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A Lenten Refresher on the Parts of the Mass...

The liturgy, most especially the Mass, is the central act of the Church. Vatican II reminds us that the liturgy, through which the work of our redemption is accomplished, most of all in the divine sacrifice of the Eucharist, is the outstanding means whereby the faithful may express in their lives and manifest to others the mystery of Christ...

For Holy Week: A Rosary of the Penitential Psalms...

For Holy Week a possible practice is to pray a rosary combined with the Seven Penitential Psalms. One could do this on a chosen day, such as Good Friday, or on another day, even several days. I have set this forth in the Rosary that follows. I also offer a PDF of this rosary that you can print here...

Belgian Bishop Roger Vangheluwe Laicized 14 Years After Admitting Abuse...

Pope Francis has laicized Bishop Roger Vangheluwe, almost 14 years after the Belgian prelate resigned after admitting that he had abused a nephew. The apostolic nunciature to Belgium said in a March 21 statement that “serious new elements” had emerged in recent months...

‘Dune: Part Two’ — False Messiahs and the Shifting Sands of Power...

Stillsuits. Sandworms. Telepathic preborn babies. The weird world of Dune is a wonder to behold. With Dune: Part Two, director Denis Villeneuve has done what was previously thought to be impossible: He successfully adapted Dune to the big screen in a way that does justice to the complexity and emotional weight of the original story...

How Feminism Shattered Our Understanding of Motherhood...

The Christian story started very simply: a mother delivered her baby, truly God and truly man, amid the squalor of straw and livestock. Such humble beginnings begat a new vision of motherhood that became the archetype for the Church — Holy Mother Church. Embraced by all Christians for centuries, ecclesial motherhood was cast in art...

Here’s what the defrocking of Vangheluwe suggests about the Rupnik scandal...

Thursday’s news about the defrocking of Roger Vangheluwe has given us an answer to a question raised with some palpable urgency by another high-profile scandal touching the very echelons of power in the Vatican. The other case is that of Fr. Marko Rupnik, the inveterate creep and serial abuser of mostly religious women, accused but never tried for his alleged crimes...

St. Joseph of Arimathea

St. Joseph of Arimathea

Feast date: Mar 29

St. Joseph of Arimathea is a disciple of Jesus Christ who is mentioned in each account of the Passion narrative. After the Passion of the Lord, Joseph, a member of the Jewish council went to Pilate and asked for possession of the body of Jesus. After receiving this permission, Joseph had Jesus laid in a nearby tomb.

The Gospels tell us that Joseph was a just and devout man waiting for the kingdom of God. He followed Jesus' public ministry but feared the repercussions from the other members of the Jewish council.

Pope Francis on Palm Sunday: ‘Jesus Entered Jerusalem as a Humble and Peaceful King’...

On Palm Sunday, hundreds of priests, bishops, cardinals, and laypeople solemnly carried large palm branches in procession through St. Peter’s Square to begin the first liturgy of Holy Week. “Dear brothers and sisters, since the beginning of Lent until now we have prepared our hearts by penance and charitable works,” Pope Francis said in a soft voice at the beginning of Palm Sunday Mass on March 24.

The Plenary Indulgences of Holy Week, Easter Octave and Divine Mercy Sunday for Everyone...

Holy Week and Divine Mercy Sunday, present everyone with particular plenary indulgences that everyone has the opportunity to receive. Here’s how to gain them for yourselves, your loved ones in purgatory, and possibly even for some forgotten soul there. The plenary indulgences that we can receive on every day of Holy Week actually are of two kinds. Certain ones are specific to Holy Week itself...

No One Envies Those Who Suffer...

In Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, the Bennett family faces the gravest of circumstances when their youngest daughter, Lydia, runs off with the wicked George Wickham. Although the situation is eventually made far less grave than first thought, with Lydia and Wickham marrying, few of the Bennetts’ neighbors were willing to condole with the family during their dark trial...