So they collected them, and filled twelve wicker baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves that had been more than they could eat.” John 6:12–13John’s Gospel is filled with much symbolic meaning. The passage above concludes the story of the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes. After feeding the multitude of people with only five barley loaves and two fish, they were able to fill twelve wicker baskets with what remained. What was the reason for the extra? Saint Augustine, in...

12 April 2024 Friday of the 2nd week of Eastertide The Santuary of Santa Teresa de Los Andes, Rinconada, ChileReadings at MassLiturgical Colour: White. Year: B(II).First readingActs 5:34-42 ©They were glad to have had the honour of suffering humiliation for the sake of the nameOne member of the Sanhedrin, a Pharisee called Gamaliel, who was a doctor of the Law and respected by the whole people, stood up and asked to have the apostles taken outside for a time. Then he addressed the Sanhedrin, ‘Men of Israel, be careful how you deal with these people. There was Theudas who became...

[Catholic Caucus] “Dignitas Infinita” as a Naturalistic Vision of MankindFollowing the presentation in Rome of the Declaration on Human Dignity, Dignitas infinita, the most frequent reactions, including in so-called conservative circles, are focused on its reminder of the prohibition of abortion, surrogate motherhood, euthanasia, assisted suicide, gender theory and sex reassignment, not to mention its plea for respect for the disabled. None of this is new, nor should it be. What needs to be analyzed, however, are the arguments deployed and the principles asserted. As might be expected, the Declaration Dignitas Infinita (“infinite dignity”) is, despite many traditional assertions, in...

John 3:31-61 Friends, today’s Gospel declares that the Son of God does not ration his gift of the Spirit. At the cathedral in Chartres, the figure of Jesus is surrounded by seven doves, symbolizing these seven gifts of the Holy Spirit: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord. The Messiah will be filled up with all of the powers and energies of God’s Spirit.These seven gifts have played a prominent role in our tradition, appearing in theologians as diverse as Gregory the Great, Augustine, and Thomas Aquinas. These gifts are signs that the Christian is participating...