Hail Mary, full of grace; all generations call you blessed. Hail Mother of God; when asked by the angel to bear the Son of the Most High, filled with faith, you responded: “Let it be done unto me.” Holy Mother of Jesus, at the wedding feast at Cana, you prompted your Son to perform his first sign. Be with us as we discern our life’s work and guide us in the way we are called to follow in the footsteps... Read more
[getty src=”470860234?et=2uAnUEPaSCNwSqJ4LIyohg&viewMoreLink=on&sig=midv_F5UeBpxN9pDGe5s6Pnob42aoNdLcZ3R6b7oK-c=&caption=true” width=”594″ height=”396″] View image | gettyimages.com < At Cardinal Francis George’s funeral Thursday, the governor of Illinois, Bruce Rauner, evidently received communion. There’s just one problem: Rauner is not Catholic. That is notable. But so is this fact: non-Catholics are permitted to receive the sacrament under certain limited circumstances. And some prominent non-Catholics have done just that in the past—even receiving from the hands of popes. One of those was British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who received the Eucharist after a... Read more
What does it take to be a good shepherd? I just got back from a 10-day trip to Jordan, and you see shepherds everywhere. They are part of the life in that corner of the world. The Bedouins who tend the sheep slumber on hillsides under tents; they stand watch in large empty fields while the sheep graze on weeds and dust and sand. A few times on our trip, our bus had to come to a dead stop in... Read more
What does it take to be a good shepherd? I just got back from a 10-day trip to Jordan, and you see shepherds everywhere. They are part of the life in that corner of the world. The Bedouins who tend the sheep slumber on hillsides under tents; they stand watch in large empty fields while the sheep graze on weeds and dust and sand. A few times on our trip, our bus had to come to a dead stop in... Read more
View image | gettyimages.com < At Cardinal Francis George’s funeral Thursday, the governor of Illinois, Bruce Rauner, evidently received communion. There’s just one problem: Rauner is not Catholic. That is notable. But so is this fact: non-Catholics are permitted to receive the sacrament under certain limited circumstances. And some prominent non-Catholics have done just that in the past—even receiving from the hands of popes. One of those was British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who received the Eucharist after a meeting with Pope... Read more
My traveling companion and blog neighbor Marge Fenelon captured on video a particularly lively part of the Greek Catholic Melkite wedding in Jordan I wrote about last week: the entrance of the bride and groom. You have to see this. And listen for the gunshots. That moment almost gave me a coronary. A Melkite deacon reader, after catching my original post on this, added some insight in an email: Since the deacon wasn’t vested and was singing the “Kyrie eleison” and not... Read more
Mark your calendar: Msgr. John E. Kozar, president of CNEWA (Catholic Near East Welfare Association) will be making a pastoral visit to Iraq and Egypt next month to see first-hand some of the challenges facing Christians fleeing persecution in that troubled part of the world. Just days after his return, Msgr. Kozar will share his insights and experiences in a special evening at the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception in Huntington, New York. We invite you to join us for this... Read more
From The New York Times: An investigation into a terrorist cell in Sardinia may have thwarted a possible attack on the Vatican in 2010, an Italian prosecutor and police officials said on Friday. Prosecutor Mauro Mura said at a news conference in Cagliari, Sardinia, that investigations into suspected support for Al Qaeda revealed that a Pakistani man who was in Rome in March 2010 was “described as a kamikaze.” Intercepted conversations indicated that an attack was being studied, “perhaps even... Read more
Mark your calendar: Msgr. John E. Kozar, president of CNEWA (Catholic Near East Welfare Association) will be making a pastoral visit to Iraq and Egypt next month to see first-hand some of the challenges facing Christians fleeing persecution in that troubled part of the world. Just days after his return, Msgr. Kozar will share his insights and experiences in a special evening at the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception in Huntington, New York. We invite you to join us for this... Read more
From The New York Times: An investigation into a terrorist cell in Sardinia may have thwarted a possible attack on the Vatican in 2010, an Italian prosecutor and police officials said on Friday. Prosecutor Mauro Mura said at a news conference in Cagliari, Sardinia, that investigations into suspected support for Al Qaeda revealed that a Pakistani man who was in Rome in March 2010 was “described as a kamikaze.” Intercepted conversations indicated that an attack was being studied, “perhaps even... Read more
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