Vatican News reports: The Holy Father, this afternoon, after a morning spent alternating between respiratory physiotherapy and prayer in the chapel, experienced an isolated episode of bronchospasm. This caused an episode of vomiting, which led to him inhaling some and a sudden worsening of his respiratory condition. The Holy Father was promptly subjected...
On October 22, 1939, less than two months after the German invasion of Poland, C.S. Lewis (the author of The Chronicles of Narnia) gave a talk on how to face the challenge of daily responsibilities during times of conflict. The sermon, titled “Learning in War-Time”, offers insight into Lewis’s analysis of how the...
Through the Church—the sacrament of God’s infinite love—her Scriptures, her Tradition, her prayers, and her liturgies, people can encounter the living Christ and experience his love, healing, and transformative grace. But what happens when the men and women tasked with mediating God’s grace, appointed to preach God’s word and preside over the sacraments,...
Pope Francis is currently at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital receiving treatment for double pneumonia. Rumors about his health and the exercise of his ministry are on the rise. How is the Roman Curia experiencing this moment? How does the Vatican see the Church in the United States? How should we interpret the letter that...
The preaching of St. Peter Julian Eymard on the Institution of the Eucharist has deeply left its mark on me. I have returned to one particular homily many, many times through the years, even copying it out in my own handwriting more than once, the better to engage with the text. St. Peter...
Join a worldwide Rosary for Pope Francis beginning at 9pm Rome time (8pm London, 3pm Eastern US, noon Pacific US, 7am Sydney, 4am Manila) — less than half an hour from now. If you’ve forgotten how to pray it, here’s a link to a printable guide we designed a couple of years ago....
Three years ago today, Russia invaded Ukraine in an act of unjustified warfare. If, like me, you are also American, let’s repeat that simple factual statement for those members of our government who deny it: three years ago today, Russia invaded Ukraine. I watched it unfold. You watched it unfold. Even the leaders...
Recently, Pope Francis wrote to the United States bishops about the issue of immigration. His letter garnered both support and criticism among Catholics. Without a doubt, immigration is a politically charged, emotional issue. I am not a politician; however, as a Christian and Catholic priest, I’d like to share some spiritual thoughts on...
The key words here are “patience” and “hope”— Christian virtues, no doubt.
Early this evening (UTC +1 – Rome time), the Associated Press reported that our Holy Father Pope Francis is in critical condition. Shortly thereafter, CNN reported a statement from the Vatican, that “[t]his [Saturday] morning Pope Francis presented with an asthmatic respiratory crisis of prolonged magnitude, which also required the application of oxygen...
The successor of Peter fulfils this doctrinal mission through a continuous series of interventions, both oral and written, that constitute the ordinary exercise of the magisterium, as the teaching of truths that one must believe and put into practice. The acts that express this magisterium can be more or less frequent and take...
These are delicate times, in the Church and in the world. Our blessed Lord has already told us how to understand the state vis á vis the Church: Give to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s. Yet this can be treacherous when the...
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