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St. John Cantius (Jan Kanty), Pray For Us!…
SAINTS & ART: Can our churches and priests today be the vessels of practical charity and mercy Jan was 500 ago? Priest, scholar and patron of the poor — they all describe St. John Cantius (Jan z Kanty), who lived from 1390-1473. Jan came into the world in the town of Kęty, about 45 miles from the then-Polish capital of Kraków and 10 miles due south of Oświęcim, a town rendered infamous by the Germans, who called it Auschwitz. Although most of Jan’s life was spent in Kraków and its environs, he also made a walking pilgrimage to Rome. He began his studies in philosophy in Kraków and graduated in 1418. Ordained a priest sometime between 1418 and 1421, Jan served from 1421-29 as a teacher at the monastery school of the Canons Regular of the Most Holy Sepulcher in Miechów, 40 miles no...
Vatican May Discipline Priests Over Liturgy Protests, Warns Indian Archbishop…
An Indian Catholic archbishop warned priests protesting against liturgical changes supported by Pope Francis Friday that they could face “disciplinary actions, even from the part of the Holy See.” In a Dec. 23 letter to clergy in the Archeparchy of Ernakulam-Angamaly, Archbishop Andrews Thazhath urged priests to begin celebrating a new form of the Syro-Malabar Church’s Eucharistic liturgy “at least by Christmas 2022.” The Syro-Malabar Church, which regards St. Thomas the Apostle as its founder, is the second-largest of the 23 Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with Rome, after the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. The Church’s Synod of Bishops urged Syro-Malabar dioceses in August 2021 to adopt a “uniform mode” of the Eucharistic liturgy, in which priests face the people during the...
5 reasons we need a Savior — An Advent meditation on a text from Isaiah…
As Christmas draws so near, we should ponder why we need a savior. In short, we’ve got it bad and that ain’t good. But praise the Lord, there is a doctor on the way. His name is Emmanuel; His name is Jesus, which means “God saves.” Let’s look at a keynote reading of Advent describing five reasons we Jesus a savior! I. Distant Sons – Hear, O heavens, and listen, O earth, for the Lord speaks: Sons have I raised and reared, but they have disowned me! An ox knows its owner, and an ass, its master’s manger; But Israel does not know, my people has not understood. Ah! sinful nation, people laden with wickedness, evil race, corrupt children! They have forsaken the Lord, spurned the Holy One of Israel, apostatized (Is 1:2-4). At the heart of most of our troubles is that we have distanced ourselves ...
Woman Arrested by UK Police for Praying Silently Near Abortion Facility…
Vaughan-Spruce was carrying no placards or signs. After her arrest, she was shown pictures of herself quietly standing in the vicinity of the abortion clinic in Kings Norton, Birmingham. She had been spotted near the clinic three times, and when asked about these occasions, she explained that she might have been praying, but she may also have been thinking about other things. Her thoughts, she explained, were all peaceful and not worthy of being criminalized. Speaking about her work, Vaughan-Spruce said: “I have devoted much of my life to supporting women in crisis pregnancies with everything that they need to make an empowered choice for motherhood.” “My faith is a central part of who I am, so sometimes I’ll stand or walk near an abortion facility and pray about this issue. This is ...
Be Free, Live Differently: A New Year’s Resolution for Men …
We count our years from the birth of Christ, and Christmas begins the year of the Lord 2023. The secular practice of making a resolution for the new year can find deeper meaning when connected to the birth of the savior. The focus on presents and cheer can overshadow the Christmas feast’s great transformative power. A resolution for the new year should begin at the manger, asking Jesus to draw us into the grace of his birth, as we reflect on how we need saving this Christmas. The baby Jesus comes in power, and his birth frees us and helps us to start again, renewed for the new year. Rather than petering out by February, which happens all too often with New Year’s resolutions, a Catholic’s resolution should only intensify by the time we hit Lent. There is more of a connection be...
Mary, the Church, Christmas, and Jimmy Lai…
Now, on Christmas Day, the nine months have been fulfilled. What began on the day of Annunciation is made visible to the world in the person of the newborn babe of Bethlehem, who is both Son of God and Son of Mary. History is forever changed. The “little flock” of whom Jesus will speak in Luke 12:32 (“Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”) is already here: in Mary and Joseph, humble servants of God; in the shepherds who leave the manger rejoicing; in the Magi who will come bearing gifts; in the slaughtered innocents and their grieving parents, precursors of the white-robed army of martyrs who will follow down the centuries. In a formal sense, the Church of Christ begins with the Paschal Mystery of the Lord’s passion, death, resurrection and...
Frank Pavone has lost his priestly ministry, worse offenders remain in good standing, and the credibility of bishops takes another blow. It should have been avoided…..
The year ended with a double helping of distressing news. Just as Catholics were reeling from the news of the “gruesome” abuse by Jesuit Father Marko Rupnik, compounded by appalling oversight by the highest levels of the Society of Jesus, the earthquake of Father Frank Pavone’s laicization hit. Pavone, head of Priests for Life, was dismissed from the clerical state apparently at the request of Bishop Patrick Zurek of Amarillo, Texas. The dismissal was approved by Pope Francis, meaning that no appeal is possible. Pavone himself asked, “What took so long?” in response to the news, as Bishop Zurek has been trying to laicize him for more than five years for contumacious disobedience. Pavone desired to devote himself to full-time work for Priests for Life, a secular corporation, based in ...
Pope Francis to Roman Curia: Be Vigilant Against ‘Elegant Demons’ and ‘The Evil That Quietly Lurks Among Us’…
Pope Francis has often used his annual December address, held in the Vatican’s gilded Hall of Benediction, to offer his frank perspective on the state of the Roman Curia. VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis warned the Roman Curia on Thursday that they need to be vigilant in the face of temptation by “elegant demons” and “the evil that quietly lurks among us.” In his annual Christmas address to the cardinals who work in Vatican offices on Dec. 22, the Pope said that there is a temptation for those who serve“at the heart of the Church” to think that they are “better than others, no longer in need of conversion.” “Yet we are in greater danger than all others, because we are beset by the ‘elegant demon,’ who does not make a loud entrance, but comes with flowers in his hand,” Pope Francis said. P...
Canon lawyer Fr. Gerald Murray on Frank Pavone’s dismissal from Catholic priesthood: Only the Pope can issue a decision without appeal…
To better understand the Church laws and judicial processes involved in cases such as this, CNA sought the expertise of Father Gerald E. Murray, a canon lawyer and the pastor of Holy Family Church in New York City who is a regular contributor to EWTN’s “The World Over with Raymond Arroyo.” What is the typical process for these types of accusations? Ordinarily, it is the responsibility of the bishop of the diocese in which the accused priest is incardinated to investigate accusations of “blasphemous communications on social media” and “persistent disobedience of lawful instructions of his diocesan bishop,” which are the two reasons given for Father Pavone’s dismissal from the clerical state in a communication sent to the bishops of the United States by Archbishop Pierre. The diocesan bishop...
The Frank Pavone story is not about abortion…
Father Frank Pavone, national director of Priests for Life, speaks in front of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington Oct. 1, 2019, after a petition with more than 250,000 signatures calling for Roe v. Wade to be overturned was presented to the court. (CNS photo/Tyler Orsburn) Please: Be careful — prayerful — about how you react to the news about Father Frank Pavone now becoming Mr. Frank Pavone by order of the Vatican. Try not to see it through a political lens. Step away of any opinions you may have of the Roman pontiff. Know that abortion is the human-rights issue of our time. The priest who ran Priests for Life is still capable of creating an untenable circumstance for himself to continue as a priest. My first reaction was shock on Saturday night as the news broke. I knew he was in troub...
Our efforts to touch the souls of our fellow human beings must be internal first, and then confirmed with the external…
As the young man gazed around the classroom, you could sense his fear and confusion, questioning why he was in this class. Any teacher who has taught in the classroom knows this scenario quite well when we receive a new student for the first time. This young human being has just been thrust into a new and unknown world that, at first glance, is difficult for him to conceptualize. Possessing no formal religious education formation, let alone any idea that he just might be loved by God, serves as a reminder that every human being bears the image and likeness of God and is not a wasted product-we are not created in vain. The last thing a new student needs as he attempts to maneuver his way through a new school environment is to be told, “this is what you have to believe,” no questions asked. ...
Lionel Messi thanks God for success In epic World Cup win…
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