“Mother of all individuals and peoples, you know all their sufferings and hopes. In your motherly heart you feel all the struggles between good and evil, between light and darkness, that convulse the world: accept the plea which we make in the Holy Spirit directly to your heart, and embrace with the love of the […]
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As today marks the 30 year anniversary of when Bl. John Paul II was nearly assassinated on the Feast of Our Lady of Fatima, Michael J. Miller’s 2007 article from Lay Witness is a concise recollection of this historic event that includes the newly-Blessed’s comments on the fateful day: “For in everything that happened to me on that […]
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For some of the best and most thorough coverage of the beatification ceremony, check out Rocco Palmo’s updates at Whispers in the Loggia.
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John Paul II devoted the last 20 years of his pontificate calling for a “new evangelization,” a call now taken up by his successor, Pope Benedict XVI. Yet I sometimes wonder how many people really understand what this “new evangelization” is all about. The glossary to the Catechism of the Catholic Church defines “evangelization” as […]
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In addition to books by Sr. Joan Chittister and her ilk, I also receive review copies of titles that are most welcome additions to my nightstand. I’m finally getting around to reading Against the Grain, a new collection of essays by George Weigel that I’m enjoying immensely. In the context of identifying various themes from Pope John Paul II’s masterful 1991 […]
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During this month dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, with May crownings and last week’s celebration of the feast of Our Lady of Fatima still fresh on our mind, I thought I would take this occasion to call all of us to renew our desire to pray the Rosary frequently and with much fervor and devotion. I’m not necessarily talking […]
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When it comes to catechesis, Jesus Christ is both the teacher and the subject that is “taught.” We simply cannot understand the Church’s catechetical ministry–that is, her response to the Lord’s call to make disciples of all nations–unless we grasp this fundamental point. But wait a minute! In the definition of catechesis that we gave […]
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Very few of us will walk up to someone today and greet him or her with the words, “Happy St. Cyril’s Day,” or even “Happy Cyril’s Day.” And surely no one will tell their sweetheart to “Be my Methodius.” And yet, today the universal Church commemorates Sts. Cyril and Methodius, not St. Valentine, notwithstanding the […]
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In last month’s commentary we looked at the teaching of Humanae Vitae from the perspective of the authority of the Church to teach about human love. Specifically, we saw that Jesus at the Last Supper promised that the Holy Spirit would continue to guide the Apostles and their successors in teaching the truth, including the […]
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I originally wrote this for my oldest daughter and one of my nephews a few years ago. I reprint it here as an encouragement to today’s youth as this week we mark yet another anniversary of the tragic Roe v. Wade decision. You are survivors. Millions–and I mean millions–of your peers have been legally slaughtered, […]
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