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I have lived in Santa Barbara, California for the past four years. In that brief time, my neighbors and I have experienced a number of real tragedies. Just over two years ago, the terrible Thomas Fire broke out in my pastoral region, in the vicinity of Thomas Aquinas College (hence the name). For a frightening month it made its devastating way from Santa Paula through Ventura, Carpenteria, Montecito, and eventually commenced to devour the foliage on the hills just north of my home. As I was standing one Saturday morning on my front lawn, staring uneasily at the flames, a retired fire captain stopped his car and yelled out the window, “Bishop, what are you still doing here? Embers are flying everywhere; this whole neighborhood could go up.” We were all relieved when, just days later, rains ...

There are only two kinds of people who seem to relish a national emergency: busybodies and buzzkills. Both take it as their life’s work to prove they know better than the poor hayseed who lives next door. In the middle of March, Catholic news outlets began to report an extraordinary coincidence: not only is there a saint named Corona, but she happens to be the patroness of epidemics. Suddenly, her cult exploded. The internet was flooded with new prayers and litanies beseeching this obscure Saint Corona to end the COVID-19 pandemic. By the end of the month, however, the “fact”-checkers at Snopes (those renowned experts on the Roman martyrology) announced that Saint Corona was not, in fact, a patroness of epidemics. They cited Catherine M. Mooney, an associate professor at Boston College—cle...

[embedded content] The Veil Removed is a short film that reveals the coming together of heaven and earth at Mass, as seen by saints and mystics, revealed by Scripture and in the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

Pope Francis’ reflection on the Gospel for the fifth Sunday of Lent is perfect for our troubling times. Read the full translation provided by the Vatican, emphases ours: ~ The Gospel passage of this fifth Sunday of Lent is that of the resurrection of Lazarus (cf. Jn 11: 1-45). Lazarus was the brother of Martha and Mary; they were good friends of Jesus. When He arrives in Bethany, Lazarus has already been dead for four days; Martha runs towards the Master and says to Him: “If you had been here, my brother would not have died!” (21). Jesus replies to her: “Your brother will rise again” (23) and adds: “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die” (25). Jesus makes Himself seen as the Lord of life, He Who is capable of giving li...

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in 1893. (Herbert Rose Barraud) Sherlock Holmes creator Arthur Conan Doyle was brought up a Catholic, but in his young adulthood, he rejected the faith of his ancestors and slipped into the dangerous world of the occult. Walking through Edinburgh’s West End, early one winter morning, I spied a familiar face. The unmistakable features of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle looked down upon me from an impressive Victorian town house. Below a larger than life portrait there was a sign; it announced: “The Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Centre.” I made a mental note, intending to visit what I assumed was a place dedicated to the memory and literary legacy of the creator of one of literature’s most famous figures: Sherlock Holmes. It was then that I noticed another sign. It offered “services” ...

Priest anoints a woman’s head with oil. (Shutterstock) Bishop ‘Suspends’ Sacramental Anointing While Rescinding Controversial Policy The sacramental anointing of the sick is conferred upon those Catholics who are in danger of death. JD Flynn/CNA. WASHINGTON, D.C. — After rescinding a controversial policy concerning sacramental anointing of the sick, the bishop of Springfield, Massachusetts told priests Friday afternoon that anointing of the sick is “suspended” within the Diocese of Springfield. Earlier this week, Bishop Mitchell Rozanski authorized a change to norms for the sacrament of the anointing of the sick, permitting a nurse, rather than a priest, to conduct the physical anointing, which is an essential part of the sacrament. “I am allowing the assigned Catholic hosp...

When the Catholic Church, in the USA, faced the biggest problem in her history (the clergy abuse scandal), the reaction and change was dramatic. In fact, due to changes made after the scandal, the Church in the USA has now become one of the most effective organizations in the country, in terms of protecting children and vulnerable adults. Still, one of the main reasons it got so bad was a failure of our leaders to do the right thing in the first place (we are seeing some of the same issues in the face of the Coronavirus). The scandals were due to a failure to live out Jesus’ teachings. But, it was also magnified by our leaders who wanted to maintain the status quo of the institution.  Now imagine if it didn’t have to be that way. **What if we had leaders who...

In the season of Lent, the Gospel of John becomes very prominent, especially in Year A, the readings of which can be used in any year that a parish is doing RCIA. Unlike the other Gospels, John recounts only a limited number of miracles of Jesus, which he designates as “signs,” a rare term in the other Gospels.  Although John tells us of only a few miracles, he describes them in much greater depth than the other gospel writers do.  This is quite evident in this weekend’s Gospel reading, in which we get a very lengthy description of all the events surrounding the resurrection of Lazarus from the dead. The Raising of Lazarus is the sixth of the seven “signs” of the Gospel of John: [1] The Water to Wine (John 2), [2] the Healing of the Official’s Son (John 4), [3] the Healing of the...

[embedded content] The best way to avoid getting sick and spread germs to other people is to keep your hands clean. You touch your nose, eyes, and mouth dozens of times a day, often without noticing it. And that’s how germs usually get inside your body…

The coronavirus has been occupying both the airwaves and our minds for the past several weeks. So, why not take a break from the stresses of the lockdown and focus our minds, even if for a moment, on things that await us once the quarantine period is over. Eric Gross is a landscape photographer from Colorado, US who’s in search of unseen natural gems in North America and beyond. And so it happened that he stumbled upon a unique phenomenon that has since then mesmerized the world. Bored Panda reached out to Gross for an interview. When we think we’ve seen it all in nature, another marvel makes its way to the internet 0) { description = $(‘meta[property=\’og:description\’]’).attr(‘content’); } window.open(‘https://www.facebook.com/dialog/feed?display...

< 1 Minute Read J.R.R. Tolkien’s influence on pop-culture has had an enduring legacy ever since The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings were published. The universal (Catholic) messages found in Tolkien’s stories make them appealing to all people, no matter their belief system. In one of the most obscure (and hilarious..though also embarrassing) moments of pop-culture, actor Leonard Nimoy, most well-known for his performance as Spock in the original Star Trek series, sang a “Ballad of Bilbo Baggins.” RollingStone gives a brief history behind the music video. [In 1967] Leonard Nimoy [appeared on Ricky’s ABC variety show Malibu U and] came on in full Spock regalia and lip-synced his new song “The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins.” It was the union of Star Trek and The Ho...

“You ask us not to be afraid. Yet our faith is weak and we are fearful. But you, Lord, will not leave us at the mercy of the storm.” “When evening had come” (Mk 4:35). The Gospel passage we have just heard begins like this. For weeks now it has been evening. Thick darkness has gathered over our squares, our streets and our cities; it has taken over our lives, filling everything with a deafening silence and a distressing void, that stops everything as it passes by; we feel it in the air, we notice in people’s gestures, their glances give them away. We find ourselves afraid and lost. Like the disciples in the Gospel we were caught off guard by an unexpected, turbulent storm. We have realized that we are on the same boat, all of us fragile and disoriented, but at the same time important ...