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(Image: CNS photo/Carlo Allegri, Reuters) The title — “Don’t use Lent to try to impress God” — headlined the newsletter from a good Catholic site. The article was as dispiritingly earnest as you’d guess, and a bit passive-aggressive too. Like so many of its companions in the genre, the article rolled out the clichés as if they were revelations. You can’t impress God, can’t bribe him, can’t make him like you by working harder, can’t earn grace, he wants your heart, he wants your love more than he wants your sacrifices, it’s not about giving things up but taking things on, and don’t think you’re a better Catholic for doing it. These articles appear every year before Lent. Still, undaunted, as also happens every year, people will share what they’re giving up. They’re serious, but many are als...

St. Aloysius in Jackson, NJ where the incident happened (Google Maps) Earlier this week a non-verbal autistic child was denied registration for First Communion at a parish in New Jersey. Now the story has exploded in the media. I saw the post early & decided to post a general prayer petition on my page, while messaging the family offering to be a kind of mediator. At that point, the post only had a few hundred shares compared to 10,000+ now, and I hoped we could work through a solution. Now that opportunity is lost and media attention has made the Church look bad. I want to go over the situation briefly then draw two sets of lessons. The first lesson relates to the actual norms. The second lesson how this case gives both the Church and the media pause regarding our relationship. T...

“I don’t know why, as time went on, God allowed me to hear and witness things more than the average person might during an exorcism,” said Terese Piccola. “And through that, was able to have these interactions with saints, too.” Listen to view more

Math is magic, according to a new YouTube video depicting the Kruskal count. Brain teasers and magic tricks help bring math to relatable real life even for the mathphobic. The Kruskal count is a probability for a deck of cards and a certainty for a clockface done in English. YouTuber Michael Stevens (who hosts the popular Vsauce series) has brought a classic math magic trick back from its ‘90s heyday. In the video, Stevens walks viewers through a magic trick where they choose a number on a clock face, then trace around the clock by spelling out their numbers. With your finger beginning at 12, you spell “five” or “eight” or “twelve” (or whatever number you’ve chosen!) and take one step for each letter, ending up at 4, 5, or 6, respectively. Now, you...

Deacon Rob Lanciotti of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Fort Collins holds a doctoral degree in Microbiology and was employed as a virologist for the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) for 29 years.  Deacon Lanciotti was kind enough to put together this Q&A with more information about coronavirus and how Catholics can keep themselves healthy. Visit archden.org/coronavirus for the most up-to-date information. Note: The information in the Q&A is current as of Feb. 28, 2020. Should I be concerned about the new (COVID-19) coronavirus? The virus is not yet causing an epidemic in the USA (19 total cases, all but two from returning travelers), however, we need to be prepared for a potential epidemic.  Some proven good prevention practices are what all of us should be ...

Lent is upon us! For Catholics, that means 40 days of self-reflection, prayer, and abstaining from meat on Fridays. Now before you get all depressed thinking of all the McDonald’s Filet-O-Fish sandwiches you’ll be eating on Fridays, let me share some good news: THERE IS A BETTER WAY! That’s right, you no longer have to suffer through greasy, fried fish sandwiches slathered in tartar sauce to make it through Lent! In the last few years, fast food restaurants have upped their game when it comes to vegetarian and seafood options, making it easier than ever for you to observe Lent without giving up the convenience of fast food. These new meat-less menu options go beyond the traditional fried fish sandwich, giving Catholics Lent-friendly options that are tastier than ever. Arb...

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Something is stirring in England. It’s not much. A still, small voice of calm whispering in the dark. Prayers ascending like incense. A rekindled faith. No, it’s not much. Merely a mustard seed. It won’t be noticed by most people. It will go unheeded by the dead men milling around satanically in what remains of England’s once green and pleasant land. And yet it stirs the restless hearts of those Englishmen who have languished in the hope of England’s return to the Faith, longing for the return of the exiled “Pilgrim Queen” of whom St. John Henry Newman wrote: “Here I sit desolate,”          sweetly said she,“Though I’m a queen,          and my name is Marie:Robbers have rifled    &...

Image caption Eileen Lim and Nicole Lee at Changi Airport Terminal 2 in Singapore As day turns to night in Singapore’s Changi Airport, a queue of people wait patiently for a picture with an old star. They leave their bags by a bench, turn their cameras on themselves, and pose for a photo. Some smile; some jump like starfish; one even dances. As they upload to Instagram, the old star watches on, unmoved. And then – a noise. The moment they’ve been waiting for. The travellers turn their cameras round, and the star begins one last turn. In a blur of rotation, Kuala Lumpur becomes Colombo; Brunei turns into Tokyo; and a dozen other cities whirr into somewhere else. Two people taking photos, Eileen Lim and Nicole Lee, aren’t even flying. They have come especially to see ...

There is a great sense of urgency in the readings for Ash Wednesday. It is as if some great event is looming that could be awesome, but only if the warning is heeded. Consider this selection from the first reading (Joel 2:12-18): “Even now,” says the LORD, “Return to me with your whole heart, with fasting, and weeping, and mourning; Rend your hearts, not your garments, and return to the LORD, your God.” Sound the trumpet in Zion! Proclaim a fast, call an assembly; gather the people! Assemble the elders; gather the children, even the infants at the breast. Let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep, And say, “Spare, O LORD, your people!” And consider this passage from the second reading (2 Corinthians 5:20-6:2): We are ambassadors for Christ, as if God were appealing through us. We im...

EWTN News/RealClear Opinion Research Poll No. 2: Finding the Catholic Vote NEWS ANALYSIS: As the Democrats plunge into the primary season, new EWTN News/RealClear Opinion Research poll finds President Trump in a slightly stronger position among Catholics — but they are divided sharply according to their embrace of Church teachings. Even as the Democrat candidates for president fight for every vote in the Super Tuesday primaries, a new EWTN News/RealClear Opinion Research poll — the second of four polls on Election 2020 — finds that while President Donald Trump is in a stronger position among Catholics than he was at the end of 2019, he is still trailing his potential Democrat rivals.  At the same time, Catholic voters are divided significantly in how they view the president and t...