A homily from a few years ago, for tomorrow’s great feast:  This gospel, the Beatitudes, may be one of the most familiar in all of scripture. Its litany of what it means to be “blessed” can be seen as the ultimate blueprint for living the Christian life. In the context of today’s feast, it tells us: this is how you become a saint. But do we really understand what that means? As we mark this All Saints Day, it is... Read more

From the Catholic News Service blog, a handy round-up of what bishops around the country have been saying about voting in this election: In the weeks leading up the hotly contested Nov. 8 election, many Catholic bishops have written columns, issued statements or preached homilies encouraging their people to weigh the issues carefully as they enter the voting booth. Many of the statements draw on “Faithful Citizenship,” the quadrennial document issued by the bishops to help guide Catholics in weighing... Read more

From Crux:  Pope Francis and the global Lutheran leader have jointly pledged to remove the obstacles to full unity between their Churches, leading eventually to shared Eucharist. They made the commitment in a joint statement signed before a congregation of Catholic and Lutheran leaders at the conclusion of a joint service in Lund, Sweden, to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the start of the Reformation. The statement was signed by Pope Francis and Bishop Munib Younan, who is president of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), which was founded... Read more

As I type, I’m at the San Diego Airport, waiting to fly back to New York City. I just completed spending about 72 hours among the angels—actually, with the people of Holy Angels Byzantine Catholic Church. [img attachment=”125442″ align=”aligncenter” size=”full” alt=”img_6656″ /] Words can’t quite do justice to the spirit, atmosphere and transporting loveliness of the Byzantine liturgy. [img attachment=”125445″ align=”aligncenter” size=”full” alt=”img_6660″ /] Among other things, I got to see something new to me: an infant receiving the Eucharist.... Read more

From the SS. Cyril & Methodius Byzantine Catholic Seminary in Pittsburgh. (Shown in the image are men in formation for the permanent diaconate at the seminary. Read more):  O Lord our God, older than all creation, you have made us in your image and likeness. You have given us the gift of the Holy Spirit through your servants who proclaim the good news of your Church all that is necessary for our sanctification. We humbly beg you, do not leave... Read more

This week we heard from a Carmelite brother in Syria, Brother David Johnson. We told some of his remarkable story last year: how he’d grown up in Colorado, fell in love with Syria and lived in a monastery there with other religious from around the world. In 2015, he survived a kidnapping—and even sang songs about Jesus to his captors: Brother Johnson began to sing resurrection songs to his captors in their native language, and to talk to them about heaven and... Read more

California, here I come! I’m heading to San Diego tonight for CNEWA. If you’re in the neighborhood, stop by: I’m speaking at Holy Angels Byzantine Catholic Church. I’ll be giving a talk Saturday morning at 11 and Sunday afternoon at 12:45. I’m also preaching at the 9 a.m. Divine Liturgy on Sunday.  My topic: bringing light and hope to the suffering people of the Middle East. I’ll also be talking a bit about the latest encouraging news out of Iraq. Come by... Read more

From National Geographic, this exclusive:   For the first time in centuries, scientists have exposed the original surface of what is traditionally considered the tomb of Jesus Christ. Located in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the Old City of Jerusalem, the tomb has been covered by marble cladding since at least 1555 A.D., and most likely centuries earlier. “The marble covering of the tomb has been pulled back, and we were surprised by the amount of fill material... Read more

From The Times of Israel:  Joe Biden wants you to know, he’s more Jewish than Hillary Clinton. The famously Catholic vice president allowed this revelation on Monday in Dayton, Ohio, where he was campaigning for the Democratic presidential nominee and former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, the Democrat attempting to unseat Republican Sen. Rob Portman. The moment comes 19 minutes into the speech, courtesy of C-Span, and counter-intuitively enough, after Biden crosses himself to emphasize that he does not like saying... Read more

From CNA:  Suspected burglars’ desecration of the Church of the Transfiguration has prompted outcry from leading Christians in the Holy Land. “The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, together with all Churches and the Custody of the Holy Land, condemn this desecration as a heinous crime and an act that violates the sanctity of the Holy Sites,” the patriarchate said Oct. 25. “We also ask the police to conduct an investigation, to seriously look into the matter and apprehend the perpetrators who... Read more