Jesus continues his “sermon on the plain,” and gives the secret to peace on earth, happiness in your home, harmony in the Church, and eternal life this Sunday, the Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C. There is just one problem, however: The secret is so repugnant to our fallen human nature that no matter how hard we try, we can’t even force ourselves to even try it. First: He says, “Do good to those who hate you.” But you have to lose your self-respect to do that. “Bless those who curse you,” Jesus says; “Love your enemies.” This is really, really hard to do. It means, “Do good to the person who works, hard, to undermine the things that you love in life.” It means, “Bless those who hate you because of who you voted for, what your family does, and because of the way you see the mos...
The Cathedral Church of St. Peter and St. Paul in the nation’s capital is a magnificent Neo-Gothic structure, based on 14th-century English models, that calls itself “Washington National Cathedral”: a non-sequitur repeated by many others. There is, however, no such thing as a national cathedral. Recently restored Notre-Dame de Paris is the cathedral church of the Catholic Archdiocese of Paris; it’s not “Paris National Cathedral.” Ditto for St. Paul’s in London; Christopher Wren’s masterpiece is the cathedral church of the Anglican Diocese of London, not “London National Cathedral.” A cathedral is the seat of the bishop of a diocese, and there are no national dioceses, even in small states like Liechtenstein and Luxembourg, where diocesan boundaries are coterminous with national borders. Th...
A story is told in the History of Bernardo de Brito (Monarchia Lusytana in 1602) about a nun in the convent of Lorvao, Portugal who lived some time in the 14th or 15th centuries. Before joining the Dominicans, Sr. Maria Minz had vowed to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, but saw no way of fulfilling the vow. This plagued her, and together with a confessor she worked out a way to make the pilgrimage without ever leaving the convent. For the duration of an actual pilgrimage—one year—she would perform the same actions in her convent. She said goodbye to all the sisters in the convent, and did not speak or dine with them for a year. After they ate, she had a meagre meal in the refectory, leaving the rest of her portion for the needy. All day, she would walk around the enclosure, passing betw...
If Catholics really understood what happens at every Mass, churches would be full every day. Here’s why. Aside from weekend Masses, I’ve made it a point to take my four kids to daily Mass as often as possible. It’s not always easy but I’m convinced that it’s worth the effort. During the school year, I typically attend daily Mass with my 4-year-old. Since becoming a stay-at-home mom a few years ago, I’ve taken advantage of the opportunity to receive the Eucharist regularly. Don’t get me wrong — going to Mass with a toddler looks different every day. For the most part, she cooperates, but there are times when I leave Mass exasperated after chasing her down the aisle. At first, I wondered what graces she and I were receiving at Mass every day, but I felt the Holy Spirit encouraging me to keep...
When Jorge Mario Bergoglio was chosen by his fellow cardinals to follow Pope Benedict XVI as the next Successor to St. Peter on March 13, 2013, he was a pope of many “firsts”: First member of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) to be elected pope First pontiff to hail from the Western Hemisphere and south of the Equator First pope in over 1200 years to have been raised outside of Europe (St. Gregory III, elected in the 8th Century, was from modern-day Syria) Pope Francis greeting pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square, shortly after his election to the papacy in 2013 (Getty Images) Pope Francis has now occupied the Chair of St. Peter for nearly 12 years, and given his fragile health as of the writing of this article, (although we certainly pray for his recovery) his time on earth may well be coming...
Today is the memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes. Free today, in honor of the day: Mary and the Christian Life. If you would like to share the story of St. Bernadette with your children, Loyola has my entry on her from The Loyola Kids’ Book of Saints online here. Bernadette was afraid, of course, but it wasn’t the kind of fear that made her want to run away. She stayed where she was and knelt down. She reached into the pocket of her worn-out dress, found her own rosary, and started to pray with the girl. When she finished, the girl disappeared. Bernadette didn’t know who or what she had seen. All she knew was that being there had made her feel happy and peaceful. On their way back to Lourdes, she told her sister and friend what had happened, and soon the whole village knew. Ove...
Alex Kucera has lived in Atlanta, GA, for the last 46 years. He is one of 9 children, married to his wife Karmen, and has 3 girls, one grandson, and a granddaughter on the way. Alex joined Regnum Christi in 2007. Out of the gate, he joined the Helping Hands Medical Missions apostolate and is still participating today with the Ghana Friendship Mission. In 2009, Alex was asked to be the Atlanta RC Renewal Coordinator for the Atlanta Locality to help the RC members with the RC renewal process. Alex became a Group Leader in 2012 for four of the Atlanta Men’s Section Teams and continues today. Running in parallel, in 2013, Alex became a Team Leader and shepherded a large team of good men. Alex was honored to be the Atlanta Mission Coordinator between 2010 to 2022 (12 years), coordinating 5-8 Ho...
By Clement Harrold February 13, 2025 “To err is human, to forgive divine,” wrote the English poet Alexander Pope. While the Christian religion certainly agrees with this assessment, it also takes it a step further: forgiveness is a grace which comes from God, but it’s a grace in which He invites us to share. The Catechism of the Catholic Church describes forgiveness as “a high point of Christian prayer,” before noting that “only hearts attuned to God’s compassion can receive the gift of prayer” (§2844). Forgiveness is something we are all called to, but we can only practice it with God’s help. In this article, we’ll examine what the Bible says about forgiveness, and what role it ought to play in our lives. Forgiveness in the Bible From a biblical perspective, practicing forgiveness toward ...
Earlier this month, in its regular Artificial Intelligence section, the Wall Street Journal ran a 2,000-word feature – for a newspaper, that’s serious ink – on the AI program “FutureYou.” Developed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), FutureYou allows you to talk with your 80-year-old self. It also (regrettably) projects what you’ll look like. The idea, according to the WSJ author, “is that if people can see and talk to their older selves, they will be able to think about them more concretely, and make changes now that will help them achieve the future they hope for.” Thanks to FutureYou, the author discovered that she’d write a book, have six grandchildren, live in the suburbs, take up gardening, survive a health scare, make a solo visit to Japan...
CANTERBURY, England — Britain’s former Prime Minister Boris Johnson recently caused a mini-uproar by saying the Church of England’s failure to fill “an aching spiritual void” had led to large numbers of British citizens “gorging themselves” and becoming obese instead. While he was being deliberately provocative about a widespread disorder to which Johnson, by his own admission, is not immune, the connection between spiritual need and societal ills is one that others have also noticed as the country suffers from a well-publicized and growing socio-political malaise that extends well beyond obesity. “If you spend time in pubs talking and listening to people,” said Sebastian Morello, an English Catholic philosopher and writer, “you’ll find everybody is desperately unhappy in England.”&n...
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Who Was St. Josephine Bakhita? Known as the patron saint of human trafficking victims, St. Josephine Bakhita’s journey from slavery to sainthood inspires Catholics and many others worldwide. Born in Sudan, sold into slavery, and later becoming a Canossian sister, her legacy reminds us of God’s power to bring good out of any suffering (see 2 Cor. 12:8-10; Rom. 8:28). Q: What is St. Josephine Bakhita known for? A: St. Josephine Bakhita is known for her incredible life, beginning with her being kidnapped as a child, sold into slavery, and brutally abused. In time, an Italian counsel in Sudan purchased her, treated her better, and took her to his homeland when she begged to go with him. In Italy, she became a Catholic, a nun, and, improbably, a great saint, one who continues to inspire m...