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December 12, 2009                                     Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe       Reading 1Responsorial PsalmGospel Reading 1Zec 2:14-17 or Rv 11:19a; 12:1-6a, 10ab Sing and rejoice, O daughter Zion! See, I am coming to dwell among you, says the LORD.Many nations shall join themselves to the LORD on that day,and they shall be his people,and he will dwell among you,and you shall know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you.The LORD will possess Judah as his portion in the holy land,and he will again choose Jerusalem.Silence, all mankind,...

Top Stories for Thursday, December 10th, 2009: The Marian Shrine of Saydnaya in Syria is the second most important Christian pilgrimage site in the Middle East after Jerusalem, in terms of the number of visitors, both Christian and Muslim. The increase in its importance and popularity is due to the numerous and unlimited miracles which occur upon the intercession of Mary, Our Lady, The Mother Of God - Theotokos. Saydnaya contains an icon of The Virgin Mary and the Child Jesus, one of eight painted by St. Luke the Evangelist in the 1st century A. D. The Icon’s name...

Denver, Colo., Dec 7, 2009 / 03:11 am (CNA).- In an exclusive interview with Catholic News Agency, Archbishop of Denver Charles J. Chaput has explained his reasons for signing the Manhattan Declaration. He said the Declaration should “galvanize” Christians and others in defense of pro-life issues, the nature of marriage and religious freedom. “I was glad to be invited to sign the declaration, and glad to sign because I believe in its content,” Archbishop Chaput told CNA.  He described it as a “straightforward” statement defending the sanctity of life, religious liberty and the definition of marriage as a union of husband...

Last February I mentioned the events that would commemorate the life and work of Charles Darwin in 2009. I had no idea at the time that I would be invited to participate in one of these events. But there I was, precisely 150 years after On the Origin of Species first appeared, seated with other scientists in front of a packed room that featured, among other interesting things, a life-sized model of a baleen whale. The venue was the National Museum of Natural History in Stuttgart, Germany, and the occasion was a panel discussion titled Design without a Designer? [1]...

"In order to win the crown of heavenly glory, the saints were expected first to carry a heavy cross in life." -- Father Emil Kapaun Over the next six weeks, the POWs in the Pyoktong prison camp began a cloaked and daring effort to save Emil Kapaun’s life. On a rise above them stood the remains of a Buddhist monastery; the guards called it a hospital, but POWs called it "The Death House." The Chinese sometimes killed prisoners by isolating them there from food and help. The POWs knew that’s where Kapaun might end up. In April, weeks after his...

I ran across this post today from an Evangelical Protestant commentator named Michael Spencer. He described how he spent the better part of a day recently listening to and thinking about Catholic radio and the greater and lesser degrees of effectiveness of the men and women who host shows on Catholic radio networks like EWTN. Though I don't agree with all his observations (in response to one particular remark, for example, I'd assert that Scott Hahn is every bit the "intellectual heavy-weight Protestants make him out to be"), I found myself agreeing with some and, on a few points, agreeing...

www.catholicnewsagency.com Fifteen Catholic Senators voted against Nelson Amendment Sen. Barbara Mikulski Washington D.C., Dec 11, 2009 / 06:29 am (CNA).- A total of fifteen self-described Catholic Senators voted to table the Nelson-Hatch-Casey Amendment, which would have significantly restricted abortion funding from the Senate health care bill.The Amendment failed by a 54-45 vote on Tuesday. It was co-sponsored by Democrats Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska and Sen. Bob Casey, Jr. of Pennsylvania, who were joined by Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah. Senator Nelson is a Methodist, Sen. Hatch is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter...

More than 1,000 Buddhist extremists armed with clubs, swords and stones ferociously attacked a Catholic church in the town of Crooswatta, Sri Lanka on December 6, destroying the altar, statues and pews. L’Osservatore Romano reported that Father Jude Denzil Lakshman, pastor of Our Lady of the Mystical Rose, said “I still can hear their shouts in my ears, ‘Cut him to pieces, kill him’.” The attack took place after the 7 p.m., Sunday Mass, leaving several parishioners wounded. “It is obvious that the attack was well-planned and that the mob waited for us to come out after Mass,” Father Lakshman...

December 11, 2009                                     Friday of the Second Week of Advent   Reading 1Responsorial PsalmGospel Reading 1Is 48:17-19 Thus says the LORD, your redeemer,the Holy One of Israel:I, the LORD, your God,teach you what is for your good,and lead you on the way you should go.If you would hearken to my commandments,your prosperity would be like a river,and your vindication like the waves of the sea;Your descendants would be like the sand,and those born of your stock like its grains,Their name never cut offor blotted out from my presence. Responsorial PsalmPs 1:1-2,...

At National Review Online, conservative curmudgeon John Derbyshire has weighed in on the Climategate scandal by encouraging conservatives not to jump on the anti-science bandwagon. I share his worry and find his advice is good so far as it goes; but I think Derbyshire’s defense of science might actually encourage the skepticism he wants to prevent. Most of the trouble comes from his invocation of the word “science,� and his claim that science has a magisterium.His article is called “Trust Science.� I’m not sure what that means. What is “science,� and how do we “trust� it? Imagine if someone said:...

Statistics released Nov. 24 by the FBI show hate crimes against religious groups increased by 9% from 2007 to 2008.USA Today reported that in 2008, there 1,519 incidents against people based on their religion, the statistics show.The figures reveal that while anti-Jewish attacks made up the highest percentage of the attacks (17%), there was an increase in hate crimes against Catholics — 75, up from 61 in 2007.Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, said the increase may be due to the Church becoming more vocal on life issues such as abortion and homosexual unions.As...