“…he is a good man, filled with the Holy Spirit and faith.” That’s how the author of Acts describes the apostle Barnabas. That simple description—a good man, filled with the Holy Spirit and faith—stuck in my mind as I read the words. Stop for a moment. Think of your day today. This week. Your work,…
CNA—Fr. Michael McGivney, an American priest soon to be beatified, died amid a 19th-century pandemic which may have been caused by a coronavirus. Fr. McGivney founded the largest world’s largest Catholic fraternal service organization, the Knights of Columbus, in 1882. Today the order formed in his parish basement in New Haven, Connecticut, has grown to more…
The CDC just came out with a report that should be earth-shattering to the narrative of the political class, yet it will go into the thick pile of vital data and information about the virus that is not getting out to the public. For the first time, the CDC has attempted to offer a real…
In Minnesota, a coalition of Twin Cities faith organizations and local businesses sued and called on Gov. Tim Walz to end what it calls an unconstitutional and draconian scheme to close businesses and places of worship. This lawsuit says it all The Minnesota lawsuit states, in part, that Walz’s executive orders during the pandemic unfairly…
National Review—We’re not just living through an earthshaking pandemic. We’re living through a new crisis in which a highly virulent virus arrives at the very moment when ubiquitous media coverage, global interconnectivity, and a certain amount of scientific conformity amplify everything. All of this has combined to create an unprecedented public-policy response. For the first…
Join us in praying the Novena to the Holy Spirit, beginning today, May 22, 2020. This is the first and oldest novena in the Church, having begun at Christ’s request of the Apostles as they gathered in fear in the Upper Room before the descent of the Holy Spirit upon them in what is now…
May 22, 2020—“Today, I am identifying houses of worship, churches, synagogues and mosques as essential places that provide essential services,” Trump said in today’s White House press briefing. “Some governors have deemed liquor stores and abortion clinics as essential, but have left out churches and other houses of worship, it’s not right,” he continued. “So…
We have been “socially distanced” now for more than two months with widespread mandatory business closures. The purpose of this was to slow the spread of the Coronavirus, “flatten the curve” so that our hospitals will not be overwhelmed and possibly buy time for a vaccine to be developed. The experts told us this…
Dr. Shi Zhengli, known as China’s batwoman, was worried. Her creation, a highly infectious coronavirus, had leaked from her lab in October. Early efforts to stop the widening circle of infections had failed. It had spread like wildfire through the densely populated city of Wuhan. The Communist authorities were also worried that the source of…
Practicing Catholics and small- to mid-sized business leaders in the U.S. breathed a sigh of relief when the Little Sisters of the Poor finally won their battle against Obama care in the Supreme Court. As you recall, the nuns fought the forced mandate triggered by Obama’s and Pelosi’s healthcare mandate to violate the nuns’ faith,…
Anger is a funny emotion. No, check that. It’s not funny. It’s angry. But it is often strange and hard to understand. That’s especially true when otherwise affable or thoughtful people become leaders and start to exhibit anger more and more frequently. Anger provokes the people being led to question what they thought they knew…
In response to a request from some of the faithful of the Archdiocese of San Francisco, I consecrated the Archdiocese to the Immaculate Heart of Mary on October 7, 2017. The day was the Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary; and the year was the centennial of the apparitions of Our Lady at Fatima, Portugal, where, among…
faithwire—Freedom of speech is becoming a COVID-19 casualty in America, especially in the public square of social media platforms like Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter. These privately-owned companies are freely censoring certain information. Just look at a recent protest at Michigan’s statehouse over re-opening the state’s government. The demonstration is protected by the First Amendment, but…
A Christian congregation in Chula Vista, California, and its pastor are suing Governor Gavin Newsom and other officials for unconstitutional stay-at-home orders and actions during the coronavirus pandemic. After weeks of mandatory isolation to stop the spread of COVID-19, Governor Newsom has begun a four-stage plan to “reopen” California’s economy. Retail and supporting manufacturing are…
Vatican City—March 23, 2020—CNA—Cardinal Raymond Burke issued a letter encouraging priests and bishops to work constructively with civil authorities to meet the spiritual needs of Catholics during the coronavirus pandemic. Acknowledging the “sadness” and “fear” which the pandemic has brought with it, the cardinal reflected Saturday that “Oftentimes, when we find ourselves in great suffering…
In what is becoming an interesting showdown of Business vs. Government, Tesla founder Elon Musk has thrown down the gauntlet of reopening his manufacturing plant in the face of California Governor Newsom’s extended lockdown orders, with one of Northern California’s counties caught in the middle. To fine, jail, halt or to look the other way,…
CNA—Well into the pandemic’s grip on American public life, parishes and dioceses are preparing a return to some new kind of normal. Masses are resuming, albeit for small numbers in limited circumstances. Catholic schools and universities are making plans to reopen in the fall. Regrettably, even the ordinary fault lines and debates among Catholics, somewhat…
CNA—The Vatican Museums are preparing to reopen by reservation only with new health measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, according to the general secretary of Vatican City State. “For the incoming public, we are completing the installation of some thermal scanners for detecting temperature,” Bishop Fernando Vérgez Alzaga said in an interview published…
So it’s been almost two months without the Sacraments. In my parish, as ordered by our Bishop, there has been no Holy Mass, no anointing of the sick, no confession , no Eucharistic Adoration and little or no communication from the parish or the diocese except an email link to our parish bulletin and an…
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