2016-09-30T16:00:30-05:00

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 4:00 pm   By

Six women, from throughout Europe.  They didn’t know one another; but each enjoyed a deep mystical relationship with God.  They are: Saint Veronica Giuliani –Italy Saint Hildegard of Bingen –Germany Saint Gertrude of Helfta –Germany Saint Bridget –Sweden Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque –France Blessed Julian of Norwich –England The common thread uniting these saints and blesseds—apart from their discernible sanctity—is that all are on the list to be considered for the title of “Doctor of the Church.”  They follow in the... Read more

2016-09-30T16:00:30-05:00

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 4:00 pm   By

A guest post by Deacon Jerry Schiffer Today is the 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time and today’s readings offer a look at a foundational Catholic teaching that is often contested in the rest of the Christian world. At issue is the establishment of Peter as the head of Christ’s Church on earth.  Supporting that premise – from a Catholic standpoint—are the following verses: And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my... Read more

2016-09-30T16:00:30-05:00

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 4:00 pm   By

Who can you trust for news about faith in the world around you?  Not the mainstream media, according to Archbishop Charles Chaput, O.F.M. Cap., soon-to-be-installed new Archbishop of Philadelphia.  Archbishop Chaput spoke to World Youth Day pilgrims in Madrid, cautioning them that the major media outlets may not give us the straight story regarding religious faith—either because they don’t really understand themselves, or because they have an anti-Catholic perspective which is apparent in their reports.  The archbishop told English-speaking youth that:... Read more

2016-09-30T16:00:31-05:00

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 4:00 pm   By

So there I was, bustling about the house getting ready for work, and this Big Brown THING caught my eye. It was a beetle, moseying along on the living room carpet. No husband in sight to rescue me, I did the best I could: I scooped it up in a wad of Kleenex and….. …crushed it to smithereens? No. …dumped it in the toilet and flushed? No. What I did, actually, was carry the little guy outside and carefully place... Read more

2016-09-30T16:00:31-05:00

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 4:00 pm   By

From Pope Benedict XVI’s address to the youth gathered today in Madrid: Dear young people, listen closely to the words of the Lord, that they may be for you “spirit and life” (John 6:63), roots which nourish your being, a rule of life which likens us – poor in spirit, thirsting for justice, merciful, pure in heart, lovers of peace – to the person of Christ.  Listen regularly every day as if he were the one friend who does not... Read more

2016-09-30T16:00:31-05:00

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 4:00 pm   By

Young people attending World Youth Day 2011 in Madrid need a “Spiritual GPS” tuned to three things:  the Word of God, the Bread of Life, and the Virgin Mary. So says Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga, Archbishop of Tegucigalpa, Honduras, and president of Caritas Internationalis.  The cardinal also served as president of the Latin American Episcopal Conference (CELAM) from 1995 to 1999. The Honduran prelate is one of the bishops selected to offer catecheses to the youth gathered  in Madrid this... Read more

2016-09-30T16:00:31-05:00

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 4:00 pm   By

“I Am the Immaculate Conception.” The young girl shook her head—she didn’t understand what she was hearing.  The Lady had just told her who she was, but it made no sense to Bernadette.  She had never heard those mysterious words before. *     *     *     *     * Between February 11 and July 16, 1858, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to 14-year-old Bernadette Soubirous, the illiterate daughter of a miller, eighteen times at the grotto of Massabielle, near the small town of... Read more

2016-09-30T16:00:31-05:00

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 4:00 pm   By

Today’s reading from the Gospel of Matthew is a confusing one. I mean, Jesus is usually such a nice guy! Was he just having a bad day? Why is he so crabby with the Canaanite woman?! See what I mean: • First, she cries out to him, and he outright ignores her. • Then, when the disciples ask Jesus to send her away, he responds—reminding them that he was sent only to the house of Israel, and not to this... Read more

2015-12-17T10:03:58-05:00

Last updated on: December 17, 2015 at 10:03 am   By

  I have Rome Fever.  It usually takes a bit longer to set in—I was, after all, stumbling on the cobblestones just three months ago.  But the news that St. Peter’s Square is about to undergo a major renovation has me thinking:  I’ve gotta see that!! The restoration project, which was just announced in L’Osservatore Romano, is expected to take 30 months.  The Bernini columns are being restored “in all of their original color and brilliance”—SAY WHAT?!  Didn’t you always assume... Read more

2015-01-19T07:56:43-05:00

Last updated on: January 19, 2015 at 7:56 am   By

Today Cardinal Edmund Szoka, archbishop-emeritus of the Archdiocese of Detroit and president-emeritus of the Vatican City State, celebrates the 40th anniversary of his episcopal ordination; and all of us here in the Detroit archdiocese join in honoring him for his long, outstanding service to the Church. He is a man to be reckoned with, a man whose influence has extended beyond the Detroit archdiocese to the world.  As a young priest, he studied canon law at the Pontifical Urban University... Read more

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