January 11, 2015

1. Three Dominicans talk. 2. Fr. Steve Grunow writes: The great revelation of the Lord’s Baptism is discerned, not in the reason that he accepts Baptism, but that in that moment something about God’s identity was revealed that was not fully known or even believed to be possible. The Baptism of Christ is the occasion when the Trinity is revealed- the Son makes himself known, the Father speaks, and the Holy Spirit descends. It is this mystery, the mystery of... Read more

January 10, 2015

1. Fr. Roger J. Landry on joyfully letting the Lord increase: Jesus is meant to increase within us as disciples until he becomes all and all. The Christmas season and the whole Christian life is meant to be a pilgrimage of growth into ever deeper union with Jesus Christ. It’s supposed to help us not only to become more and more like him but more and more united to him. 2. Thomas Aquinas College president Michael McNeal talks about fostering... Read more

January 9, 2015

1. Visualizing new cardinals: Pope Francis is reshaping the geography of the College of Cardinals http://t.co/1DD8G3mpY6 pic.twitter.com/zuYzhlkUbz — Pew Research Center (@pewresearch) January 8, 2015 2. A papal Jeepney for the Philippines. 3. Russell Shaw: “How Catholics Caved to LBJ on Birth Control.” 4. From the pope’s morning homily today: Only the Holy Spirit opens our hearts to love. 5. In preparation for Sunday’s feast of the Baptism of the Lord: St. Gregory of Nazianzus, a fourth-century bishop (via Divine... Read more

January 8, 2015

1. The Gospel of John continues to be the best commentary on our lives, times, and the news. From today’s first reading: Whoever loves God must also love his brother. 2. Start again. Right now. Every morning. This is a nice reminder from a young Dominican brother with a nuclear engineering degree. 3. God’s love is not a soap opera, the pope says. (He also said it’s like an almond blossom, which, since I’m a city gal who might have... Read more

January 7, 2015

More on cool Canadian St. Andre Bessett. Phil Lawler proposes we suspend the debate on the encyclical on the environment until it appears. (And in decent English translation, we pray!) George Weigel on Africa’s Catholic moment. The pope emphasized the importance of mothers today. From the Vatican Radio translation: speaking of motherhood, the Pope said that it “is more than childbearing; it is a life choice, entailing sacrifice”, respect for life, and commitment to passing on those human and religious... Read more

January 6, 2015

1. Pope Francis warns of the #DamnedDevil again today in his Epiphany homily: Along the way, the wise men encountered many difficulties. Once they reached Jerusalem, they went to the palace of the king, for they thought it obvious that the new king would be born in the royal palace. There they lost sight of the star. How often sight of the star is lost! And, having lost sight of the star, they met with a temptation, placed there by... Read more

January 6, 2015

I love going back to read old Pope Benedict XVI homilies and talks, particularly what he has to say about holy men and women. Here he is talking about Bro. André Bessette, a Canadian and Holy Cross brother (whose images was all over Notre Dame’s campus last time I was there), who died in 1937. There are so many gems of phrases and sentences to savor, to pray with, to aspire to. This all comes from the homily at the... Read more

January 5, 2015

1. How that whole Dominican thing got its start: Fr. Gabriel Gillen writes about the birth of St. Dominic, with the help of photos in and around St. Dominic’s Church in D.C. all taken by Fr. Lawrence Lew. (For my interview (“Tweeting the Gospel”) with Fr. Lew about his very visual social media ministry, click here. 2. "The saints are God's constellations, which light up the nights of this world, serving as our guides". Benedict XVI — FrSteveGrunow (@FrSteveGrunow) January... Read more

January 5, 2015

January 5 is the feast day of St. John Neumann, the fourth bishop of Philadelphia. That’s not a bad way to start out the first full work-week of the year during which Pope Francis plans to visit the “City of Brotherly Love.” (Take a tour of Catholic holy sites in my recent National Review Online interview with Philly resident and Faithful Traveler host Diana von Glahn here.) Neumann was ordained at Old St. Patrick’s in Manhattan. When Neumann was canonized... Read more

January 4, 2015

From Pope Francis’s homily at the Epiphany Mass at St. Peter’s in Rome last year: On the feast of the Epiphany, as we recall Jesus’ manifestation to humanity in the face of a Child, may we sense the Magi at our side, as wise companions on the way. Their example helps us to lift our gaze towards the star and to follow the great desires of our heart. They teach us not to be content with a life of mediocrity,... Read more


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