Author: S&P
Cleveland Bishop’s Pastoral Letter Puts Prayer at the Forefront of Catholic Life…
Bishop Edward Malesic of the 600,000-soul-strong Cleveland Diocese is drawing on prayer and reflection as key elements in the spiritual renewal of his Catholic flock. In a new pastoral letter, “A Flourishing Apostolic Church,” released Dec. 15, Bishop Malesic said his intent is “that we might recommit ourselves to a daily entry into the Paschal Mystery of Jesus Christ so that the Church of C...
How Could the Holy Family Present Jesus in the Temple When They Were Supposed to Have Fled to Egypt?
By Clement Harrold December 20, 2024 Many of us grew up hearing the beautiful accounts of Our Lord’s birth as described in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. But taking a closer look at these episodes can sometimes become a source of confusion to the more diligent reader. One particularly pertinent problem is figuring out how to reconcile Matthew’s assertion that the Holy Family fled to Egypt right ...
Pope’s Sunday Angelus: ‘Support and Defend the Sacred Value of the Life of the Little Ones in the Womb’…
Angelus Angelus Dómini nuntiávit Mariæ.Et concépit de Spíritu Sancto.Ave Maria… Ecce ancílla Dómini.Fiat mihi secúndum verbum tuum.Ave Maria… Et Verbum caro factum est.Et habitávit in nobis.Ave Maria… Ora pro nobis, sancta Dei génetrix.Ut digni efficiámur promissiónibus Christi. Orémus.Grátiam tuam, quǽsumus, Dómine,méntibus nostris infunde;ut qui, Ángelo nuntiánte, Christi Fílii...
What Should I Meditate on for the Finding in the Temple?
By Clement Harrold December 6, 2024 The story of the Finding of the Boy Jesus in the Temple brings a range of emotions to the surface. For many Catholics, the whole episode can feel baffling, if not downright traumatic. More than any of the other joyful mysteries, this one seems to encapsulate the title of William Shakespeare’s comedy, All’s Well That Ends Well! St. John Paul rightly noted that th...
Why scientist Blessed Nicolas Steno — the father of modern geology, paleontology and crystallography — became Catholic…
Share via: In this season of Advent, as we prepare to celebrate the Incarnation, we are called to quiet down and prepare our hearts to receive Christ anew, to be moved in awe at His presence. We are not asked to do this on blind faith alone. Throughout creation, God has left us signs and wonders of Himself, if only we would take notice. In his 1998 encyclical, Fides et Ratio, Pope St. John Paul II...
Embassy Vatican: Some Demystifications…
A change of presidential administrations typically leads to changes in U.S. diplomatic personnel abroad, especially at the ambassadorial level. This, in turn, leads to speculations, some of them zany, about the post of U.S. ambassador to the Holy See (typically mislabeled as “U.S. ambassador to the Vatican”). Herewith, then, some clarifications and demystifications about this position. The entity ...
Exploring Jericho — the Easter Bread Basket of the Hagia Sophia, Herod’s Hellacious Hippodrome, a Roadway Fit for a King (and Blind Beggars), and Zacchaeus’ Running Path …
Notes from the Author: 1) First and foremost–I offer this post to Our Lord through the intercession of His Mother and St. Joseph: in reparation for my sins and the sins of the world, for our repentance, and for an enduring peace throughout the Middle East and the world as quickly as possible. 2) It has been a while since I have posted. My previous post can be read here: htt...
Jesus’ Crown of Thorns Returned to Notre Dame Cathedral…
Areas of Catholic Herald business are still recovering post-pandemic. However, we are reaching out to the Catholic community and readership, that has been so loyal to the Catholic Herald. Please join us on our 135 year mission by supporting us. We are raising £250,000 to safeguard the Herald as a world-leading voice in Catholic journalism and teaching. We have been a bold and influential voice in ...
Why I’m spending Christmas in Bethlehem this year…
This Christmas, while massive crowds of pilgrims will flock to Rome for the opening of the Jubilee year, I’ll be spending the holy season in Bethlehem. For many, Rome’s grand celebrations and newly polished piazzas are the obvious choice for the holiday. But for me, the small, struggling city where Jesus Christ was born holds a deeper urgency — and a quiet, heartbreaking beauty. Today, Bethlehem i...
Don’t Waste Your Season
“The nature of time can make it difficult for me to fully enjoy my life. On those days when everything is going well, my awareness that the ideal conditions are fleeting can dampen my enjoyment. Even the most delightful vacation must eventually come to an end. Seasons of life also come and go, despite my longing at times to stop the clock and keep things as they are. I don’t want to look down on t...
‘Die Hard’ is not a Christmas movie, unless…..
There’s no way around the question this time of the year, so I will offer my take on The Controversy. “Die Hard” is not a “Christmas movie.” However, I will add this word — “unless.” And my “unless” is built into a Christmas movie typology based on feeling tingles of “hathos” (definition here) during decades of having to watch promotional materials for The Holidays — primarily advertisements. I sa...
The Best Hole-In-The-Wall Restaurants In Every State…
Static Media / Shutterstock / Getty Any city-dweller will know about all the popular restaurants in their city. Maybe they’re located in a town center, locally acclaimed for having a stunning ambiance or known for having the best burgers in town made by award-winning chefs. There’s a lot to be said about a well-known eatery whose food deserves every ounce of recognition it gets, and wh...
