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25 April 2025 Easter FridaySt. Mark the Evangelist Catholic Church, San Antonio, Texas Readings at MassLiturgical Colour: White. Year: C(I).First readingActs 4:1-12The name of Jesus Christ is the only one by which we can be savedWhile Peter and John were talking to the people the priests came up to them, accompanied by the captain of the Temple and the Sadducees. They were extremely annoyed at their teaching the people the doctrine of the resurrection from the dead by proclaiming the resurrection of Jesus. They arrested them, but as it was already late, they held them till the next day....

The experience of Catholicism today does not resemble the descriptions of previous generations. Catholics used to describe the faith as immutable. Some celebrated the comfort of changelessness, the sense that here was something truly eternal; haters lamented the blockheaded institutional obstinacy. Now the experience is transience, not intransigence. Half the parishes are gone, the greatest transience of all. The rest swing like pendula between liberal and conservative. The parish my mom attended had a pastor who liked all the liberal trappings: ad-lib consecration, applause during Mass, goofball sermons with lots of laughs, the usual. Then came a conservative pastor who...

The word, "Cardinal" doesn't go before the first name, it goes before the last name. See, when you call Donald Trump, "President Donald Trump," you're still calling him by his name. You're just adding a title to say what's significant about him. ("Yes, THAT Donald Trump!") You're simply substituting the word, "Mr." It's really grammatically no different than Sheriff John Smith or Coach Harry Brown or Pvt. David Jones. And some day, we'll talk about former president Donald Trump or Sgt. David Jones or retired Gen. Pete Williams. A Cardinal or a Lord will always be a Cardinal or a...

A biblical covenant is the legal establishment of a relationship between God and His people. God takes the initiative, institutes this relationship, and secures it. His covenants are based on His love, grace, and faithfulness, and they are rooted in His eternal covenant— established within the Trinity before the foundation of the world—which was to save humankind in case they would fall into sin (Eph. 1:3, 4; 2 Tim. 1:9; Titus 1:2; 1 Pet. 1:20; Rev. 13:8).1 The author of Hebrews, commonly thought to be the apostle Paul, distinguishes between the “first” and the “new” covenants; he states that if...

24 April 2025 Easter Thursday St. John the Evangelist Church, Sigmaringen, Germany Readings at MassLiturgical Colour: White. Year: C(I).First readingActs 3:11-26You killed the prince of life: God, however, raised him from the deadEveryone came running towards Peter and John in great excitement, to the Portico of Solomon, as it is called, where the man was still clinging to Peter and John. When Peter saw the people he addressed them, ‘Why are you so surprised at this? Why are you staring at us as though we had made this man walk by our own power or holiness? You are Israelites, and...

23 April 2025 Easter Wednesday St.Adalbert Church in Prague, Czech Republic Readings at MassLiturgical Colour: White. Year: C(I).First readingActs 3:1-10I will give you what I have: in the name of Jesus, walk!Once, when Peter and John were going up to the Temple for the prayers at the ninth hour, it happened that there was a man being carried past. He was a cripple from birth; and they used to put him down every day near the Temple entrance called the Beautiful Gate so that he could beg from the people going in. When this man saw Peter and John on...

Nalin Haley, the son of former U.S. presidential candidate Nikki Haley, was received into the Catholic Church on Palm Sunday. “As parents, Michael and I always prayed that our children would have a faith and relationship with God,” Nikki Haley posted on social media Sunday. “Today we were so proud to support Nalin in his faith journey as he was confirmed into the Catholic Church, completed RCIA, and received his first holy Communion,” she said of her son. Nikki Haley, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and South Carolina governor, was born and raised in the Sikh faith...

The Vatican has released images of Pope Francis being laid out in an open coffin ahead of the Confirmation of the Death of the Pontiff ceremony. Francis died Monday after suffering a stroke that led to irreversible heart failure following a weeks-long hospitalization with pneumonia. He was 88. The pontiff’s body had been placed in the coffin late Monday, with Cardinal Kevin Farrell, the Vatican camerlengo — the “chamberlain” who essentially acts as head of the Vatican between the end of a papacy and the start of the next — reading the official declaration of death aloud in an intimate...

22 April 2025 Easter Tuesday Sts. Soter & Caius, Popes & Martyrs, video clip of Mass, location unknown clipReadings at MassLiturgical Colour: White. Year: C(I).First readingActs 2:36-41You must repent and be baptized in the name of JesusOn the day of Pentecost, Peter spoke to the Jews: ‘The whole House of Israel can be certain that God has made this Jesus whom you crucified both Lord and Christ.’ Hearing this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the apostles, ‘What must we do, brothers?’ ‘You must repent,’ Peter answered ‘and every one of you must be...

I legitimately don't understand. Christianity Today, the flagship evangelical publication founded by the late Billy Graham, declares its method is: "To deliver biblical wisdom and beautiful storytelling from the whole world to the whole world across all media." That publication published THIS on Eater weekend: ******************************************************** Christianity Today @CTmagazine The Bible doesn’t say Jesus was nailed to a cross. One evangelical Bible scholar thinks the crucifixion may have been done with ropes. ********************************************************* Christianity Today had to be community-noted by Christians to correct a grievous biblical error. Maybe it slipped past the editors. But how? How could a theory, so...

I just learned of the passing of Pope Francis. My heart goes out to the millions of Christians all over the world who loved him. I was happy to see him yesterday, though he was obviously very ill. But I’ll always remember him for the below homily he gave in the very early days of COVID. It was really quite beautiful. May God rest his soul. https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/homilies/2020/documents/papa-francesco_20200327_omelia-epidemia.html

21 April 2025 Easter MondayThe Church of Saint Anselm of Canterbury, Long Island, NYReadings at MassLiturgical Colour: White. Year: C(I).First readingActs 2:14,22-33God raised this man Jesus to life, and all of us are witnesses to thisOn the day of Pentecost Peter stood up with the Eleven and addressed the crowd in a loud voice: ‘Men of Israel, listen to what I am going to say: Jesus the Nazarene was a man commended to you by God by the miracles and portents and signs that God worked through him when he was among you, as you all know. This man, who...

Their critics call them MAGA Catholics. Others label them as traditionalists — even fundamentalists. What is certain is that conservative or “faithful” Catholics, as they often prefer to be known, seem to be everywhere right now — from the new candidate for America’s ambassador to the Holy See to holding dinners and prayers services at Mar-A-Lago. This small but fervent wave of new conservative Catholicism is exploding nationwide — more visible than ever as they celebrate their resurrection victory this Easter Sunday.

...My interviews with the two recent converts took place over the course of a year. Do you believe in the resurrection? I asked them. In heaven? Where do you stand on demons? But what I saw of the two young men’s faith, finally, was not through their answers to my generic questions about Christianity. It was reflected in their faces and enacted in their gestures as I attended religious services beside them. ... I discovered the two young comedians were not outliers when it comes to my generation’s relationship to faith in Britain. Not only did I meet a host...

20 April 2025 Easter Sunday St. Agnes of Montepulciano, Dominican Sisters of St. Secilia, Nashville, TN Readings at MassLiturgical Colour: White. Year: C(I).First readingActs 10:34,37-43'We have eaten and drunk with him after his resurrection'Peter addressed Cornelius and his household: ‘You must have heard about the recent happenings in Judaea; about Jesus of Nazareth and how he began in Galilee, after John had been preaching baptism. God had anointed him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and because God was with him, Jesus went about doing good and curing all who had fallen into the power of the devil....

Is the Shroud of Turin the real burial cloth of Jesus Christ—or the greatest mystery in Christian history? In this powerful episode of Michael &, Michael Knowles is joined by theologian and historian Dr. Jeremiah Johnston to uncover the mind-blowing discoveries surrounding the Shroud. From scientific analysis and historical evidence to theological significance, they explore what makes the Shroud one of the most studied and debated relics in the world—and what it could mean for believers today. 👉 Watch now and decide for yourself: miracle, hoax, or holy artifact?"The Face of God" Michael & The Shroud of Turin | Dr....

19 April 2025 Holy SaturdayBasilica of the Sacred Heart, Notre Dame, INReadings at MassThere is no Mass on Holy Saturday itself. Here are the readings for the evening Easter Vigil.First readingGenesis 1:1-2:2God saw all that he had made, and indeed it was very goodIn the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was a formless void, there was darkness over the deep, and God’s spirit hovered over the water. God said, ‘Let there be light’, and there was light. God saw that light was good, and God divided light from darkness. God called light ‘day’,...

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Amongst the men of Bani Israel there was a man who had murdered ninety-nine persons. Then he set out asking (whether his repentance could be accepted or not). He came upon a monk and asked him if his repentance could be accepted. The monk replied in the negative and so the man killed him. He kept on asking till a man advised to go to such and such village. (So he left for it) but death overtook him on the way. While dying, he turned his chest towards that village (where he had hoped his repentance...

Reports of a “quiet revival” within the Catholic Church in Britain have been drawing widespread attention over the past week as parishes up and down the country witness ahead of the Easter celebrations a steady growth in interest and attendance, especially among the young. At the vigil of the Lord’s Resurrection this Saturday, the London dioceses of Southwark and Westminster will be receiving higher numbers than usual into the Church, with Southwark receiving 450 new candidates and catechumens — a decade high — and Westminster recording 500 new faithful, up by 25% from the previous year. ...About half of those...

18 April 2025Good FridaySacred Heart Church, Tampa, FloridaReadings at MassLiturgical Colour: Red. Year: C(I).There is no Mass today. The readings given here are used in the afternoon celebration of the Lord's Passion.First readingIsaiah 52:13-53:12The servant of the Lord, an expiatory SacrificeSee, my servant will prosper,he shall be lifted up, exalted, rise to great heights.As the crowds were appalled on seeing him– so disfigured did he lookthat he seemed no longer human –so will the crowds be astonished at him,and kings stand speechless before him;for they shall see something never toldand witness something never heard before:‘Who could believe what we have...