A group of liberal Catholic bishops met in secret last month to discuss “culture war” issues — what does that mean for the Church?
While Pope Francis was presiding over a ceremony at the Vatican to consecrate Ukraine and Russia on March 25, a group of high-ranking American bishops met in Chicago. The gathering at Loyola University — entitled “Pope Francis, Vatican II and the Way Forward” — was co-sponsored by Boston College’s Boisi Center for Religion and American […]
What happened with the Lord on Good Friday?
Jesus was arrested late Thursday evening. The Scriptures recount, “They took Jesus to the high priest, and all the chief priests, the elders and the teachers of the law came together.” According to Mark’s chronology there was a sham of a trial, based on false evidence and distortions of Jesus’ teachings. According to tradition…
Thoughts on a third of a century as a columnist (and a symbolic SCOTUS ruling)…
This week marked a rather symbolic anniversary for my national “On Religion” column, which I have been writing now for a third of a century. As you would imagine, I spend some time thinking about the subject for this week’s column: “Why ‘religious liberty’ has ended up inside quotation marks.” This column was also the […]
Death on a Friday afternoon — stay with the Passion and Death before rushing to Easter…
The late Father Richard John Neuhaus, Catholic convert and editor of First Things, was our religion editor for a time at National Review. Every Good Friday I like to read through some of his Death on a Friday Afternoon: Meditations on the Last Words of Jesus from the Cross. And especially his reminder about the […]
Pray for the soul of Ernest Hemingway. He crafted words that sink deep into the mysteries of life. And on Catholicism, he once said he “cannot imagine taking any other religion seriously”…
Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961) plunged into World War I, the Greco-Turkish War, the Spanish Civil War, and World War II with the confidence of a skilled matador twirling his cape over a furious 1200-pound bull. He was a journalist in all but The Great War, in which he was an ambulance driver who sustained serious injuries […]
Meditate on these beautiful new Stations of the Cross, painted by classical painter Leonard Porter, in New York’s St. Francis Xavier Church…
Denis McNamara, Director of the Center for Beauty and Culture at Benedictine College, introduces you to a stunning artistic achievement which not only serves to support the Catholic faith, but shows that sophisticated traditional art is still alive and well…
Don’t forget — Good Friday is the first day of the Divine Mercy novena…
Good Friday through the Second Sunday of Easter is the time of mercy, the time when Jesus redeemed us from sin and established new life in his Resurrection. This is why it is the time Jesus asked us to pray a novena invoking his Divine Mercy for the Church and the world. The Gospel of […]
On Holy Saturday this year, you can visit U.S. National Parks for free…..
Are you looking to save some money while visiting your favorite National Park? This Saturday, the National Park Service is beginning National Park Week by waiving entrance fees for one day only. After that, the various sites will celebrate National Park Week through “a variety of special programs, events, and digital experiences…
Easter light
Pencil Preaching for Saturday, April 16, 2022
Papal preacher: Jesus calls everyone to repent, turn swords into plowshares
Jesus invites everyone to repent and to turn swords into plowshares and missiles into factories and homes, the papal preacher said during the Good Friday service at the Vatican.