“Before the festival of Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end” (John 13:1). With these words John’s Gospel opens its account of the Passion, the fulfillment of a life spent for humankind in sharing and in loving in total obedience to the Father to the extreme gift of himself.
A writer who has lived alone and far from the nearest village for many years – and who has just turned 70 – has words of advice and encouragement for those who might feel frightened by the prospect of enforced solitude and silence.
Pope Francis, in his homily, pointed people to the teaching of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.The Catechism of the Catholic Church, N. 1452, says: “When it arises from a love by which God is loved above all else, contrition is called ‘perfect’ — contrition of charity. Such contrition remits venial sins; it also obtains forgiveness of mortal sins if it includes the firm resolution to have recourse to sacramental confession as soon as possible.”
Pope Francis said the coronavirus had put everyone "in the same boat" as he held a dramatic, solitary prayer service in St. Peter's Square on Friday, urging the world to see the crisis as a test of solidarity and a reminder of basic values.
“Do what the catechism says. It's very clear. If you don't find a priest to go to confession, speak to God. He's your Father. Tell Him the truth: ‘Lord. I did this and this and this. Pardon me.’ Ask His forgiveness with all your heart with an act of contrition, and promise Him, ‘afterward I will go to confession.’ You will return to God's grace immediately.”
In activating His plan of salvation, God, in His sapient providence, assigned to Joseph of Nazareth, "the just man" (cf. Mt 1, 19), and spouse of the Virgin Mary (cf. ibid; Lk 1, 27), a particularly important mission: legally to insert Jesus Christ into the line of David from whom, according to the prophets, the Messiah would be born, and to act as his father and guardian.
Catholic women demonstrated outside Mumbai's cathedral demanding gender equality within the Church as part of a global campaign marking International Women's Day on March 8.
The Catalan government had paid €3m (£2.6m) in subsidies to media companies with close links to a body that claims that Shakespeare, Cervantes and Columbus – among others – were Catalan.
The foreign ministers of the Vatican and China have met to reaffirm the willingness of both sides to continue executing the September 2018 provisional deal on the appointment of bishops in what was the highest-level meeting between the two states for 70 years.
The coronavirus COVID-19 is spreading around the world, generating a syndrome of universal contagion. Humanity’s system of worldwide interconnection gives us a paradoxical experience: the more connected we are, the more contact can turn into contagion, communication into contamination, influences into infections.
More than 150 historians and researchers have signed up to access the soon-to-open Vatican archives of Pope Pius XII, evidence of the intense scholarly interest into the World War II-era pope and his record during the Holocaust, officials said Thursday.
Splendor, drama, mystery: with these three words Pope Francis offers to the people of God and all persons of goodwill his post-synodal apostolic exhortation Querida Amazonia (Beloved Amazon), on the special synod for the Amazon, which took place in Rome, October 6-27, 2019.
The next two weeks are crucial to suppress the epidemic, says Cardinal John Tong. The threat of spreading the coronavirus has forced Catholic officials in Hong Kong to suspend all church programs for the next two weeks and cancel the Ash Wednesday liturgy that marks the beginning of the Lent season.
The rosary was forged in an age of chivalry. It is a spiritual weapon, a heavenly sword, fashioned by the hands of a Divine Craftsman. It has the power to slay dragons (demons), converts sinners, and conquer hearts. The blade of this sword was forged in the living Word of God, shaped by the hammer of divine inspiration, and entrusted to the Queen of Heaven and her chosen servants.
Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle of Manila gave thanks to Catholics in his archdiocese as he prepares to take on a new role as head of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples in the Vatican. .. He told the gathering he would soon be "an overseas Filipino worker" and appealed for prayers.
The painting, by Amanda de Pulford, will return to Walsingham for the rededication of England as Mary's Dowry on 29 March 2020. After the rededication the Dowry Painting will begin a journey to every Catholic parish in England.
Among Hong Kong Christians, practices vary. The overwhelming majority of Hong Kong Protestants do not use parallel sentences and consider that this tradition is no longer theirs. As for Catholics, many priests encourage it and distribute new small formats on which one can read, for example: “The family is filled with the love of the Lord; Society is filled with harmony."
By papal decree, the third Sunday in Ordinary Time — Jan. 26 this year — is to be observed as a special day devoted to "the celebration, study and dissemination of the word of God."
The power of storytelling refuses to let us go.That great Literature scholar Frank Kermode pointed out that we need stories. We need a sense of beginning, middle and end to make sense of our lives and the world we live in. It’s telling that the Bible is really a collection of stories about dysfunctional families.
Pax Christi, the UK branch of the international Catholic peace organisation, reports keen interest in this year’s Peace Sunday on 19 January, reporting that nearly 20,000 prayer cards have been sent out by request around England and Wales. Many Pax Christi members are giving talks in their parishes, providing bidding prayers, and supporting children's activities, such as decorating the Peacemaker greeting card.
