We celebrate the birthdays of three âsaintsâ in our liturgical calendar: Christ Himself, the Son of God, of course, on Christmas Day; His Mother, the Virgin Mary, on September 8th; and, today, Saint John, called âthe Baptistâ, to whom was given the role as the last, greatest of the...
BENEDICT XVI
ANGELUS
St. Peter's Square
Sunday, 24 June 2012
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Today, 24 June, we are celebrating the Solemnity of St John the Baptist. He is the only saint â with the exception of the Virgin Mary â whose birth the liturgy celebrates and it does so because it is closely...
It has been verified statistically - not quite the same thing as being truly 'verified' - that the introduction of the i-phone significantly decreased fertility amongst women. As the abstract for the study says:
Taken together, these cohort effects imply that the diffusion of the iPhone deepened the decline in...
(The following is an excerpt from an address give by Pope Benedict XVI in Westminster Hall on September 17, 2010, the feast of Saint Robert Bellarmine, upon his Holiness' pilgrimage to England)
In particular, I recall the figure of Saint Thomas More, the great English scholar and statesman, who is...
Two glorious martyrs of the 'Reformation' are celebrated today: Saint Thomas More, husband, father, lawyer, sometime chancellor of England, was martyred in 1535 soon after his compatriot, Saint John Fisher, Bishop of Rochester and cardinal of the Church.
Thomas More at first tried his vocation with the London Carthusians, but...
BENEDICT XVI
GENERAL AUDIENCE
Paul VI Audience Hall
Wednesday, 12 December 2007
Saint Paulinus of Nola
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
The Father of the Church to whom we turn our attention today is St Paulinus of Nola. Paulinus, a contemporary of St Augustine to whom he was bound by a firm friendship, exercised his ministry...
Editorâs note: The implementation of compulsory Digitial Identification programs poses significant questions for many citizens, particularly when such programs are mandated by governments. The Sri Lankan proposal criticized below serves as a sobering case study for citizens of many countries. Catholics are called to consider such programs in light...
The Anima Christi is an ancient prayer of devotion to the humanity of Christ, especially in His Passion. It has been attributed to Saint Ignatius of Loyola (1491 - 1556), as it appears in his Spiritual Exercises, but likely predates that famous work, composed perhaps the 14th century, maybe...
Fear no oneâŠ.Everyone therefore who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven (Mt. 10: 26, 32).
Our Lord addresses these words to us as He did to His Apostles; and we need these words of encouragement and reassurance as we contend with the challenges...
On this 21st day of June, we remember Saint Aloysius Gonzaga (+ 1591), a Jesuit scholastic - which is to say, a seminarian - who died at what we might consider the too-young age of 23 (just short of the saintly '24 club', but an honorary member) while solicitously...
Saint Romuald (+June 19, 1025/27) was a tenth-century monk, founder of the strict Camaldolese Order, named after their primary benefactor, Maldoli, who, impressed by the saint's way of life, donated the land on which they built their first monastery (hence, campo-maldoli - the 'field of Maldoli'). But Romuauld only...
âYour life does have meaning, and you can find it.â â The Meaning of Your Life.
At a time when many young adults are fixated on professional growth and success, there is a parallel sense of emptiness that cannot be adequately understood or addressed. Fortunately, Arthur Brooksâ most recent book,...
I was cycling through a city park about a month ago, quite a lovely one, with a small lake, and pavilions, in one of which I noticed a mother and daughter placing a number â say thirty or so â small candles on the floor. I went over, and...
The weeks leading up to my confirmation were extremely difficult. I had suddenly developed crippling anxiety. It began at my local gym, where after full, back-intensive workout I found myself nearly fainting after bending at the water fountain. My vision became tunneled, I fell back into the wall behind...
Not many Catholics today know of Germaine Cousin (+1601), which is likely how the saint would have liked it. Amare nesciri, as Saint Philip, her Italian near-contemporary, would have said. For Germaine lived an obscure, solitary life, tending sheep in the fields, âhidden with Godâ - but like all...
In this month dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, celebrated on June 12, Bishop Piotr Sawczuk of the Diocese of Drohiczyn elevated the Church of St. Stanislaus, Bishop and Martyr, in Milejczyce to the status of the Sanctuary of the Sacred Heart of Jesus the Good Shepherd. The...
BENEDICT XVI
GENERAL AUDIENCE
Paul VI Audience Hall
Wednesday, 10 February 2010
Saint Anthony of Padua
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Two weeks ago I presented St Francis of Assisi. This morning I would like to speak of another saint who belonged to the first generation of the Friars Minor: Anthony of Padua, or of Lisbon, as...
WE ENTRUST, O MARY, AND CONSECRATE THE WHOLE WORLD TO YOUR IMMACULATE HEART!
On Thursday, 13 May 1982, after the concelebrated Mass in Fatima, Pope John Paul II made the following act of consecration of the modern world to Our Lady of Fatima.
1. "We have recourse to your protection, holy...
On the Saturday after the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Catholic Church celebrates the Immaculate Heart of His Mother, Mary, the one from whom He took his flesh â hence, their hearts are joined not only mystically, but physically, as mother and son - they share...
The core doctrine of Catholicism teaches that the bread and wine at Mass become Christ, His body, blood, soul, and divinity. This truth is celebrated every Sunday. However, the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ offers special focus. The feast, originating in the 13th century,...
Today is not just any Friday. This Friday, Catholics around the world are celebrating the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Hereâs the story of the quiet little nun from France whose faith and devotion we credit for this special day. Plus some takeaways for Catholics who want...
