2016-09-30T15:59:33-04:00

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 3:59 pm   By

It was an unremarkable Saturday. History records that the only newsworthy event on record (or at least, on Wikipedia) was an underground nuclear test performed in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. But on that day I received my First Communion. It was at St. Peter’s Catholic Church in Olney, Maryland. Today, Olney is a sprawling suburb replete with tract houses and shopping centers. Back then, though, it was farm country, with one stoplight at the intersection of Georgia Avenue and Route 108, and... Read more

2016-09-30T15:59:33-04:00

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 3:59 pm   By

Details:  From discarded wood, welded scrap metal, broken tools, cigarette packets, soda cans and piles of trash, Tim Noble and Sue Webster make assemblages and then point light to create projected shadows of people standing, sitting, smoking, drinking or anything easily recognizable. Every debris is precisely set in place, taking into consideration its distance from the wall, and its angle with the spotlight. The result is surprising and powerful as it redefines how abstract forms can transform into figurative ones. Take... Read more

2016-09-30T15:59:33-04:00

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 3:59 pm   By

Elizabeth Scalia has some thoughtful — and especially timely—words this morning on the subject of annulment reform:   Compassionate instincts aside, no serious Catholic should want (or expect) to see an erosion of our teachings, particularly as regards a sacrament instituted by Christ and definitively pronounced in scripture. At the same time, however, our brothers and sisters–standing in need of healing, community and the unique spiritual nourishment that may only be found within the Holy Eucharist–remain outside our doors, either... Read more

2016-09-30T15:59:33-04:00

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 3:59 pm   By

I’ve never heard of a case quite like this. From The Chicago Tribune: A Michigan woman has sued the U.S. Catholic bishops, arguing that a Catholic hospital in Michigan denied her adequate treatment during a painful miscarriage because of a policy banning even the discussion of abortion as an option. Tamesha Means said she went to a Catholic hospital in Muskegon, Michigan, the only hospital within 30 minutes of her home, when her water broke in December 2010 after only... Read more

2016-09-30T15:59:33-04:00

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 3:59 pm   By

From the Associated Press:  The mother superior of a Syrian convent says 12 nuns have been abducted by opposition fighters and taken to a rebel-held town. Febronia Nabhan, Mother Superior at Saidnaya Convent, said Tuesday that the nuns and three other women were taken the day before from another convent in the predominantly Christian village of Maaloula to the nearby town of Yabroud. Syrian rebels captured large parts of Maaloula, some 40 miles northeast of the capital, on Monday after... Read more

2016-09-30T15:59:33-04:00

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 3:59 pm   By

A fascinating tidbit about the pope’s early life, from CNS:  In addition to having worked sweeping floors and running tests in a chemical laboratory as a teenager, Pope Francis revealed he also used to work as a bouncer. No longer kicking troublemakers out of clubs, he has discovered the secret to bringing people back, this time, into the church, according to the Vatican newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano, Dec. 2. The pope spent four hours at a parish visit of the church... Read more

2016-09-30T15:59:34-04:00

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 3:59 pm   By

From the Nashville Tennesseean, via USA TODAY:  Nothing in evangelical Christian author Rachel Held Evans’ five years of blogging has gone as viral as her simple little flowchart to determine if one is being persecuted during the Christmas season. “Did someone threaten your life, safety, civil liberties or right to worship?” it asks. No. “Did someone wish you happy holidays?” Yes. “You are not being persecuted,” it says. At last count, the post had attracted more than 700 comments, the vast... Read more

2016-09-30T15:59:34-04:00

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 3:59 pm   By

From Vatican Insider:  “A new approach needs to be taken with respect to the administration of the sacraments to remarried divorcees.” Archbishop Lorenzo Baldisseri is the prelate the Pope nominated Secretary General of the Synod of Bishops. Born in 1940, the Tuscan prelate has four decades of experience as a member of the Vatican diplomatic corps and as of the end of September he has had the task of renewing the Synod institute that will meet twice – in 2014... Read more

2016-09-30T15:59:34-04:00

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 3:59 pm   By

From the Associated Press:  A priest in central Poland was sentenced Monday to more than eight years in prison after being convicted of sexually abusing five boys. It was the toughest punishment given to a priest in Poland in a child sexual abuse case. Priests are considered to be top moral figures by most people in the predominantly Catholic nation, where the church has helped preserve national identity and supported independence efforts under decades of communism. Previously, priests were generally... Read more

2016-09-30T15:59:34-04:00

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 3:59 pm   By

From his daily homily today: In his homily at the Santa Marta guesthouse on this, the first Monday of Advent, Pope Francis recalled that as we proceed towards Christmas, we embark on a journey of faith and prayer in preparation for our encounter with the Lord. “Because Christmas,” he said, isn’t just a temporal celebration or the memory of a beautiful (event).” “Christmas is something more,” he said, “Christmas is an encounter” with the Lord. And as we make our... Read more

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