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April 28, 2018 Saturday of the Fourth Week of Easter Reading 1 Acts 13:44-52 On the following sabbathalmost the whole citygathered to hear the word of the Lord. When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousyand with violent abuse contradicted what Paul said. Both Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and said,“It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first,but since you reject itand condemn yourselves as unworthy of eternal life,we now turn to the Gentiles. For so the Lord has commanded us,I have made you a light to the Gentiles,that you...

What the Story of St. Mark Teaches Us About Reconciliation Msgr. Charles Pope • April 25, 2018 • Today’s Feast of St. Mark (also known as John Mark) reminds us that the Gospel occurs within the human setting and condition. Mark was at the center of the tension between Paul and Barnabas; their differences were so severe that it led to a parting of ways.Yet St. Mark, despite his less-than-stellar beginning in Church leadership came to prove his worth and was reconciled to St. Paul.To fill in the back story, let’s begin by St. Barnabas and then turn our...

April 25, 2018 Feast of Saint Mark, Evangelist Reading 1 1 Pt 5:5b-14 Beloved: Clothe yourselves with humilityin your dealings with one another, for: God opposes the proudbut bestows favor on the humble. So humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God,that he may exalt you in due time.Cast all your worries upon him because he cares for you. Be sober and vigilant.Your opponent the Devil is prowling around like a roaring lionlooking for someone to devour.Resist him, steadfast in faith,knowing that your brothers and sisters throughout the worldundergo the same sufferings.The God of all gracewho called you to...

April 24, 2018 Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Easter Reading 1 Acts 11:19-26 Those who had been scattered by the persecutionthat arose because of Stephenwent as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch,preaching the word to no one but Jews.There were some Cypriots and Cyrenians among them, however,who came to Antioch and began to speak to the Greeks as well,proclaiming the Lord Jesus. The hand of the Lord was with themand a great number who believed turned to the Lord. The news about them reached the ears of the Church in Jerusalem,and they sent Barnabas to go to Antioch.When...

April 21, 2018 Saturday of the Third Week of Easter Reading 1 Acts 9:31-42 The Church throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samariawas at peace. She was being built up and walked in the fear of the Lord,and with the consolation of the Holy Spirit she grew in numbers. As Peter was passing through every region,he went down to the holy ones living in Lydda. There he found a man named Aeneas,who had been confined to bed for eight years, for he was paralyzed. Peter said to him,"Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and make your bed." He got...

Franciscan Media Image: Photo of Il Tempio Civico della Beata Vergine Incoronata | photo by Giovanni Novara Blessed James Oldo Saint of the Day for April 18 (1364 – April 18, 1404)  Blessed James Oldo’s Story You’ve heard rags-to-riches stories. Today, we celebrate the reverse.James of Oldo was born into a well-to-do family near Milan in 1364. He married a woman who like him, appreciated the comforts that came with wealth. But an outbreak of the plague drove James, his wife, and their three children out of their home and into the countryside. Despite those precautions, two of his...

April 11, 2018 Memorial of Saint Stanislaus, Bishop and Martyr Reading 1 Acts 5:17-26 The high priest rose up and all his companions,that is, the party of the Sadducees,and, filled with jealousy,laid hands upon the Apostles and put them in the public jail.But during the night, the angel of the Lord opened the doors of the prison,led them out, and said,"Go and take your place in the temple area,and tell the people everything about this life."When they heard this,they went to the temple early in the morning and taught.When the high priest and his companions arrived,they convened the Sanhedrin,the...

The Journey of Mary Magdalene to Resurrection Faith Msgr. Charles Pope • April 4, 2018 • 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...

A New Movie: Paul, Apostle of Christ Msgr. Charles Pope • March 23, 2018 • Over a month ago I was blessed to get an early view of the new movie, Paul, Apostle of Christ. It is indeed wonderful — beautifully filmed and with a moving ending. It is not a simple retelling of the Acts of the Apostles; such films have already been made. Instead, it is a moving portrait of St. Paul (James Faulkner) and St. Luke (Jim Caviezel).The setting is Rome during St. Paul’s last days. Great persecutions are underway, taking a heavy toll on the...

March 19, 2018 Solemnity of Saint Joseph, spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary Reading 1 2 Sm 7:4-5a, 12-14a, 16 The LORD spoke to Nathan and said:"Go, tell my servant David,'When your time comes and you rest with your ancestors,I will raise up your heir after you, sprung from your loins,and I will make his kingdom firm.It is he who shall build a house for my name.And I will make his royal throne firm forever.I will be a father to him,and he shall be a son to me.Your house and your kingdom shall endure forever before me;your throne shall...

March 18, 2018 Fifth Sunday of Lent Reading 1 Jer 31:31-34 The days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah.It will not be like the covenant I made with their fathersthe day I took them by the hand to lead them forth from the land of Egypt; for they broke my covenant, and I had to show myself their master, says the LORD.But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD.I will place...

I arise today Through the strength of heaven; Light of the sun, Splendor of fire, Speed of lightning, Swiftness of the wind, Depth of the sea, Stability of the earth, Firmness of the rock. I arise today Through God's strength to pilot me; God's might to uphold me, God's wisdom to guide me, God's eye to look before me, God's ear to hear me, God's word to speak for me, God's hand to guard me, God's way to lie before me, God's shield to protect me, God's hosts to save me Afar and anear, Alone or in a mulitude. Christ...

March 17, 2018 Saturday of the Fourth Week of Lent Reading 1 Jer 11:18-20 I knew their plot because the LORD informed me;at that time you, O LORD, showed me their doings. Yet I, like a trusting lamb led to slaughter,had not realized that they were hatching plots against me:"Let us destroy the tree in its vigor;let us cut him off from the land of the living,so that his name will be spoken no more." But, you, O LORD of hosts, O just Judge,searcher of mind and heart,Let me witness the vengeance you take on them,for to you I...

March 9, 2018 Friday of the Third Week of Lent Reading 1 Hos 14:2-10 Thus says the LORD:Return, O Israel, to the LORD, your God;you have collapsed through your guilt.Take with you words,and return to the LORD;Say to him, "Forgive all iniquity,and receive what is good, that we may renderas offerings the bullocks from our stalls.Assyria will not save us,nor shall we have horses to mount;We shall say no more, 'Our god,'to the work of our hands;for in you the orphan finds compassion." I will heal their defection, says the LORD,I will love them freely;for my wrath is turned...

March 8, 2018 Thursday of the Third Week of Lent Reading 1 Jer 7:23-28 Thus says the LORD: This is what I commanded my people:Listen to my voice;then I will be your God and you shall be my people.Walk in all the ways that I command you,so that you may prosper. But they obeyed not, nor did they pay heed.They walked in the hardness of their evil heartsand turned their backs, not their faces, to me.From the day that your fathers left the land of Egypt even to this day,I have sent you untiringly all my servants the prophets.Yet...

March 7, 2018 Wednesday of the Third Week of Lent Reading 1 Dt 4:1, 5-9 Moses spoke to the people and said:"Now, Israel, hear the statutes and decreeswhich I am teaching you to observe,that you may live, and may enter in and take possession of the land which the LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you. Therefore, I teach you the statutes and decreesas the LORD, my God, has commanded me,that you may observe them in the land you are entering to occupy.Observe them carefully,for thus will you give evidenceof your wisdom and intelligence to the nations,who...

Red Double THE REAL FEAST of these two illustrious heroines of the Faith is tomorrow, which is the anniversary of their martyrdom and triumph; but the memory of the Angel of the Schools, St. Thomas of Aquin, shines so brightly on the seventh of March that it almost eclipses the two glorious stars of Africa. In consequence of this, the Holy See allows certain Churches to anticipate their Feast, and keep it today. We take advantage of this permission and at once offer to the Christian reader the glorious spectacle, of which Carthage was the scene, in the year...

March 4, 2018 - Year B Third Sunday of Lent Reading 1 Ex 20:1-17 In those days, God delivered all these commandments:"I, the LORD, am your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that place of slavery.You shall not have other gods besides me.You shall not carve idols for yourselves in the shape of anything in the sky above or on the earth below or in the waters beneath the earth; you shall not bow down before them or worship them.For I, the LORD, your God, am a jealous God, inflicting punishment for their fathers' wickedness...

March 3, 2018 Saturday of the Second Week of Lent Reading 1 Mi 7:14-15, 18-20 Shepherd your people with your staff,the flock of your inheritance,That dwells apart in a woodland,in the midst of Carmel.Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead,as in the days of old;As in the days when you came from the land of Egypt,show us wonderful signs. Who is there like you, the God who removes guiltand pardons sin for the remnant of his inheritance;Who does not persist in anger forever,but delights rather in clemency,And will again have compassion on us,treading underfoot our guilt?You will cast into...

February 23, 2018 Friday of the First Week of Lent Reading 1 Ez 18:21-28 Thus says the Lord GOD:If the wicked man turns away from all the sins he committed, if he keeps all my statutes and does what is right and just,he shall surely live, he shall not die. None of the crimes he committed shall be remembered against him;he shall live because of the virtue he has practiced. Do I indeed derive any pleasure from the death of the wicked?says the Lord GOD. Do I not rather rejoice when he turns from his evil waythat he may...