Interesting stuff, via The Simi Valley Acorn: Catholics in Ventura County and around Southern California will be celebrating next month when one of the church’s most venerated relics makes a visit to St. Rose of Lima in Simi Valley for three days of healing masses. It will be the first time the arm of St. Jude, which is normally kept in the Dominican Shrine of St. Jude Thaddeus in Chicago, is displayed on the West Coast, according to the Rev.... Read more

From my home state, some curious news in The Washington Post:  The Italian words “Fatti maschii, parole femine” are displayed on a yellow ribbon on Maryland’s state seal. The state has long considered the phrase its motto and has translated it as, “Manly deeds, womanly words.” That translation doesn’t sit well with state Sen. Bryan W. Simonaire (R-Anne Arundel). He has filed a bill for the upcoming legislative session that would adopt a more ­gender-neutral translation, “Strong deeds, gentle words,” and... Read more

From CNS:  The god of Mammon, who is “like a wild animal, trying to clutch me with his talons and enslave me,” and people not open to the Holy Spirit, who “are like swamps that give off foul-smelling gases,” are just a few of the analogies that appear in the latest collection of papal homilies. Rigid doctors of the law “imagine God as a kind of really strict school teacher who assigned humanity homework that only very few are able... Read more

From the Christian Science Monitor:  Pitting prayers against bullets, an armed intrusion at a church on New Year’s Eve ended in peace. At a eastern North Carolina congregation Thursday night, an emotionally distraught man walked in with a rifle in one hand and ammunition in the other. But it did not turn into a scene of terror. Instead, hugs and prayers ensued, and the man stayed for the rest of the service before being taken into custody by police. Pastor Larry Wright,... Read more

The first words spoken in today’s gospel are among the most important we will hear in scripture all year. What sounds like a simple question, in fact, could be one of the most challenging statements any of us will encounter. “Where is the newborn King of the Jews?” Put another way: Where do we find Christ? On this feast of Epiphany—which means, literally, “manifestation”—right off the bat, we are forced to look more deeply at the season we have just... Read more

If you want to know what a serious war on Christmas looks like—one that doesn’t involve Starbucks cups or generic “winter pageants”— take a gander at what is happening in parts of the Muslim world: It might have been an occasion for collectors of omens to rejoice: For the first time in nearly five centuries, in 2015 the Prophet Muhammad’s birthday coincided with Jesus’ birthday. A cause for hope? Too little, it turns out. Throughout the Muslim world, a harsh campaign was... Read more

From Faith & Form: This year’s awards program was a landmark for the fact that 33 projects were selected for their outstanding quality—an unprecedented number. The sheer quantity of award-winning projects speaks to the overall quality of the submissions this year—nearly 130 projects were submitted from around the world. And what are they looking for? You can read the guidelines here.  For the 2015 awards, a sizable number are Catholic, including a place I visited three years ago, St. Monica’s... Read more

From Pope Francis’ homily this morning: It is most fitting that on this day we invoke the Blessed Virgin Mary above all as Mother of mercy.  The door we have opened is, in fact, a Door of Mercy.  Those who cross its threshold are called to enter into the merciful love of the Father with complete trust and freedom from fear; they can leave this Basilica knowing that Mary is ever at their side.  She is the Mother of mercy,... Read more

From the Diocese of Tyler website, a statement by Bishop Joseph Strickland: On January 1, 2016, new legislation will go into effect in Texas which allows those with licenses issued by the State to openly carry handguns in places not prohibited by law. We will see our fellow citizens openly carrying weapons in stores, restaurants, theaters, parks, and other public places. This law revises the current “concealed carry” law but continues the requirements that those with licenses to carry handguns must... Read more