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Daily Readings from the USCCBThe Jews picked up rocks to stone Jesus. Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from my Father. For which of these are you trying to stone me?” The Jews answered him, “We are not stoning you for a good work but for blasphemy. You, a man, are making yourself God.” John 10:31–33The reason these Jews were so angry that they “picked up rocks to stone Jesus” was because He had just declared, “The Father and I are one” (John 10:30), a statement they understood as blasphemy. Through His words and works, Jesus...

People are joining the Roman Catholic Church in surprising numbers. This Easter the Archdiocese of Detroit will receive 1,428 new Catholics into the church, its highest number in 21 years. The Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston will have its most in 15 years. In the Diocese of Des Moines, the count is jumping 51 percent from last year, from 265 people to 400. “The Times gathered data from two dozen dioceses, like Los Angeles and Phoenix, as well as Gallup, N.M., and Allentown, Pa… Each reported a significant jump. For Jesse Araujo, 19, in Pahrump, Nev., the biggest influence…was listening to Catholic...

Austrian Catholic dioceses host pro-LGBT Stations of the Cross through lens of ‘queer refugees’Catholic churches in Vienna, Linz, and Graz staged the heterodox Stations of the Cross portraying ‘queer refugees’ in order to ‘live out (queer) diversity,’ according to a participant.Catholic dioceses in Austria have been hosting an LGBT-themed Way of the Cross that reinterprets the stations according to the supposed experiences of “queer” refugees.The ecumenical project “Fluchtweg” (Escape Route) tries to connect the Passion of Jesus and the Stations of the Cross with the contemporary experiences of “queer people” who had to flee their home countries, according to the...

[Catholic Caucus] Irony Alert: Trads Follow Vatican II on the Liturgy Better Than the Novus Ordo World Follows ItIn the recent much-discussed letter from Cardinal Parolin to the French bishops, conveying the sentiments of Leo XIV, a certain phrase sticks out: “May the Holy Spirit suggest to you concrete solutions that would generously include those sincerely attached to the Vetus Ordo, while respecting the orientations set forth by the Second Vatican Council regarding the Liturgy.”Well, we might want to take another look at the Second Vatican Council’s Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concilium, promulgated December 4, 1963. Admitting that...

26 March 2026 Thursday of the 5th week of Lent Shrine of St Margaret Clitherow, Shambles, Yorkshire Readings at MassLiturgical Colour: Violet. Year: A(II).First readingGenesis 17:3-9Abraham, the father of a multitude of nationsAbram bowed to the ground and God said this to him, ‘Here now is my covenant with you: you shall become the father of a multitude of nations. You shall no longer be called Abram; your name shall be Abraham, for I make you father of a multitude of nations. I will make you most fruitful. I will make you into nations, and your issue shall be...

Daily Readings from the USCCB“Abraham your father rejoiced to see my day; he saw it and was glad.” So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old and you have seen Abraham?” Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, before Abraham came to be, I AM.” So they picked up stones to throw at him; but Jesus hid and went out of the temple area. John 8:56–59What was it that infuriated the Jews so much that they “picked up stones to throw at” Jesus? As we have reflected upon the past few days,...

A Catholic bishop in Belgium has announced plans to ordain married men to the priesthood by 2028, despite the Roman Catholic Church’s requirement of clerical celibacy.Bishop Johan Bonny of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Antwerp recently released a pastoral letter claiming that “the consensus on this question is almost total” among Church leaders.“The question is no longer whether the Church can ordain married men as priests but when it will do so, and who will do it,” wrote Bonny. “Any delay comes across as an excuse.”The bishop said he “will make every effort to ordain married men as priests for...

[Catholic Caucus] Cardinal Eijk reflects on celebrating his first public Latin Mass in new interview'I found it a very impressive and unforgettable experience,' said Cardinal Eijk in an interview with the Italian blog Messainlatino.Cardinal Willem Eijk celebrates first public Traditional Latin Mass in Oss, Netherlands. Cardinal Willem Jacobus Eijk explained his reasons for celebrating a Pontifical Mass in the Tridentine Rite and described its reception among the faithful.On March 25, the Italian blog Messainlatino published an exclusive interview conducted by Father Marco Begato with Cardinal Eijk, archbishop of Utrecht and primate of the Netherlands, who celebrated his first Pontifical High...

[Catholic Caucus] EXCLUSIVE: Dutch bishop says Church in Netherlands has collapsed, warns Germany may be nextDue to heterodox ‘reforms’ after Vatican II, just 2% of Catholics in the Netherlands now attend Sunday Mass, down from 96% in some parts of the country, Bishop Robert Mutsaerts told LifeSiteNews.Cardinal Reinhard Marx, Bishop Georg Baetzing –former German bishops' conference presidentsDutch Bishop Roberts Mutsaerts has warned the Catholic Church in Germany that it will suffer a collapse like the Church in the Netherlands if its continues with the heretical Synodal Way.In an exclusive interview with LifeSiteNews journalist Andreas Wailzer, Bishop Mutsaerts, the auxiliary bishop...

[Catholic Caucus] Pope Sends Message to French Bishops Regarding Traditional MassAn update to our latest text on the French Bishops' Conference analysis of the Latin Mass matter.The Pope sent a message, by way of his Secretary of State, Cardinal Parolin which included a paragraph on the matter -- emphasis added below:Dear Brethren,His Holiness Pope Leo XIV has asked me to convey to you his best wishes for the smooth and fruitful progress of the work of your Plenary Assembly. He assures you of his fraternal prayer. He hopes that this occasion will be a renewed opportunity to strengthen the bonds...

Angelus ad VirginemNicholas Clerk of Oxenford, made a-nyghtes melodie, so swetely that all the chambre rong; and Angelus ad Virginem he song. - Geoffrey Chaucer, The Miller's TaleAudio: Angelus ad Virginem -- Gabriel from Heaven's KingThe Sheet MusicAngelus ad VirginemPhilippe le Chancelier (1160-1236)Gerard Manley Hopkins, SJ (1884-1889)Angelus ad virginem Subintrans in conclave, Virginis formidinem Demulcens, inquit: “Ave! Ave regina virginum; Coeli terraeque Dominum Concipies, et paries Intacta salutem hominum; Tu porta coeli facta, Medela criminum.”Gabriel, from heaven’s king Sent to the maiden sweet, Brought to her blissful tiding And fair ‘gan her to greet. "Hail be thou, full of grace...

25 March 2026The Annunciation of the Lord Solemnity St. Dismas Catholic Church, Waukegan, IL Readings at MassLiturgical Colour: White. Year: A(II).First readingIsaiah 7:10-14,8:10The maiden is with childThe Lord spoke to Ahaz and said, ‘Ask the Lord your God for a sign for yourself coming either from the depths of Sheol or from the heights above.’ ‘No,’ Ahaz answered ‘I will not put the Lord to the test.’ Then Isaiah said:‘Listen now, House of David:are you not satisfied with trying the patience of menwithout trying the patience of my God, too?The Lord himself, therefore,will give you a sign.It is this: the...

Daily Readings from the USCCBSolemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord“Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his Kingdom there will be no end.” Luke 1:30–33Today’s Solemnity marks one of the most important days of our calendar year. On March...

[Catholic Caucus] 28,000 German Catholics sign petition against pro-LGBT school curriculum endorsed by bishops German Catholics have handed over a petition with 28,000 signatures demanding the retraction of pro-LGBT guidelines for Catholic schools endorsed by the German Bishops’ Conference (DBK).The Catholic initiative Certamen launched a petition in response to the heterodox document called “Created, Redeemed, and Loved: Visibility and Recognition of the Diversity of Sexual Identities in Schools,” published by the DBK last year. The petition calls for the document’s withdrawal and has garnered 28,000 signatures, and was handed over to Bishop Heinrich Timmerevers last Sunday. Timmerevers serves as chairman...

[Catholic Caucus] Cardinal says Church cannot “continue to exist” without women’s ordination Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich has said he cannot see how the Catholic Church can endure in the long term if women continue to be excluded from ordained ministry.Speaking at a symposium in Bonn, he said, according to Kath.Ch: “I cannot imagine how a Church can continue to exist in the long term if half of the people of God suffer because they do not have access to ordained ministry.”The Archbishop of Luxembourg made the remarks during a conference examining synodality and curial reform, where he reflected on how his...

Twelve years ago, the former Anglican said, she happened upon an episode of Catholic Answers Live, the radio call-in show in which apologists field questions from believers and nonbelievers alike (listen on EWTN Radio). “Never in a million years was I considering becoming Catholic until I, by a stroke of the Holy Spirit, heard an episode of Catholic Answers Live,” she told the Register, explaining that “many of my family prejudices against Catholicism were exploded.” She soon became a daily listener, and then an active supporter of the ministry, attending galas and conferences put on by Catholic Answers. A couple...

24 March 2026 Tuesday of the 5th week of Lent Parish to be named Blessed Monsignor Oscar Arnulfo Romero y Galdámez Bishop and martyrReadings at MassLiturgical Colour: Violet. Year: A(II).First readingNumbers 21:4-9If anyone was bitten by a serpent, he looked up at the bronze serpent and livedThe Israelites left Mount Hor by the road to the Sea of Suph, to skirt the land of Edom. On the way the people lost patience. They spoke against God and against Moses, ‘Why did you bring us out of Egypt to die in this wilderness? For there is neither bread nor water...

Daily Readings from the USCCB“You belong to what is below, I belong to what is above. You belong to this world, but I do not belong to this world. That is why I told you that you will die in your sins. For if you do not believe that I AM, you will die in your sins.” John 8:23–24Tensions were growing as Jesus gradually unveiled the deeper reality of Who He is, while the Pharisees remained blind to the truth, obstinate in their opposition. When Jesus said, “you will die in your sins,” He was not speaking of a sin...

[Catholic Caucus] Pro-LGBT Belgian bishop vows to ordain married men to priesthood, citing vocations crisisAntwerp’s Bishop Johan Bonny argued that existing exceptions allowing married priests to minister in the Catholic Church undermine Latin Rite discipline.A Belgian bishop has announced his plan to start ordaining married men to the priesthood by 2028.Bishop Johan Bonny of the Diocese of Antwerp, Belgium, published a pastoral letter on March 20 in which he outlined the practical implementation of the “Synod on Synodality” in his diocese.Addressing the issue of the low number of vocations, he said that “the question is no longer whether the Church...

23 March 2026 Monday of the 5th week of Lent (optional commemoration of Saint Turibius of Mongrovejo, Bishop) Chapel of Saint Toribio de Mogrovejo, Lima cathedral, PeruReadings at MassLiturgical Colour: Violet. Year: A(II).First readingDaniel 13:1-9,15-17,19-30,33-62Susanna and the eldersIn Babylon there lived a man named Joakim. He had married Susanna daughter of Hilkiah, a woman of great beauty; and she was God-fearing, because her parents were worthy people and had instructed their daughter in the Law of Moses. Joakim was a very rich man, and had a garden attached to his house; the Jews would often visit him since he...