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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 Cleveland may truly flourish.” Bishop Malesic is asking all Catholics of the Cleveland Diocese, whether practicing or lapsed, to set aside 15 minutes each day for simple reflection. While daily prayer is quite basic to all baptized Catholics, it can be easily overlooked in a society prioritizing “getting on with things” over quiet moments of introspection. “For many of us involved in parish life, i...

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 begins, “Faith and reason are like two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth; and God has placed in the human heart a desire to know the truth…” In our contemplation of the Word along with the created world, we discover the fullness of the truth of Christ. Blessed Nicolas Steno provides a poignant witness of this through his life. A world-renowned 17th century scient...

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: https://zistezesto.wordpress.com/2024/04/21/chapter-7-exploring-little-known-sites-in-the-holy-land-stairway-to-the-sanhedrin-the-mosque-of-the-ascension-the-humble-empty-tomb-of-our-lady-and-st-stephens-battleground/ 3) As a reminder, copy/paste GPS Coordinates listed below into Google Maps to see or travel to each location. Satellite imagery used below is from Google Earth. 4) I apologize for any a...

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 is caught in the crossfire of war. The ongoing Israel-Hamas war has cast a long shadow over the entire region. According to my sources in Bethlehem, more than 60 Christian families have left the town in the last six months alone. Pilgrims are few, as fears of conflict and restricted access deter most visitors. Where Rome anticipates millions for the Jubilee, Bethlehem’s holy sites expect only a few...

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 whose flash draws in visitors off the street like bugs to a lantern. But what about a town’s hidden gems — the unassuming joints whose modest appearances belie the stunning cuisine? Advertisement These so-called “hole-in-the-wall” eateries are the places a friend will drag you to when you’re visiting from out of town. Tourists rarely know about them while locals treasure...

3rd Sunday of AdventFr. Victor Feltes A story is told of an old American Indian speaking to his young grandchild seated at his feet. “Inside of me there are two wolves,” the grandfather explains. “One of these wolves is virtuous: patient, kind, chaste, generous, forgiving, and loving. But the other wolf is vicious: angry, cruel, lustful, greedy, unforgiving, and hateful. These wolves are battling within me in a fight to the death.” The child asks, “Which wolf is gonna win, Grandpa?” The grandfather replies, “The one that I feed.” One bit of encouragement I often give in the confessional concerns the ideas, feelings, memories, or temptations which enter people’s minds. When people confess to having had bad thoughts or temptations, I ask, “Did you will them? Did you choose them? Did you welc...

This Sunday is Gaudete (Rejoice) Sunday, the Third Sunday of Advent, Year C. It’s called that for several reasons: “Rejoice” is the first word of the Entrance Antiphon at Mass; the pink candle means we’re more than halfway to Christmas; and the readings stop focusing on the terrible times to come and start expecting the joy that’s nearly here. Here are six takeaways from the readings at Mass, taken from previous “This Sunday” columns. First: I, for one, rejoice that St. John the Baptist’s message isn’t harsh. John the Baptist tells the disciples what God expects of them, and it turns out to be … love. The crowd gathers around this intense insect-eating prophet in camel hide. They have been moved by his insistent preaching and his radical lifestyle, and they are ready to take the next step....

By Clement Harrold December 13, 2024 For believers who take the Word of God seriously, the near-deafening silence on the part of the four evangelists about the so-called “hidden years” of Jesus—those thirty or so years between His birth and the beginning of His ministry—can be a source of disappointment. Wouldn’t it be exciting to hear some anecdotes about the Holy Family’s beach vacation on the Sea of Galilee? And wouldn’t young people benefit from a stirring tale of Jesus’s devotion to prayer and virtue during his adolescence? These are fair questions, yet for some reason the Holy Spirit didn’t see it that way. Why might that be? As far as we can tell, the underlying reason why the Gospels are largely silent about Jesus’s childhood and adolescence is to underscore the normality and humil...

SAINTS & ART: From his mystical poetry to his unique sketch of Christ Crucified, St. John of the Cross reveals the beauty of suffering in union with God. John de Yepes came into the world in Spain in 1542, the child of silk weavers. He grew up poor, was apprenticed, and had the fortune partially to attend a Jesuit-run school. Severe in his mortifications, he had visions calling him to religious life in its austere grandeur. In 1563, he entered the Carmelites, taking the name-in-religion of John of St. Matthias. John lived in the Spain of St. Teresa of Ávila. She was engaged in efforts to reform the Carmelite order by returning to its more rigorous, primitive roots. John began to implement the reforms of what would become the Discalced (“barefoot”) Carmelites in a male community, workin...

EDITORIAL: In a recent interview, the former speaker of the House spoke about her strained relationship with her bishop, San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone. The days are drawing nigh on the end of the political careers of Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi, once the two most powerful Catholic politicians in the world. Given the scandal they’ve caused over the years by repeatedly distorting and openly defying some of the fundamental principles of their common faith, one might say the days can’t draw nigh soon enough. If cafeteria Catholicism were a real denomination, Biden and Pelosi would already be on a path to canonization. The highly selective catechesis they promulgate anytime they’re asked about their faith often bears a hazy resemblance to actual Catholicism, but it’s rarely the g...

This article was featured in the One Story to Read Today newsletter. Sign up for it here. When Nick Chancey was a boy in West Virginia, he didn’t have much time for Christianity. He spent the occasional Sunday hiking into the woods with his father to offer a cup of milk and a handful of quarters to forest fairies. His dad kept a small Buddhist statue at home, and dabbled in Native American spirituality and “druid and Celtic stuff,” Chancey told me. “It was not uncommon for the Baptist preacher in his Sunday best to show up on our doorstep and for my dad to cuss the guy off the porch because he was saying we were going to hell.” Chancey’s views started to change in college. A friend invited him to the Catholic hub on campus, where he immediately felt welcome. One night, at the home of a Cat...

The story is told of the family that year after year, regardless of the neighbors raising questions, was true to their tradition of cutting the leg of a pig a little shorter than normal butchering practice. Eventually it came to light that their particular practice had no basis other than the diminutive size of some ancestor’s pot—a pot long out of use. The practice of traditions–including at Christmas–need not be slavish or undiscerning. At the same time, in Aristotle and Aquinas’s worldview all change has meaning from its relation to stable realities. The stable and enduring is the gold standard; it gives direction and purpose to change. The observance of ‘traditions’ should be considered in this light, especially at this most tradition-rich time of year. Hilaire Belloc offers a unique a...