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Daily Readings from the USCCBSimon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We also will come with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. When it was already dawn, Jesus was standing on the shore; but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, “Children, have you caught anything to eat?” They answered him, “No.” So he said to them, “Cast the net over the right side of the boat and you will find something.” So they cast it, and were...

In the face of increasing tensions worldwide, Pope Leo XIV has called the faithful to join him in a prayer vigil for peace on Saturday, April 11. In his first Easter message - on Easter Sunday, the pontiff linked Jesus’ Resurrection to peace. He noted that Jesus’ conquest of death, darkness and hatred came at the cost of his life. Still, Jesus gave his life freely out of love — the same love the faithful are called to show to neighbor in a “new humanity” in the Risen Christ. “We are growing accustomed to violence, resigning ourselves to it, and...

On a bright but cloudy morning on 9 August 1945, a B-29 bomber, named “Bocks Car”, of the US Army Air Force, flew over the Japanese port city of Nagasaki and dropped a highly radioactive Plutonium implosion bomb onto the city, 300 yards from the second largest Roman Catholic cathedral in the Far East, Urakami Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary... This was the nuclear bomb that went on giving for years after it was dropped – giving to the people of Nagasaki the horrible after-effects of nuclear radiation that slowly kill victims for years... Children...

Daily Readings from the USCCB“These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the law of Moses and in the prophets and psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. Luke 24:44–45Have you allowed God to open your mind? When you read through the Scriptures, are you able to comprehend the hidden yet glorious mysteries contained within them? The Scriptures are not only a historical book we interpret through the use of our intelligence alone. There is a layer of meaning within them...

Daily Readings from the USCCBThat very day, the first day of the week, two of Jesus’ disciples were going to a village seven miles from Jerusalem called Emmaus, and they were conversing about all the things that had occurred. And it happened that while they were conversing and debating, Jesus himself drew near and walked with them, but their eyes were prevented from recognizing him. Luke 24:13–16Why were these two disciples prevented from recognizing Jesus when He appeared to them on Easter Sunday? Earlier that morning, as Luke recounts (Luke 24:1–12), Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary—the mother of James—and other unnamed...

Daily Readings from the USCCBMary Magdalene stayed outside the tomb weeping. And as she wept, she bent over into the tomb and saw two angels in white sitting there, one at the head and one at the feet where the Body of Jesus had been. And they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” John 20:11–12Mary Magdalene was one of the women who accompanied Jesus and the Twelve Apostles as they traveled from town to town during His public ministry. Luke 8:2 introduces her as “Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out.” Being possessed by seven...

Daily Readings from the USCCBWhile they were going, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests all that had happened. The chief priests assembled with the elders and took counsel; then they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, telling them, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came by night and stole him while we were asleep.’” Matthew 28:11–13Imagine being one of the Roman guards tasked with keeping watch outside Jesus’ tomb. They likely had little interest in what seemed to them merely a religious dispute between Jesus, the chief priests, and elders....

Daily Readings from the USCCBOn the first day of the week, Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark, and saw the stone removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they put him.” John 20:1–2Have you ever misunderstood something, even when your intentions were good? We all experience moments when we act with love but still get things wrong. Even our good actions...

By Dr. John BergsmaHoly Mother Church offers us Readings from Scripture this Easter Sunday that comprise an elegant review and statement of the whole Gospel message. In particular, they focus our attention on the Resurrection, the Eucharist, and the relationship between the two. 1. The First Reading is Acts 10:34a, 37-43: Peter proceeded to speak and said: “You know what has happened all over Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached, how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power. He went about doing good and healing all those oppressed by the devil, for...

Though the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass was not offered yesterday, the faithful received Holy Communion during the commemoration of the Lord’s Passion. Today, however, the Church falls into profound silence. No liturgical services are celebrated during the day; the tabernacle remains empty, and the Church waits in expectant stillness for the joyful proclamation of the Resurrection. This silence invites us to enter more deeply into the mystery of Christ’s descent to the dead and to reflect on the unfathomable depths of His sacrifice. For those who attend daily Mass, this day often brings a sense of emptiness—a longing for...

Former Chicago Bulls guard Jaden Ivey says his wife isn’t speaking to him after the team cut him amid fallout from anti-LGBTQ+ comments he made on an Instagram live stream. “That’s why my wife in here, and she not even texting me,” Ivey, 24, revealed on another Instagram live stream on Tuesday, March 31, “Those who are around me, those who are my family members betraying [me] because of what I spoke. The truth. Betraying me. Saying that I’m losing my mind. Saying that I’m crazy. … Those are my own household. All because of the Gospel. All because I...

Daily Readings from the USCCBStanding by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son.” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his home. John 19:25–27If God invited you to be present at one moment in the Scriptures, to see it with your eyes, hear it with your ears, and experience it with your heart, what moment...

Fulani herdsmen on Sunday (March 29) attacked a Christian wedding reception in Kaduna state, Nigeria, killing 13 Christians and kidnapping dozens of others, a local leader said. In predominantly Christian Kahir village, Kagarko County, community leader Musa Adamu said Muslim Fulani herdsmen attacked at about 11 p.m. during the reception following the wedding. “The attackers, who we know to be Fulani herdsmen, invaded our community in large numbers,” Adamu told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News. “They were armed with deadly weapons which they used in shooting indiscriminately at our people inside the hall where the wedding reception was held; 13...

The star of a popular show about King David is opening up about his personal conversion and the decision that led him to come into full communion with the Catholic Church ahead of the second season’s global premiere. “When I was younger, I went to the Coptic Orthodox Church — and I love the Coptic Orthodox Church,” said the 24-year-old actor, who moved from Egypt to the United States as a boy. “But I found myself for a while, especially here in the States, I just didn’t go to church at all.” Iskander said that his faith journey and his...

Daily Readings from the USCCBHoly Thursday-Evening Mass of the Lord’s SupperSo when he had washed their feet and put his garments back on and reclined at table again, he said to them, “Do you realize what I have done for you? You call me ‘teacher’ and ‘master,’ and rightly so, for indeed I am. If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another’s feet. I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.” John 13:12–15The celebration of the evening Mass of...

Daily Readings from the USCCB“Amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” Deeply distressed at this, they began to say to him one after another, “Surely it is not I, Lord?” He said in reply, “He who has dipped his hand into the dish with me is the one who will betray me.” Matthew 26:21–23The Last Supper was both a glorious moment of grace and a painful moment of betrayal. During that meal, Jesus instituted the Eucharist, the gift of His Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity that perpetuates His saving sacrifice until the end of time....

Daily Readings from the USCCBReclining at table with his disciples, Jesus was deeply troubled and testified, “Amen, amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” John 13:21Love, betrayal, divine glory, and human weakness permeate today’s Gospel, offering us a contrast of emotions and experiences to ponder. All forms of joys and trials affect our lives. Life is not “a bed of roses,” as the old saying goes. Besides joy, love, and excitement, we are touched by hurt, anger, fear, and anxiety. The same was true of Jesus’ human experience with His disciples...Through no fault of His own,...

Daily Readings from the USCCBSix days before Passover Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. They gave a dinner for him there, and Martha served, while Lazarus was one of those reclining at table with him. Mary took a liter of costly perfumed oil made from genuine aromatic nard and anointed the feet of Jesus and dried them with her hair; the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil. John 12:1–3On Saturday evening, the day before Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, Jesus and His disciples enjoyed a meal at the home...

Daily Readings from the USCCBAnd when he entered Jerusalem the whole city was shaken and asked, “Who is this?” And the crowds replied, “This is Jesus the prophet, from Nazareth in Galilee.” Matthew 21:10–11The commemoration of our Lord’s Passion has begun. Today, Mass begins with the reading of Matthew’s account of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Riding on a donkey, Jesus is greeted by a very large crowd who “spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and strewed them on the road” (Matthew 21:8). The people welcomed Him with shouts of: “Hosanna to the...

Egyptian archaeologists recently unearthed the remnants of a Christian monastic site from the 5th century — some 400 years after the time of Jesus Christ. The Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities wrote in a translated statement on March 23 that a building was recently found in the Qallaya area in Egypt’s Beheira Governorate. The structure, likely a guesthouse used to host visitors, is a remnant of the “early beginnings of Coptic monasticism,” the release said. Previous buildings have also been found at the site, and the newly discovered structure had 13 multipurpose rooms used for “hospitality and teaching …...