“Meditations on Mary” (New York: Alba House, 1993), which has an Introduction from Franciscan Father Benedict J. Groeschel, (1933-2014), has a series of conferences that the then-Msgr. Cooke, who was secretary to the famous Cardinal Francis Spellman, gave at Lourdes, France, in 1958 on the 100th anniversary of those cherished apparitions of Our Blessed Lady to Bernadette Soubirous.

Italy’s current birthrate is 392,598 newborns per year, a staggering 30 percent drop since 2008, unsustainably low for any country. To avert catastrophe Italy must reach 500,000 newborns annually by 2033. Ever since his “Catholics shouldn’t breed like rabbits” comment in 2015, Pope Francis has not been popularly perceived as a person sympathetic to pro-natalist policies and attitudes...

Jesus Christ was the king of the Jews, but he wasn’t the only person of his day to have that title. In fact, according to the Romans, the legitimate king of the Jews was Herod the Great. This Herod was on the throne when Jesus was born, and he tried to kill Jesus as an infant, but he is not the only Herod in the Bible. We continue to read about Herod’s descendants in the Gospels and in Acts.

The federal child pornography case against Providence, Rhode Island, priest Father James Jackson is scheduled to begin on June 20. The trial date marks almost two years since Jackson, a member of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP), was arrested by the Rhode Island state police at his parish, shocking many of his current and former parishioners, including some of the traditionalist community online.

A Carmelite nun who accused the Diocese of Fort Worth and Bishop Michael Olson of violating both civil law and canon law is now appealing to the Vatican after the bishop refused to let her choose her own canon lawyer for representation in a diocesan investigation, according to a civil lawyer representing the nun.

Jesus draws all of us to Himself through the Cross and Resurrection. He returns to the Father in His glorious Ascension and brings our humanity with Him. He completes His sacred mission of the Word as prophesized by Isaiah (cf. Is. 55:11). Heaven is the destiny of those who follow Him. We believe in heaven (but without daring to judge any soul) we also believe in hell for those who live evil lives and reject the commandments of Jesus.

While many readers enjoyed my suggestions in A simpler program for Eucharistic revival, one friendly reader pointed out that something was missing from my list: an exhortation to parishioners “to keep encouraging their pastors.” Good point. If your pastor shares your desire to increase reverence for the Eucharist...

Pope Francis has sent one of his top sex crimes investigators to Bolivia at a time when the Andean nation is being shaken by an escalating pedophilia scandal involving priests. Monsignor Jordi Bertomeu, a leading member of the church’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, arrived in Bolivia on the same day as a former Jesuit seminarian landed in the country vowing to reveal more information about alleged cases of abuse.

Even earthly bread, if received with thanksgiving, is food for the heart. It joins us in fellowship and sustains not just our bodies, but something of our spirits too because of the love that it expresses. Yes – bread reveals the love of the one who provided it. This love is more important than the nutrients it contains. If this is true of earthly gifts, how much more heavenly bread?

Twenty-seven years ago this week — on May 21, 1996 — seven Trappist monks were martyred in Algeria, after spending two months in the captivity of the terrorist Armed Islamic Group. The kidnappers had come to the Abbey of Our Lady of Atlas on March 27 of that year, kidnapping the monks in the middle of the night. The captors demanded the release of Abdelhak Layada, one of their group's leaders, who was in prison and awaiting the execution of a death sentence.