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What the opening of the marble slab of the Edicule revealed On October 20th, 2016, one of the most exciting events in centuries took place: the opening of the marble slab guarding the place tradition claims was the tomb of Jesus, inside the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem.Underneath that slab there was a second slab, also of gray marble, containing a slit along its side and bearing a Lorraine Cross. Most likely, this is from the time of the Crusades, from the beginning of the 12th century.Once the second slab was removed, the surprises began, according to testimonies gathered from different sources....

The Journey of Mary Magdalene to Resurrection Faith Msgr. Charles Pope • April 17, 2017 • All of the resurrection stories depict the Apostles and other disciples on a journey of sorts to understand the resurrection. A completely new reality was breaking into their world and challenging their understanding. Far from depicting the disciples as credulous, the texts describe them as shocked, troubled, and even quite dubious. These were not men and women prone to naiveté or to concocting stories to assuage their grief. They are quite stunned by a new reality and struggling to get their minds around...

The Russian edition of volume XI of the Opera Omnia of Benedict XVI Ratzinger was published this Easter (a common date this year for East and West) and Pope Benedict XVI had been asked at the beginning of the project, in 2015, to write a preface -- which he did. Corriere della Sera provided the Italian version of the Russian publication, which we now present in English: Benedict XVI [Corriere della Sera, April 15, 2017] Nihil Operi Dei praeponatur - "Let nothing be set before the Divine Worship." With these words, Saint Benedict, in his Rule (43,3), established the...

Fr. Don Miller, OFM Image: Etching | Saint Benedict Joseph Labre | Wellcome ImagesSaint Benedict Joseph Labre Saint of the Day for April 17 (March 25, 1748 – April 17, 1783)  Saint Benedict Joseph Labre’s Story Benedict Joseph Labre was truly eccentric, one of God’s special little ones. Born in France and the eldest of 18 children, he studied under his uncle, a parish priest. Because of poor health and a lack of suitable academic preparation he was unsuccessful in his attempts to enter the religious life. Then, at age 16, a profound change took place. Benedict lost his...

The weak, vacillating and ultimately cruel and cowardly figure of Pontius Pilate is one of the most enigmatic figures in Sacred Scripture. From the Gospel accounts, he seems to be a man who almost wants to be a hero, to defend the innocent victim, Jesus, against the murderous lynch mob besetting Him. Indeed, Pilate is urged by his wife to "have nothing to do with that just man." In the end, however, he lacks the courage to act virtuously. He condemns Christ to a horrible death, despite knowing with certainty that He is innocent. But who was Pontius Pilate? Did...

A Meditation on the Hiddenness of the Resurrection Msgr. Charles Pope • April 16, 2017 • There is something of a hidden quality to the resurrection appearances that has always puzzled me. St. Peter gives voice to this when he says to Cornelius,God raised Jesus from the dead on the third day and granted that he be visible, not to all people, but to us, the witnesses chosen by God in advance, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. He commissioned us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the...

“April is the cruelest month,” Eliot said in his poem “The Wasteland”. Perhaps no one more than Benedict XVI understands this: he was born on a Holy Saturday in mid-April, baptized on the same day, and he turned 90 on April 16, Easter Sunday. It is the fourth year since he retired to the mountain, to the Monastery of Mater Ecclesiae. April is a cruel month because – as Christopher Altieri, General Manager of Vocaris Media, explains – “we always talk of spring in positive terms, but we undervalue the effort and fatigue of spring: all of that pollen given...

Fr. Don Miller, OFM Image: Saint Bernadette Soubirous en 1861 ou 1862 | photo by abbé P. Bernadou Saint Bernadette Soubirous Saint of the Day for April 16 (January 7, 1844 – April 16, 1879)  Saint Bernadette Soubirous’s Story Bernadette Soubirous was born in 1844, the first child of an extremely poor miller in the town of Lourdes in southern France. The family was living in the basement of a dilapidated building when on February 11, 1858, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to Bernadette in a cave above the banks of the Gave River near Lourdes. Bernadette, 14 years...

Was “ Easter” actually borrowed or rather usurped from a pagan celebration? The argument largely rests on the supposed pagan names for the celebration in English and German (“Easter”, “Ostern”). Note, however, that in most other European languages, the celebration’s name is derived from Pascha (Greek), from Pesach, (Hebrew), Passover. Easter is the Christian Passover. [large snips here and throughout] The usual argument for the pagan origins of Easter is based on Venerable Bede (673-735), an English monk who wrote: “ … Eosturmonath has a name which is now translated "Paschal month" and which was once called after a goddess...

[Excerpt: cut from 50 to 13] A few of the most notable converts over the last century: The dazzling variety is a microcosm of the many different people who enter the Church every year —[for] no past, however dark and troubled, makes us unwelcome to God’s loving embrace of mercy and forgiveness. Francis Beckwith (b. 1960): Philosopher /theologian; elected president of the Evangelical Theological Society; converted to Catholicism 2007. Robert Bork (1927-2012): Conservative American judge known for the vicious political fight blocking his nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1987. Converted to Catholicism in 2003. Dave Brubeck (1920-2012): Renowned...

From Fear to Faith on Easter Morning Msgr. Charles Pope • April 16, 2017 • One option for Easter Sunday morning’s Mass is from the Gospel of John (20:1-8). (I have written before on the Matthean Gospel option (here)). Like most of the resurrection accounts, John’s version paints a portrait of a journey that some of the early disciples have to make: out of fear and into faith. It shows the need to experience the resurrection and then come to understand it more deeply. While the Gospel account begins with Mary Magdalene, the focus quickly shifts to St. John;...

Jesus often used parables to teach lessons. Well here are three modern-day parables concerning the lives and deaths of Wanda Dunn, Eddie Maintenance and Jack Shephard. Each parable reinforces the lesson of Easter: That the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Wanda was a lonely old woman who dared not set foot outside of her one-room basement apartment for fear that death awaited her one the other side of her front door. One day there was a scuffle outside Wanda’s apartment during which a policeman was shot. When she peered through her window, Wanda saw...

Fr. Don Miller, OFM Image: Blessed César de Bus | soul-candy.infoBlessed Caesar de Bus Saint of the Day for April 15 (February 3, 1544 – April 15, 1607)  Blessed Caesar de Bus’ Story Like so many of us, Caesar de Bus struggled with the decision about what to do with his life. After completing his Jesuit education he had difficulty settling between a military and a literary career. He wrote some plays but ultimately settled for life in the army and at court.For a time, life was going rather smoothly for the engaging, well-to-do young Frenchman. He was confident...

Fr. Don Miller, OFM Image: Statue of Saint Telmo (Pedro González Telmo) in Frómista, province of Palencia, Spain | photo by Lucien leGreyBlessed Peter Gonzalez Saint of the Day for April 14 (1190 – April 15, 1246)  Blessed Peter Gonzalez’s Story Saint Paul had a conversion experience on the road to Damascus. Many years later, the same proved true for Peter Gonzalez, who triumphantly rode his horse into the Spanish city of Astorga in the 13th century to take up an important post at the cathedral. The animal stumbled and fell, leaving Peter in the mud and onlookers amused.Humbled,...

The Egyptian priest, who is an authority on Islam, discusses the factors driving the murderous attacks on Christians and what he hopes the Pope will say when he visits Egypt this month.VATICAN CITY — Oil money, Wahhabi extremism and an Islam unwilling to reform itself are the principal reasons for the terrorist attacks on two Egyptian churches on Palm Sunday and the rise of Islamism over the past 100 years. This is according to Jesuit Father Samir Khalil Samir, professor of Islamic studies at the Pontifical Oriental Institute in Rome, who says it is false when people say such attacks...

Jesus and Mary on Good Friday, Through the Lens of a Paul Simon Song Msgr. Charles Pope • April 14, 2017 • Some years ago I was listening to an old Paul Simon song, “Mother and Child Reunion.” My mind went to Good Friday, applying the lyrics to Jesus and Mary on that “strange and mournful day,” as the song puts it.Last year I put pictures to the song to make the video below. Some who have seen it laugh and call it a stretch, but others tell me that they will never hear the song the same way...

Of all the religions of the world, only Christianity claims an empty tomb for its founder. The physical resurrection of Jesus is the cornerstone of Christianity. British theologian Michael Green said it well when he noted, “Without faith in the resurrection there would be no Christianity at all.” Noted biblical scholar, professor, and author Wilbur M. Smith said that, “The resurrection of Christ is the very citadel of the Christian faith. This is the doctrine that turned the world upside down…” Indeed it did. C.S. Lewis notes that, “In the earliest days of Christianity an ‘apostle’ was first and foremost...

The Seven Words Spoken by Jesus Christ on the Cross by St. Alphonsus Liguori Taken from THE PASSION AND DEATH OF JESUS CHRIST, Redemptorist Fathers, 1927 with Nihil Obstat and ImprimaturFIRST WORD"Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." [Luke 23: 34] O loving tenderness of Jesus towards men! Saint Augustine says that when the Savior was injured by His enemies, He besought pardon for them; for He thought not so much of the injuries He received from them, and the death they inflicted upon Him, as upon the love which brought Him to die for them....

ABSTRACT: Jesus of Nazareth underwent Jewish and Roman trials, was flogged, and was sentenced to death by crucifixion. The scourging produced deep stripelike lacerations and appreciable blood loss, and it probably set the stage for hypovolemic shock as evidenced by the fact that Jesus was too weakened to carry the crossbar (patibulum) to Golgotha. At the site of crucifixion his wrists were nailed to the patibulum, and after the patibulum was lifted onto the upright post, (stipes) his feet were nailed to the stipes. The major pathophysiologic effect of crucifixion was an interference with normal respirations. Accordingly, death resulted primarily...

One in four people who identify themselves as "Christians" in England say that they believe that the physical resurrection of Jesus Christ did not happen, according to a new poll. (Photo: Flickr / Hoyasmeg)A new thriller will focus on a Roman centurion's life following Christ's resurrection.ComRes conducted the survey of 2,010 British adults by telephone for 10 days at the beginning of February, asking them a series questions about their beliefs on the Bible and Easter. BBC local radio commissioned the survey for Palm Sunday, measuring the responses of the "General Public," "All Christians," and "Active Christians," which refers to Christians who...