As we begin this season of Lent, I want to remind each of us that mercy is at the heart of the Gospel message, of the essential importance that forgiveness plays in our lives, and how crucial it is for our country right now. Those of us who have received the mercy of God play…
In the heart of Rome, in the middle of the Tiber River between the neighborhood known as Trastevere to the southwest and the Ghetto to the northeast, there sits an island connected to the mainland by a bridge on either side. The bridges were built in ancient Roman times, and still stand and are used…
Jan. 31, 2023—Winona-Rochester, Minnesota’s Bishop Robert Barron wastes no time condemning Minnesota’s newly passed abortion law as “the worst kind of barbarism.” “Basically, it eliminates any kind of parental notifications,” Bishop Barron continues, “so a 12-year-old child can get an abortion without even telling her parents about it!” Immediately following Gov. Tim Walz’s (D) signing…
CNA, CBJ—The late Cardinal George Pell’s funeral Mass drew thousands of mourners, filling Sydney’s St. Mary’s Cathedral to capacity. Civic leaders, friends and members of Pell’s family remembered the Australian cardinal’s dedication to the Church and the Gospel, in addition to his courage in the face of many obstacles, including more than a year in…
Over the past few years there has been consistent and growing talk in the media (and elsewhere) about the probability of there being intelligent life forms elsewhere in the universe. Much of this is due to grainy video footage and some Congressional hearings on the topic of UFO’s (but they don’t call them UFO’s any…
San Francisco, Jan. 21, 2023—Full text of Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone’s homily at newly comissioned Mass for Life which debuted on the Feast of St. Agnes prior he 2023 Walk for Life West Coast. Full text (and video) follows. When the idea first came to me to commission a new Mass of sacred music for…
I’d like to start this article by wishing all of you a very happy 2023! Hopefully, it will prove to be more rewarding from an investment standpoint than the exceedingly disappointing 2022. Also disappointing is the recent, January 3rd, policy change by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that allows pharmacies to sell mifepristone. What…
Cardinal George Pell, whom I believed to be a modern-day saint, passed away on January 10th. It was a great pleasure to get to know Cardinal Pell during visits to Rome over the years. As a testimony to his faith in God and His divine teachings, he loved sacred tradition and pursued truth with persistence…
Written to offer hope to strengthen others, Cardinal Pell wrote three pages a day during his 13 months in prison. These pages became three published books referred to as Cardinal Pell’s prison journals: Prison Journal, Volume 1 — George Cardinal Pell, George Weigel Prison Journal, Volume 2: The State Court Rejects the Appeal — George…
The following is the full text of Pope Francis’ homily for the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord celebrated in St. Peter’s Basilica on Jan. 6, 2023. Like a rising star (cf. Num 24:17), Jesus comes to enlighten all peoples and to brighten the nights of humanity. Today, with the Magi, let us lift…
In an interview with Vatican News, Dr. Michael Hesemann, a close friend of the late Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI and his brother Georg Ratzinger, says: “instead of mourning, it is time to thank God that he was among us”, and reflects on how “we all had the opportunity to rediscover Christianity by his constant inspiration,…
Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and archbishop of the Archdiocese for the Military Services: “I remember many meetings with him while I served in the Secretariat of State, and I will never forget his greeting to me at the first General Audience I attended some weeks after his…
At this time of year, in the weeks before Christmas, our house is usually bustling with activity as we move decorations from their basement storage to places of prominence on the main floor. My personal favorites are the nativity scenes. You might accuse us of being “crèche obsessed” as we have one in the front…
Beginning to think about Christmas gets a power boost as we get into Advent and the four Sundays before Christmas day. Sharing the daily Bible readings of the Mass and the stories in the various daily devotionals we read gets Pat and me in a reflective mood. There is no question that the world changed…
There is a commonly held belief that Christmas, besides celebrating the birth of our Lord, brings what is known as a Santa Claus rally in the stock market. Since we’re approaching that time of year, I thought it might be interesting to delve into the numbers and see if this perception is truly fact or…
Dear and distinguished friends, Allow me first of all to thank Doctor Stephen Frost for the invitation he has extended to me to speak to you. Along with Doctor Frost I also thank all of you: your commitment to fighting the psychopandemic propaganda is commendable. I am well aware of the difficulties you have had…
In the Word for Today it references the book War on the Saints, where Jessie Penn-Lewis writes: “The chief condition…for the working of evil spirits in human beings is PASSIVITY….Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.” (1 Pe 5:8) Have…
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a new case, Gonzales v. Google, seeking to hold Google and its subsidiary, YouTube, legally responsible for injuries to victims of terrorism promoted on their sites. This case has implications far beyond terrorism, potentially making these companies responsible whenever their web search algorithms steer viewers to dangerous content. …
A review of ICARUS 2.0—Lt. Col. Peter Smith USAF (Ret) is one of the very few combat pilots to survive an ejection over 400 mph. ICARUS 2.0 is his story of survival and a checklist of learnings that can be used by all when facing uncertainty. After a daylight training mission over the Gulf of…
I recently attended Orange County’s (OC) Red Mass sponsored by the OC St. Thomas More Society celebrating the County’s Bench and Bar and the start of a new Supreme Court term. Walking in from the parking lot I was gratified to see large “NO ON PROPOSITION 1” banners. Here’s why… Proposition 1 is a proposed…
