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The ceremony takes place three times a year, and failure to liquefy is seen as a portent of disasterThe blood of St Januarius has liquefied at the thrice-yearly ceremony – but the officiating cardinal fell ill. Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe, the Archbishop of Naples, “blanched and had to sit down”, according to the news agency ANSA. The blood of the saint had reportedly liquefied, but the cardinal was unable to take the reliquary outside. The liquefaction of St Januarius’s blood is said to take place three times a year: once in May, once in December, and once on September 19 –...

The former Pope apparently wrote the letters in response to criticism from Cardinal BrandmüllerBenedict XVI rebuked a cardinal who criticised his decision to resign and take the title Pope Emeritus, leaked letters reveal. In the letters – which were leaked to the German newspaper Bild, who then passed them to the New York Times – Benedict says he can understand the “deep-seated pain” his resignation caused. However, people’s anger at his decision is devaluing his entire pontificate, leading to it being “conflated with the sadness about the situation of the Church today.” The New York Times says that the letters...

Developments & Reactions This post continues our coverage of the ongoing ecclesiastical Chernobyl unleashed by the accusations of the former Vatican nuncio to the United States, “Abp.” Carlo Viganò, which were first published on Aug. 25 and have the potential not only to bring an end to the Francis “pontificate” but even to throw the entire Vatican II Sect into unprecedented chaos: Friday, Sep. 14, 2018 Developments In his homily for the day, Francis delivered Part 3 of his “Great Accuser” theme — video report here “Cardinal” Donald Wuerl’s homily for the opening of his “season of healing” in Washington,...

Papal adviser Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga said last week that Cardinal Theodore McCarrick’s serial sex abuse and the way the pope handled it is a “private matter” that should not be treated as a sensational story.“Turning a private matter into a bombshell headline that explodes in the world and whose shrapnel does damage to the faith of many people does not seem right,” the Honduran cardinal said in reference to a recent report by the former papal nuncio to the United States. “I think that a management issue ought to be aired with more serene and objective criteria, not in...

September 20, 2018 Memorial of Saints Andrew Kim Tae-gon, Priest, and Paul Chong Ha-sang, and Companions, Martyrs Reading 1 1 Cor 15:1-11 I am reminding you, brothers and sisters,of the Gospel I preached to you,which you indeed received and in which you also stand.Through it you are also being saved,if you hold fast to the word I preached to you,unless you believed in vain.For I handed on to you as of first importance what I also received:that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures;that he was buried;that he was raised on the third day in accordance...

Red Double THE TWENTIETH OF SEPTEMBER marks one of the saddest events in history. At the height of her power, in the glorious days of Pepin and Charlemagne, the eldest daughter of the Church had crowned her mother; and the Church, in the person of her Head, reigned in reality, as well as by right until, a thousand years later, Satan took advantage of the fallen state of France, to despoil Peter of the patrimony which ensured his independence. The holy Cross is still shedding its rays upon us! Today a group of martyrs, and this time a whole...

Anna Kolesárová was beatified in Lokomotiva soccer stadium in Kosice, Slovakia, on Saturday, by the new Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints with 30,000 people in attendance. Slovakia has a new blessed: Anna Kolesárová. She was beatified on Saturday before 30 of thousand people gathered in the soccer stadium in Košice, Slovakia, by the new Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, Cardinal Angelo Becciu. Cardinal Becciu put her life and death into context, past and present, during his homily. God above all Cardinal Becciu began his homily saying that hearing the biography of Bl...

Franciscan Media Image: The Martyrdom of Saint Januarius | Neri di Bicci Saint Januarius Saint of the Day for September 19 (c. 300)  Saint Januarius’ Story Little is known about the life of Januarius. He is believed to have been martyred in the Emperor Diocletian’s persecution of 305. Legend has it that Januarius and his companions were thrown to the bears in the amphitheater of Pozzuoli, but the animals failed to attack them. They were then beheaded, and Januarius’ blood ultimately brought to Naples.“A dark mass that half fills a hermetically sealed four-inch glass container, and is preserved in...

VATICAN CITY, September 18, 2018 (LifeSiteNews) – To Archbishop Carlo Viganò’s allegations, Pope Francis will say not a word. But on the theme of the Great Accuser, he has preached four times. This morning, September 18, after preaching on the Gospel of the day – in which Jesus raises the son of the Widow of Nain (Luke 7:11-17) – Francis shifted from thoughts on Christ’s compassion to those concerning His silence before the “Great Accuser.” According to the Vatican’s own news website, Vatican News, Francis believes Christ’s silence was itself a form of compassion. “The Pope brought up that it...

DETROIT (ChurchMilitant.com) - Young priests in the United States are voicing their concerns about the sex abuse crisis and the upcoming Synod on Youth.  Eight priests signed their names to an open letter published online by First Things on Wednesday. Addressing the bishops who will be attending the Synod, the letter states, "We wish to express our concern about the unfolding crisis of sexual abuse in the Church, especially the Church in the United States. Specifically, we are concerned about how this crisis relates to the Synod on the Faith, Young People, and Vocational Discernment, which is to take place in Rome in...

A Prescription for Peace in a World of Woe Msgr. Charles Pope • September 18, 2018 • Raising of the Widow’s Son at Nain, by James TissotThe Gospel for Tuesday of the 24th Week provides a kind of prescription for peace in a world of woe. Let’s look at it in four stages. I. The Place – Jesus journeyed to a city called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd accompanied him.The name of the city, Nain, means fair (in the sense of beautiful)—and it was, for it sat upon a high hill and commanded a magnificent view.This...

In a letter written by Bishop Robert C. Morlino to the people of the Diocese of Madison regarding the ongoing sexual abuse scandal in the Church, he called all within the diocese to intensify their prayer and fasting for purification from this heinous sin. Masses of reparation are being held throughout the diocese on September 14, the Feast of the Holy Cross. Bishop Morlino will preside at the 12 noon Mass on Friday, Sept. 14, in the chapel at Holy Name Heights. The bishop also invited people to observe the Autumn Ember Days (September 19, 21, and 22) “as days...

September 14, 2018 (LifeSiteNews) – Pope Francis’ sexual abuse prevention summit planned for winter’s end in Rome with the world’s bishops will apparently not address protections for the demographic found in recent months to be at significant risk from sexual predators in the Church: seminarians. After meeting with his Council of Cardinals this week, Francis summoned all the presidents of the national bishops’ conferences to Rome next February 21-24 to discuss the sex abuse crisis. The memorials of St. Peter Damian, who strongly addressed a similar problem of priestly homosexuality over 900 years ago, in both the old and new...

Was was alerted to an item in German.  It seems that Gerhard Ludwig Card. Müller gave quite the sermon last Saturday in Rome for the ordination of Michael Sulzenbacher, SJM.The whole text in German is on kath.netHere are some of the most important parts…On the current crisis: But the Church, founded by God and made up of human beings, is, according to its human side, in a deep, man-made crisis of its credibility. In this dramatic moment, we suspect and fear the possible negative consequences of scandals and leadership mistakes. Involuntarily we think of the splitting of Western Christendom in...

September 19, 2018 Wednesday of the Twenty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 1 Cor 12:31-13:13 Brothers and sisters:Strive eagerly for the greatest spiritual gifts. But I shall show you a still more excellent way. If I speak in human and angelic tonguesbut do not have love,I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal.And if I have the gift of prophecyand comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge;if I have all faith so as to move mountains,but do not have love, I am nothing.If I give away everything I own,and if I hand my body over so that I...

Red Double JANUARIUS IS EVER PREACHING the Gospel to every creature; for his miraculous blood perpetuates the testimony he bore to Christ. Let those who say they cannot believe unless they see, go to Naples; there they will behold the martyr’s blood, when placed near his head which was cut off seventeen hundred years ago, to liquefy and boil as at the moment it escaped from his sacred veins. No; miracles are not lacking in the Church at the present day. True, God cannot subject himself to the fanciful requirements of those proud men who would dictate to him...

FOR THE THIRD TIME THIS YEAR, Holy Church comes claiming from her children the tribute of Penance, which, from the earliest ages of Christianity, was looked upon as a solemn consecration of the Seasons. The historical details relative to the institution of the Ember Days will be found on the Wednesdays of the third week of Advent and of the first week of Lent; and on those same two days, we have spoken of the intentions which Christians should have in the fulfilment of the demand made upon their yearly service. The beginnings of the Winter, Spring, and Autumn...

Franciscan Media Image: Saint Joseph of Cupertino. Engraving after F.A. Lorenzini | Wellcome Images Saint Joseph of Cupertino Saint of the Day for September 18 (June 17, 1603 – September 18, 1663)  Saint Joseph of Cupertino’s Story Joseph of Cupertino is most famous for levitating at prayer. Already as a child, Joseph showed a fondness for prayer. After a short career with the Capuchins, he joined the Conventual Franciscans. Following a brief assignment caring for the friary mule, Joseph began his studies for the priesthood. Though studies were very difficult for him, Joseph gained a great deal of knowledge...

While the eyes of most of the faithful who follow Church news remain fixated on the near-constant drumbeat of new information about Clerical Abuse Scandal 2.0, another papal document has dropped, and in it, another likely time bomb.This morning, Pope Francis issued the Apostolic Constitution Epicopalis Communio (EC) – “Episcopal Communion” – which aims to “reform” the synodal process. The document, available thus far only in Italian, makes changes that should be of familiar concern to anyone who paid attention to the 2014 & 2015 synods on the Family. From Chris Altieri’s commentary today at the Catholic Herald: The role of the General Secretary...

In a controversial move, China and the Vatican are preparing to sign a landmark deal this month allowing each side a voice in choosing the church's bishops in China, reports the Wall Street Journal. The details: Pope Francis will recognize excommunicated Chinese bishops that were approved without the Vatican's green light, and China will acknowledge the Pope as leader of the nation's Catholics and allow the Vatican a voice in bishop selection moving forward. The deal comes with controversy as China's current regime is largely atheist and authoritarian. The agreement is also seen as China recognizing religious autonomy — something...