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To mark 800 years in Britain, four Dominicans are walking through southern England — send your prayer intentions and follow the pilgrimage here…
The pilgrims depart Ramsgate and visit Cliffsend, Minster, Littlebourne and Ickham on their way to Canterbury Cathedral. This year, the Order of Preachers is celebrating the 800th anniversary of the death of St. Dominic in Italy, and the arrival in 1221 of the Dominican Order in Great Britain. To mark the occasion, a group of British Dominicans are following the footsteps of their predecessors on a walking pilgrimage in England, starting at Ramsgate on Aug. 1 and arriving in Oxford on Aug. 15. Readers are invited to send their prayer intentions and join the pilgrimage virtually through this Register series, and at the Dominican Jubilee website. Day 1 (Sunday, Aug. 1) St. Augustine’s Church (Ramsgate). Our pilgrimage to Oxford began in the seaside town of Ramsgate. Our wonderful host, Fathe...
God sees all the beauty of the universe at a glance, but He didn’t die for the universe. He died for you…..
God sees all the beauty of the universe at a glance, but he didn’t die for the universe. He died for you. This video originally appeared at Real Life Catholic and is used with permission. Sign up for Chris Stefanick’s email list here. Right now, I’m coming to you from Hawaii, one of the most beautiful places on earth. But for all the beauty around me, I can’t seem to stop taking pictures of my granddaughter, who’s here with me. The scenery just can’t compare to this human being, this child, who didn’t do anything to earn respect and love — she just IS. God sees you the same way. God sees all the beauty of the universe at a glance — the sun, the ocean, the stars, the sky. He made it all. But he didn’t die for a galaxy, or the clouds, or the whales, or the stars. He died for you. You ...
Is Jesus your Savior or your friend?
Catholicism as a viable religion is an objective reality that owes its identity in the Trinity. More specifically, it is Jesus Christ who instituted the Catholic Church as His direct representation on earth to carry on His salvific mission. As a universal truth, Catholicism is a very important educational concept for anyone involved in the religious development of God’s children especially the young. The development of faith requires a visible and applicable association to something this is real and true. Jesus Christ serves as the visible and applicable reality by virtue of His Incarnation as Divinely revealed by God the Father who desires to save and care for His children from sin and death through His only begotten Son Jesus Christ. St. Paul understood the importance of transmitting a p...
To mark 800 years in Britain, four Dominicans are walking on pilgrimage through southern England — send them your prayer intentions and follow their progress here…
The pilgrims depart Ramsgate and visit Cliffsend, Minster, Littlebourne and Ickham on their way to Canterbury Cathedral. This year, the Order of Preachers is celebrating the 800th anniversary of the death of St. Dominic in Italy, and the arrival in 1221 of the Dominican Order in Great Britain. To mark the occasion, a group of British Dominicans are following the footsteps of their predecessors on a walking pilgrimage in England, starting at Ramsgate on Aug. 1 and arriving in Oxford on Aug. 15. Readers are invited to send their prayer intentions and join the pilgrimage virtually through this Register series, and at the Dominican Jubilee website. Day 1 (Sunday, Aug. 1) St. Augustine’s Church (Ramsgate). Our pilgrimage to Oxford began in the seaside town of Ramsgate. Our wonderful host, Fathe...
Body of Father Patrick Ryan, Tennessee Priest on Path to Canonization, Reburied in Knoxville Basilica…
The body of Servant of God Patrick Ryan, a Tennessee priest who died in 1878 caring for victims of Chattanooga’s yellow fever epidemic, was moved and reinterred at the city’s Sts. Peter and Paul Basilica over the weekend. CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — The body of Servant of God Patrick Ryan, a Tennessee priest who died in 1878 caring for victims of Chattanooga’s yellow fever epidemic, was moved and reinterred at the city’s Sts. Peter and Paul Basilica over the weekend. During a yellow fever epidemic in 1878, some 80% of Chattanooga residents fled the city. Father Ryan stayed to minister to the sick, dying of yellow fever himself on Sept. 28, 1878. Bishop Richard Stika of Knoxville, who opened Father Ryan’s sainthood cause in 2016, celebrated a memorial Mass and presided over Father Ryan...
Life lessons from Simone Biles: Throw stones or give thanks?
COMMENTARY: The world’s greatest gymnast has shared with us lessons not only of exquisite athletic performance, but of humility, fortitude, prudence and loving care for her fellow teammates and competitors. Simone Biles’ decision to withdraw from Olympic competition this year has certainly generated a great deal of heated discussion, with some public commentators praising her for her courage and others describing her as a selfish quitter. From my experience in psychology, I know it is very hard to determine exactly what is going on in another person’s mind and heart while seated across from them, let alone from a distance of several thousand miles. I can’t presume to fully understand Biles’ motivation, but in throwing in my two cents’ worth, I’ll try to keep this advice from St. Thomas Aqu...
How two friends decided to share Olympic gold in Tokyo…
Italy’s Gianmarco Tamberi and Mutaz Barshim of Qatar agreed to share a gold medal at the Tokyo Games on Sunday in a competition settled not by clearing the top height but with a subtle nod. In a huddle with track officials, the high jumpers were given the option to settle the tie with a jump-off. Barshim had a better idea: How about two golds? The official said that was possible. Barshim nodded and Tamberi instantly accepted, slapping Barshim’s hand and jumping to hug him. It would be far from the last celebration the two athletes, who have been good friends since 2017, would have. “For me, coming here, I know for a fact that for the performance I did, I deserve that gold,” Barshim said. “He did the same thing, so I know he deserved that gold. This is beyond sport. This is the message we d...
10 ways you might be letting the devil slip in without even realizing it…
Yearning for the supernatural is inborn but entering through the wrong door leads to spiritual harm. God is the ultimate power, so the devil need not be feared, but he should be always be avoided for our own spiritual well-being. Hearing people say, “It’s no big deal,” is music to the devil’s ears. He likes to work undercover to ensnare people in his traps. Here are 10 things considered harmless by many that are ways that the devil has slipped into the culture. 1. Horoscopes. They are in newspapers and magazines. I bet you even know your zodiac sign. Horoscopes claim power to know the future that is not from God. Catholic Answers explains that the pagan world was once dominated by belief in astrology. It is still a pagan practice that goes against the First Commandment. 2. Mediums. On the ...
Pope Francis to Medjugorje Youth Festival: Christ Frees Us ‘From the Seduction of Idols’…
VATICAN CITY — In a message to the Medjugorje Youth Festival on Monday, Pope Francis told young Catholics that Christ’s loving gaze can free them from attraction to idols. “Have the courage to live your youth by entrusting yourselves to the Lord and setting out on a journey with him,” the pope said Aug. 2. “Let yourself be conquered by his loving gaze that frees us from the seduction of idols, from false riches that promise life but cause death,” he continued. “Do not be afraid to welcome the Word of Christ and to accept his call.” Pope Francis’ message was sent on the second day of the 32nd Medjugorje Youth Festival taking place in Bosnia and Herzegovina Aug. 1-8. In his reflection, the pope spoke about the Gospel’s rich young man, who, he said, set out to meet the Lord with enthusi...
Disney’s ‘Jungle Cruise’ is an underwhelming ride to nowhere…
There’s a back story involving Spanish conquistadors cursed with immortality by wronged natives. A swaggering captain with a dark past who is both more and less than he seems. There’s magic involving the rays of the moon, but also a quest for a mythical source of life deep in the jungle and a magic MacGuffin that points the way. We have supernatural antagonists whose deteriorating bodies have assumed the characteristics of lower life forms and menace from stereotyped ooga-booga natives (albeit with a twist). Oh, and there’s an elaborately choreographed, stunt-driven escape sequence in which the protagonist exits a period London building via a second-story window, dangling over the street before dropping into a conveniently timed vehicle. In short, Jungle Cruise plays like fan fiction for, ...
New podcast: What could go wrong? NYTimes looks at Facebook’s religious ambitions…
Truth be told, I am not prone to flashbacks — even though I did come of age in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Anyway, I had a big flashback recently while reading a very interesting New York Times feature that ran with this headline: “Facebook’s Next Target: The Religious Experience.” In this case, the subhead is also crucial: “The company is intensifying formal partnerships with faith groups across the United States and shaping the future of religious experience.” Whoa. What does “shaping the future of religious experience” mean? I imagine that to learn details, readers would have to hear from some of the participants in this trailblazing online work. But there’s a problem with that. When asked about some specifics, an official with the Atlanta branch of the trendy Hillsong Church couldn...
The bishops, Donatism, and President Biden…
In an article first posted at Commonweal and republished on July 7 in La Croix International, Professor John Thiel of Fairfield University, while criticizing the U.S. bishops’ decision to prepare a teaching document on Eucharistic coherence and integrity in the Church, performed the not-inconsiderable feat of striking out four times (swinging). The first whiff: “In the judgment of the bishops, Biden’s sin seems to be that, as a Catholic politician, he has not taken a public, political stand against abortion.” Wrong. What the bishops (and Catholics serious about human rights) object to is that the Biden Administration is bending every effort to increase the incidence of abortions at home and abroad. Moreover, the administration, by eliminating from its recent budge...
