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“The second reason for my hope lies in the fact that the Gospel of Jesus Christ, faith in Jesus Christ is quite simply true and the truth never ages.”— Pope Benedict XVI, Interview, October 15, 2012.In this short interview, Benedict XVI was asked two questions. The first one is concerned with his hope for Europe. Europe, as we know, is reluctant to acknowledge where it came from, to admit its classical and Christian roots. Benedict gives as his first reason for hope that, in the very being of each person, “the desire for God, the search for God, is profoundly...

Menzingen, Switzerland, Oct 24, 2012 / 12:10 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The Society of St. Pius X has expelled Bishop Richard Williamson, saying he has distanced himself from the traditionalist Catholic group’s leadership and he has refused “to show due respect and obedience to his lawful superiors.” The Switzerland-based society said Oct. 24 that the “painful” decision was necessary because of “concern for the common good” and for the good government of the society. The society’s Superior General Bishop Bernard Fellay and his council declared the bishop to be excluded on Oct. 4. Bishop Williamson, in response to a final deadline...

Well, it looks like Williamson is now free to become as much of a sedevacante as he has always wanted to be.

October 24, 2012   Wednesday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time   Reading 1 Eph 3:2-12 Brothers and sisters:You have heard of the stewardship of God's gracethat was given to me for your benefit,namely, that the mystery was made known to me by revelation,as I have written briefly earlier.When you read thisyou can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ,which was not made known to human beings in other generationsas it has now been revealedto his holy Apostles and prophets by the Spirit,that the Gentiles are coheirs, members of the same Body,and copartners in the promise in Christ...

Featured Term (selected at random):ABBESS Feminine counterpart of abbot. The spiritual and temporal superior of a community of nuns, symbolizing her role as mother of the religious women under her care. Over the centuries an abbess has enjoyed some extraordinary privileges, such as wearing a special ring and bearing the crosier as a sign of her rank. But an abbess does not have ecclesiastical jurisdiction corresponding to that of an abbot. See Also: ABBOT All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

GAMALIEL FOUNDATION DECEIVES CATHOLIC FUNDING AGENCY The Reform CCHD Now Coalition (RCN) Uncovers Fraud and Deception By Network of Grantees Receiving Catholic Funds WASHINGTON, DC – The 24 member Reform CCHD Now Coalition (RCN) released its latest report on organizations receiving funds from the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD). The 2012 report reveals that one of the CCHD’s longest-running grant recipients, the Gamaliel Foundation, attempted to deceive the CCHD regarding its relationship with an organization promoting homosexuality. Beginning in 2010, RCN has investigated organizations receiving funds from the CCHD, reporting on grantees that promote abortion, homosexuality, birth control and...

October 23, 2012 Tuesday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time   Reading 1 Eph 2:12-22 Brothers and sisters:You were at that time without Christ,alienated from the community of Israeland strangers to the covenants of promise,without hope and without God in the world.But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far offhave become near by the Blood of Christ. For he is our peace, he made both oneand broke down the dividing wall of enmity, through his Flesh,abolishing the law with its commandments and legal claims,that he might create in himself one new person in place of the two,thus...

Featured Term (selected at random):NIHIL EX NIHILO Nothing (comes) from nothing. A statement of the principle of causality, that every effect must have a cause; and of the principle of sufficient reason, that everything must have an adequate reason for its existence or operation. (Etym. Latin nihil, nothing.) All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

October 22, 2012   Monday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time   Reading 1 Eph 2:1-10 Brothers and sisters:You were dead in your transgressions and sinsin which you once lived following the age of this world,following the ruler of the power of the air,the spirit that is now at work in the disobedient.All of us once lived among them in the desires of our flesh,following the wishes of the flesh and the impulses,and we were by nature children of wrath, like the rest.But God, who is rich in mercy,because of the great love he had for us,even when we...

Two New American Saints, Three Notable Firsts   February 09, 2012 Blessed Marianne Cope and Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha will be canonized in October Brian O'Neel On Saturday, December 19, 2011, the Holy See announced His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI had approved the Congregation for the Causes of Saints’ findings that miracles attributed to seven blesseds were authentic. This clears the path for their canonization and thus the recognition of these men and women as saints of the universal Church. Of course, while the creation of new saints is important and exciting, it is nonetheless true that reviewing and, where appropriate,...

The Life of A Martyr A Very Common Name         "Calungsod" is a very native and descriptive Visayan family name. His family name is variously spelled in the different documents as "Calonsor,"  "Calongsor,"  "Calangsor,"  or "Calansor".  His real family name must have been Calungsod . The variations of the spelling of Pedro's family name in the documents may have been due to the Spanish authors' inability to accurately hear a Filipino name.         Today, it is not easy to trace the place of origin of the "Calungsod" families. The name can be found in different parts of the Philippines. However, the "Calungsod" families...

Blessed Anna Schaffer: A life of pain and suffering Blessed Anna Schaffer   MOST people often perceive suffering and illness as a curse or a punishment from God. However, to some faithful, pain and suffering means an opportunity to offer one’s self to God, to submit to His will and identify with the sufferings of Jesus Christ for the sake of redeeming mankind.. Such was the case of Blessed Anna Schaffer, a German laywoman, who along with Filipino Pedro Calungsod, is expected to be canonized this year—declared a saint to be emulated by the universal Church. As a Blessed she...

October 21, 2012   Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time   Reading 1 Is 53:10-11 The LORD was pleasedto crush him in infirmity. If he gives his life as an offering for sin,he shall see his descendants in a long life,and the will of the LORD shall be accomplished through him. Because of his afflictionhe shall see the light in fullness of days;through his suffering, my servant shall justify many,and their guilt he shall bear. Responsorial Psalm Ps 33:4-5, 18-19, 20, 22 R. (22) Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.Upright is the word of...

Living the Year of Faith: How Pope Benedict Wants You to Begin By Dr. Jeff Mirus | October 17, 2012 1:02 PM The Holy Spirit has urged me to read the inaugural documents for the Year of Faith. Of course while one should seek the inspiration of the Holy Spirit in all things, one should never claim the inspiration of the Holy Spirit for anything. Those of us who are prone to expose all too clearly our own faults and weaknesses have a special need to heed this advice so as not to give the Holy Spirit a bad name.But...

Share Your Faith in This Year of Faith Two keys to help you do it. The gospel really does have the power to save and redeem. It’s something that each of us can experience. And it’s something that each of us is called to proclaim. As we try to respond to the Lord’s call to go out into all the world, it’s important for us to see how much the Lord wants us to evangelize. On the one hand, we should not presume that everyone is already converted and on the path to heaven. But on the other hand,...

Featured Term (selected at random):SPIRITUAL FATHER The one who counsels and directs a person in the spritiual life. Generally a priest, the spritual father is often designated by ecclesiastical authority to guide the members of a religious community or confraternity, students for the priesthood, or in general persons specially dedicated to Christian perfection or the Church's apostolate. The Pope is sometimes called the Spiritual Father of all Christians. All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

A woman throws icons away in a propaganda poster which states, "The Bright Light of Science Has Proven That There Is No God." Denver, Colo., Oct 19, 2012 / 05:43 pm (CNA).- Some 40 Soviet propaganda posters against Christianity will soon be displayed at Denver’s Catholic cathedral as part of an exhibit dedicated to religious liberty. “These posters remind us that societies can turn very deadly when you have a kind of radical secularism which manifests in an anti-Christian attitude … you see it in all its ugliness through the lens of these posters,” Father Doug Grandon told CNA...

October 20, 2012   Saturday of the Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time   Reading 1 Eph 1:15-23 Brothers and sisters:Hearing of your faith in the Lord Jesusand of your love for all the holy ones,I do not cease giving thanks for you,remembering you in my prayers,that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory,may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelationresulting in knowledge of him.May the eyes of your hearts be enlightened,that you may know what is the hope that belongs to his call,what are the riches of gloryin his inheritance among the holy ones,and what...

Catholic Review File Photo There were countless angles a journalist could have taken in writing a preview story about Pope John Paul II’s historic visit to Baltimore in 1995. Christopher Gaul, then the senior writer at the Catholic Review who later became the newspaper’s managing editor, decided to examine what others ignored: the source of the 80,000 Communion hosts that would be consecrated during the Oct. 8 papal Mass at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Gaul traced the story all the way back to a Kansas wheat field, where grains were harvested and shipped by railcar to New Jersey to...

Featured Term (selected at random):CANTERBURY CATHEDRAL A historic monument of Catholic England, in County Kent, it is the burial place of some of the Church's greatest leaders. At first it was forbidden to bury within the cathedral precincts. The rule was changed when St. Cuthbert (d. 687), arranging his own burial, ordained that all archbishops could be buried within their own cathedral churches. St. Dunstan, St. Alphege, St. Anselm, St. Odo have their tombs within its walls. But the saint who is most responsible for Canterbury's prestige is St. Thomas à Becket, who was murdered by the agents of King...