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Pacific Time, Eastern Time, Greenwich Mean Time — and one day, perhaps, Moon Time? With dozens of lunar missions planned for the years ahead — including ones to build bases and other habitats on the moon — it may be time for some synchronicity, according to the European Space Agency. Time in space is usually calculated based on the time on Earth, but as different nations plan to operate on and around the moon, it may require a universal method for lunar timekeeping. A standard, agreed-upon time zone for the moon will not only ease collaboration between space agencies around the world, but could ensure more precise guidance and navigation on the lunar surface. There are, however, some significant hurdles, according to European space officials. For one, it’s not yet clear if a single space a...

Laxism is a moral position that in a position of doubt tends to the easiest or least demanding alternative. Christians certainly suffer from this position, but I want to focus rather an the general laxity of the practice of penance, which continues to wear thin with almost nothing expected of Catholics any longer. The thinking in the last sixty years has been that after a period of excessive “legalism” the Church has been merciful to Catholics by not expecting too much of them. Some say, if we have high expectations, it will simply lead people into sin by failing to meet those standards. Let’s look at what has happened as a result. Since we are in the season of Lent, this is one of the most glaring examples. Lent began as an all day fast for an entire forty days, with no wine, oil, or anim...

The Munich abuse report was released in January 2022 and faulted Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI and his successors, Cardinals Friedrich Wetter and Reinhard Marx. The study criticized the late German pope’s handling of four cases during his time in charge of the southern German archdiocese. Benedict XVI, who strongly denied cover-up allegations, sent 82 pages of observations to investigators compiling the report. On Tuesday, the public prosecutor’s office in the Bavarian capital of Munich said: “Insofar as suspicions arose from these events with regard to possible criminally relevant conduct by Church officials, separate preliminary investigation processes were initially entered.”  The office examined “in particular whether an ecclesiastical responsible person could have aided and abetted,...

God himself does not change, but God wills change in his creation — and he wills to bring it about through our prayers. Q. Since God is in the eternal present, and is all-knowing, he knows the destination of everyone and he knows the result of every situation. How, then, do our petitionary prayers have any effect on what God already knows is in the future? — Anonymous Truth Seeker A. I will take you through St. Thomas Aquinas’ answer to this puzzling question. Aquinas says that prayer is not about changing God’s mind, but about changing us to conform with God’s plan. We pray that we may obtain by intercession that which God has disposed from the beginning to be fulfilled by our prayers.  Since God is outside of time, he knows from all eternity that for which we will pray. From all ete...

Fr. Heiner Wilmer, SCJ, preaching in May 2016. Pope Francis appointed Wilmer as Bishop of Hildesheim on April 6, 2018. (Image: YouTube screenshot) Shortly before Christmas 2022, it seemed likely that Dr. Heiner Wilmer, SCJ, bishop of Hildesheim and a prominent proponent of the German “Synodal Way,” would be named prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith in succession to Cardinal Luis Ladaria Ferrer, SJ. Bishop Wilmer’s statements on a number of doctrinal and moral matters drew the concerned attention of senior churchmen in Rome and elsewhere; these men, including the late Cardinal George Pell, made their concerns known to Pope Francis; and the announcement of Bishop Wilmer’s appointment, which was reportedly planned for December 19, did not take place. The Wilmer appointment,...

Naomi Lewis has given birth to four children, but nothing prepared her for the excruciating and long-lasting pain of an encounter with a venomous stinging tree in Queensland’s far north. She was mountain biking at Smithfield, near her Cairns home, when she came off her bike, left the trail and hurtled down an embankment, sliding into a stinging tree, known colloquially as a Gympie-Gympie plant. The 42-year-old said the pain on both her legs — from where her shorts finished — was “100 per cent the worst pain ever”, describing the sensation as feeling like she had been set on fire. Naomi Lewis was exercising when she fell into the stinging tree.(Supplied) “It was horrible, absolutely horrible,” she said. “The pain was just beyond unbearable. The body gets ...

Elizabeth Owen (ZENIT News – Asia News / Jerusalem, 03.21.2023).- The Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem and Primate Theophilus III, together with the Synod, all the clergy and faithful, “condemn the atrocious terrorist attack,” which took place on Thursday morning, March 19, during Sunday’s Liturgy, at the hands of two Israeli extremists.” Thus read the note of the leaders of the Christian community of the Holy Land, commenting on the attack on Mary’s Tomb, one of the most important churches for the Orthodox, located in front of the church of Gethsemane. The authors of this “atrocious crime tried to physically harm Archbishop Joachim, who was trying to celebrate the office,” and “one of the priests,” stated the press release, all of which took place, among other things, during “the time of L...

“One must always tell what one sees.”Charles Peguy So many great conversations never happen. There is nothing like sharing insights with a friend into things that matter, and even things that don’t matter so much. But why is it so difficult? One of the great paradoxes of our day is that with seemingly limitless outlets for ‘sharing’ thoughts, so little deep sharing actually happens. We are often stifled, cut off, and isolated. In the cacophony of words, it is difficult to say the things we want to say. We are beginning to realize that the tools billed as making connections have in fact undermined them, with devastating consequences even in our close relationships. “Tell what one sees.” Peguy’s statement might seem a warning against mendacity. It certainly includes that. For, given the beau...

An exorcist gave a dire warning about a board game sold on Amazon. Beyond appearances, it is extremely dangerous. Father Ernesto María Caro shared a video on the YouTube channel “Digital Evangelization” in which he warns about the “Holy Spirit Board.” It is a game claiming to communicate with God, but “it is a disguised ouija.” Exorcist warns about dangerous board game sold on Amazon “This is divination, and it is forbidden by Holy Scripture. This table is passed off as a game where one can communicate directly with Jesus Christ,” the priest explains. He then elaborates that many times, people resort these practices looking for answers from God. He says God does not answer in this way. “God is a mystery and answers mysteriously,” Father Caro says. “It is not that God does no...

When he was a child, Stephen Adubato asked his parents for a Ouija board. Several of his relatives dabbled in magic, and he had become interested in experimenting with occult practices.  Adubato’s family bought him the Ouija board, and he began communicating with spirits who presented themselves as his relatives.  “They say very sentimental things, like ‘I miss you,’ and ‘I love you,’” he told the Register. “But when you start asking questions, they begin to say darker thing — vulgar curse words or sexual things.”  Experiences like Adubato’s are becoming more common, as interest in occultism and related things like astrology are reportedly at a decades-long high. Social media has become a significant medium for creating and sharing content that promotes occult practices and ...

Adam and Eve After the Pill, Revisited by mary eberstadt foreword by cardinal george pell ignatius, 199 pages, $19.95 Very early in her new book, Mary Eberstadt notes that a new kind of intolerance is “strangling open discussion across the West.” And as she argues in her text, this new brand of intolerance is linked closely with the sexual revolution. Now, at first hearing, that just doesn’t sound plausible. The sexual revolution was about an end to repressive moralizing. It was about greater tolerance for individual sexual freedom. It was about a healthier, more relaxed, less shame-infected attitude toward sexuality in general. And I know what I’m talking about. I was there in the late 1960s, and I thoroughly enjoyed its early stages. But here’s the catch, which the author explores so per...

Another German prelate, Bishop Heiner Wilmer of Hildesheim, added his support, telling staff in his diocese: “It is of great importance to me that LGBTQ people are accompanied pastorally, spiritually, and liturgically. I welcome the Synodal Way’s endorsement of establishing a task force to develop a handout for celebrations of blessing for same-sex couples as well as remarried divorcees,” CNA Deutsch reported. On Friday last week, the German bishops and other delegates of the Synodal Way passed a resolution to develop and provide Church blessings to same-sex unions.  Titled “Blessing ceremonies for couples who love each other,” the measure was opposed by only nine of 58 bishops, while 11 bishops abstained.  German bishops who have previously voiced public support f...