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Why We Can’t All Get Along: The Myth of Accord Between Catholicism and False Ecumenism“Sir, you and I are not one in religion. Wherefore I pray you content yourself. I bar none of prayer; only I desire them of the household of faith to pray with me, and in my agony to say one Creed.” — St. Edmund CampionSt. Edmund Campion and his fellow English Martyrs willingly suffered torture and gruesome death rather than compromise their Catholic Faith. In many instances, their executioners offered to spare them if they “merely” abandoned the Catholic Faith in favor of the Anglican religion....

Pope Francis to Attend Interreligious Peace Event in Rome A minute of silence will be observed to remember the victims of wars and of the coronavirus pandemic. VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis will attend an ecumenical prayer service and an interreligious ceremony for peace in Rome next week, the Vatican announced Friday. The prayer service will be held at the Basilica of Santa Maria in Aracoeli in the afternoon on Tuesday, Oct. 20, and will include participants from other Christian traditions. Following the prayer, Pope Francis will also join in a ceremony with representatives of the world’s major religions,...

Bishop Schneider: Pachamama worship in Rome was ‘prepared by Assisi meetings’ These words are helpful in light of the new papal encyclical on ‘fraternity.’ October 6, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) – In a recent interview, Bishop Athanasius Schneider discussed the link between the inter-religious meetings that have taken place since 1986 with the active participation of Popes in Assisi and the worship of the Pachamama statues in the Vatican Gardens in the presence of Pope Francis. While the latter is worse – since the idolatry took place in the presence of a Pope – the prelate explained, the multiple inter-religious gatherings in...

White Greater Double And I saw another Angel ascending from the rising of the sun, having the sign of the living God; and he cried with a loud voice to the four Angels to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, saying: Hurt not the earth, nor the sea, nor the trees, till we sign the servants of our God in their foreheads. The sixth seal of the Book of destinies had just been opened before the eyes of the prophet of Patmos. It was a time of anguish, the hour for the wicked to...

White Double THE GREAT PATRIARCH OF ASSISI will soon appear a second time in the holy Liturgy, and we shall praise God for the marvels wrought in him by divine grace. The subject of today’s feast, while a personal glory to St. Francis, is of greater importance for its mystical signification. The Man-God still lives in the Church by the continual reproduction of his mysteries in this his Bride, making her a faithful copy of himself. In the thirteenth century, while the charity of the many had grown cold (Collect of the feast), the divine fire burned with redoubled...

October 4, 2017 Memorial of Saint Francis of Assisi Reading 1 Neh 2:1-8In the month Nisan of the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes,when the wine was in my charge,I took some and offered it to the king.As I had never before been sad in his presence,the king asked me, "Why do you look sad?If you are not sick, you must be sad at heart."Though I was seized with great fear, I answered the king:"May the king live forever!How could I not look sadwhen the city where my ancestors are buried lies in ruins,and its gates have been eaten out...

White Double THE great Patriarch of Assisi will soon appear a second time in the holy Liturgy, and we shall praise God for the marvels wrought in him by divine grace. The subject of today’s feast, while a personal glory to St. Francis, is of greater importance for its mystical signification. The Man-God still lives in the Church by the continual reproduction of his mysteries in this his Bride, making her a faithful copy of himself. In the thirteenth century, while the charity of the many had grown cold (Collect of the feast), the divine fire burned with redoubled...

Supernatural experience is you saturated by my Presence in and through you for as Ezekiel was swept up into my presence "Behold" this IS where I desire you to be always and forever in the arms of the One that loves you is where you belong ! A Psalm of David. Psalm 23 23 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. 3 He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. 4 Even though I walk through...

Rate this item 12345 (3 votes) “We who are here together and in peace believe and hope in a fraternal world. We desire that men and women of different religions may everywhere gather and promote harmony, especially where there is conflict. Our future consists in living together. For this reason we are called to free ourselves from the heavy burdens of distrust, fundamentalism and hate. Believers should be artisans of peace in their prayers to God and in their actions for humanity! As religious leaders, we are duty bound to be strong bridges of dialogue, creative mediators of peace.  –...

The Portiuncula (small portion) refers to the land in Assisi, Italy, that belonged to the Benedictines. On this land  was an old church dedicated to the Virgin Mother of God but abandoned. The great St. Francis had great devotion to the queen of the world and when he saw that the church was deserted, he began to live there constantly and repair it.  He heard that the angels often visited it, so that it was called St. Mary of the Angels. The Benedictines wanted to give Francis the church but in order to remain faithful to Lady Poverty, Francis rented it from them...

Sean O'Malley is not only the lone American on the Council of Cardinals, but he’s also the lone Franciscan Pope Francis made a historic visit to Assisi on Oct. 4, in part to meet the Franciscans responsible for keeping alive the spiritual legacy of his namesake. Yet it may actually have been a Franciscan the pontiff brought with him who has the greatest imprint on his papacy.  The pope was flanked throughout the day by eight prelates who make up his “Council of Cardinals,” recently formalized by a chirograph as the pope’s most important sounding board, who had just wrapped up...

(Vatican Radio) At the conclusion of his one day visit to Assisi on Friday, Pope Francis met with over 20.000 enthusiastic young people gathered in front of the Basilica of St Mary of the Angels, answering four questions about faith, family, vocations and their fears for the future. Responding to the first question from a young couple with their new baby, the Pope said it takes courage to form a family, to build solid and lasting relationships in our ephemeral and superficial environment. But the Holy Spirit, he said, has inspired many new initiatives within the Church for young...

(Vatican Radio) It was a moving scene this morning in the chapel of the Serafico Institute of Assisi, when Pope Francis warmly greeted a room full of children and young people with disabilities and their caregivers. The Pope approached each of the residents and held their hands, caressed their faces, signed the Cross on their foreheads and often kissed them on the cheek. One of the residents also kissed the Pope’s pectoral cross. After words of welcome from the mayor of Assisi, Claudio Ricci, and the president of the Serafico Institute, Francesca Di Maolo, the Pope addressed the people...

ASSISI AWAITS…I spent the weekend in Assisi, a town I love more and more with each visit. One of the reasons I was there was to see how the hometown of St. Francis had been preparing for the visit of Pope Francis on Friday, October 4.The trip will be significant, even historic, for several reasons but one is outstanding: Pope Francis has never been to Assisi in his entire life! This may explain what he wants to visit every important site that he can in this beautiful and ancient Umbrian town. We’ll re-visit his itinerary in coming days and you...

PETALUMA, Calif. — Do all animals go to heaven? The National Shrine of St. Francis of Assisi wants them well-positioned for the possibility by creating San Francisco's first pet columbarium, according to The San Francisco Chronicle. Church leaders are currently raising funds for the 850-square-foot pet memorial space, the city's first "final resting place for the furry and feathered," as the Chronicle cutely put it. The new columbarium, which organizers hope will be up and running by spring, will be able to hold the ashes of up to 1,000 animals, according to the Associated Press. Cremation costs have not yet...

One thing amazed me about the new pope being appointed last week. For the first time in Church history---after about 800 years---a pope chose the name Francis, in honor of St. Francis of Assisi. I hadn’t realized this was the first time ever. Well, it’s about time. Francis of Assisi, for whom one of our great cities is named (San Francisco) was a delightful Christian example for Catholics, Protestants, and Orthodox Christians alike. If more of us who profess to follow Christ were more like him, we would have a much stronger witness before the watching world. Francis Bernardone (1182-1226)...

Image: Franciscan friar, Alessandro BrustenghiFra Alessandro Brustenghi is Franciscan friar from Assisi in Italy, the birthplace of St Francis. He's the very first friar ever to land a major record deal. Fra Alessandro is not a conservatorium-trained singer and only pursued singing seriously after entering the Order of Friars Minor at the age of 19. Following a series of auditions, aged 34 he now has a debut album of spiritual songs and hymns called Voice From Assisi, produced by Mike Hedges, best-known for his work with U2 and The Cure. From the Porziuncola, the small church where St Francis...

Egyptian Defense Minister Gen. Abdel Fatah al-Sisi warned Tuesday that Egypt could be facing collapse. Al-Sisi explained that military units have been stationed in cities next to the Suez Canal, where riots have broken out, in order to protect the canal. "The continuing conflict between political forces and their differences concerning the management of the country could lead to a collapse of the state and threaten future generations," Al-Sisi said in a speech to army cadets that was also quoted on the Egyptian military spokesman's Facebook page. Sisi said the country's economic, political and social challenges signify "a real threat...

You’ve probably heard the quotation at least a few times, most likely in a sermon encouraging people to live their faith in the world. “‘Preach the gospel at all times,’ Francis of Assisi said. ‘If necessary, use words.’” It’s a heartwarming sentiment with two flaws. First off, St. Francis never said it; second, even if St. Francis spoke these words, they aren’t true. Mark Galli puts the historical myth to rest in an article that reads, in part, First, no biography written within the first 200 years of his death contains the saying. It’s not likely that a pithy quote...

Chesterton and Saint Francis | By Joseph Pearce This essay appears in Joseph Pearce's new book Literary Giants, Literary Catholics. Chesterton enjoyed a lifelong friendship with Saint Francis of Assisi. As a small boy, long before he had an inkling of the nature of Catholicism, Chesterton was read a story by his parents about a man who gave up all his possessions, even the clothes he was wearing on his back, to follow Christ in holy poverty. From the moment the wide-eyed Gilbert first heard the story of Saint Francis, he knew he had found a friend. As such,...