Florida bishop’s first pastoral urges Catholics to share ‘the gift’ of Gospel
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Evangelization “is fundamental to who we are as Christians,” Bishop William A. Wack of Pensacola-Tallahassee said in a Nov. 3 interview about why he chose that topic for the first pastoral letter he has issued since becoming the shepherd of the church in Florida’s panhandle in 2017. “It is something so positive […]
Pope decries Ethiopia’s humanitarian crisis, urges dialogue
ROME — Pope Francis on Sunday decried the deteriorating humanitarian crisis in Ethiopia and pressed for dialogue to prevail over the protracted war. The pontiff in his traditional appearance to the public in St. Peter’s Square said he was following the news with “worry” from the Horn of Africa, particularly from Ethiopia, “shaken by a […]
Benedictine abbey in rural Missouri draws growing number of young women
GOWER, Missouri — Breaking the silence, the sisters breathed deeply. Then with ever so much control, they started singing in perfect unison. Without a word being spoken, the sisters intuitively knew what Mother Cecilia, their prioress, was calling forth from them. Sweet harmonies filled the church as these Benedictine nuns recorded their latest album. The […]
The Message of Today’s Gospel: ‘Jesus Knows’
Gustave Doré, “The Widow’s Mite,” 1870 SCRIPTURES & ART: Two widows, eight centuries apart, offer a lesson in Divine Providence.
Poverty can usher in strange and wonderful blessings…..
The first reading in today’s Mass (1 Kings 17:10-16) speaks to us of the paradox of poverty: it is our poverty, our neediness, that provides a doorway for God to bless us with true riches. Our emptiness provides room for God to go to work. In our worldly riches, we feel we have “too much […]
Macaw feathers have been discovered in Indian settlements in the U.S. — 2,000 miles away from where macaws live. There’s a lesson for us here…..
Contrary to popular belief, the state bird of Arizona is the cactus wren, not the snowbird (that migratory breed of Midwestern retiree that descends on the forty-eighth state every winter). Another interesting tidbit of Arizona avian trivia is that, among the collection of artifacts at Arizona State University, are feathers from scarlet and military macaws […]
Pope’s Sunday Angelus: ‘Free the Sacred From Its Ties With Money’…
The sacred things of our Catholic faith must be freed from their ties with money, Pope Francis said on Sunday. In a reflection on the Gospel of the “widow’s mite” Nov. 7, the pope praised the woman for giving everything she had, without concern for how it would look to others. Francis also criticized the […]
Pope at Vatican Library exhibits calls for dialogue, openness
ROME — The world needs new maps, guides for the human journey that are focused not on borders, but on what draws all people together and makes them brothers and sisters, Pope Francis said as he inaugurated a map-based exhibit in the Vatican Library. “Humanity needs new maps to discover the meaning of fraternity, social […]
After hospital stay, Patriarch extended U.S. visit
NEW YORK — Toward the end of his first apostolic visit to the U.S. in many years, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople was hospitalized Nov. 3 at Mount Sinai Hospital in the New York City to undergo stent placement. He was released Nov. 5 and was expected to return to Turkey Nov. 7 after completing […]
Knocking at death’s spiritual door in the time of COVID-19
WASHINGTON, D.C. — As the world was about to cross a grim statistic Nov. 1 due to the coronavirus pandemic, Catholics were preparing for the solemn observation of death on All Souls’ Day. The Nov. 2 observance is a time to remember and pray for family, friends and others who have died. It’s a time […]