Learning to be Quick to Listen

St. Mary Magdalene has come to the Chicago area -- that is a relic of the saint often referred to as the apostle to the Apostles. On February 20, a reliquary carrying a portion of her tibia (leg bone) began a two-week tour to churches in the archdiocese. It then will then continue to other Illinois locations during March. "The purpose of the tour is to share the holiness of the relic and tell the story of the saint who is recorded as the first witness to the resurrection of Jesus Christ," said Paula Lawlor, coordinator of the Illinois tour. "It also reminds us that she was a real person," he said. "St. Mary Magdalene was told to go and tell the others." The first stop was St. Vincent Ferrer Church in River Forest. "St. Mary Magdalene is the patroness of our order," said Dominican Father Thomas McDermott, pastor. "Dominicans are the custodians of the relic. We are grateful and blessed for the opportunity to have her relic at our church."...

Along with the rest of the Roman Curia, Pope Benedict XVI began his second day of spiritual exercises by reflecting on Psalm 119 and the “light that breaks the darkness, especially in today's culture. The comparison with the Word is essential, it shows us the true scale of values, often calculated only in things, in money, power,” Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi told the Pope Feb. 18 at the Apostolic Palace. The Italian cardinal focused his meditations for today on Psalms 119, 23 and 19, under the title “At the sources of the Jordan River of the Spirit: God of Grace and the Word. In Psalm 23, there is the sharing of the road – God is the shepherd leading the flock, and at the same time a traveling companion – elements which refer to the value of grace, truth and love,” said the cardinal. And during this morning’s third meditation, the cardinal poetically described Creation as “a different word of God” that contains “a silent theological music and is a message that knows no sound or echo...

Pope Benedict XVI used his second to last Angelus to tell thousands of pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square that Lent is a “spiritual battle.” Lent, he said, “always involves a battle, a spiritual battle, because the spirit of evil naturally opposes our sanctification and seeks to divert us from the way of God.” Pope Benedict has just 11 days left as head of the Catholic Church until his almost unprecedented resignation takes effect Feb. 28. Over 35,000 people have officially registered with the Pontifical Household to bid him farewell. The Pope, speaking from the window of the Apostolic Palace, explained that the Lenten “spiritual battle” is the reason why the Gospel of the first Sunday of Lent relates each year to Jesus’ temptations in the desert. He reflected on the Sunday gospel, which tells how Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil after having received the Holy Spirit in his baptism at the Jordan river. “Upon starting his public ministry, J...

Pope Benedict XVI told a gathering of cardinals February 11 that he no longer has the strength to carry out his ministry and will resign on February 28. "I have convoked you to this Consistory, not only for the three canonizations, but also to communicate to you a decision of great importance for the life of the Church. After having repeatedly examined my conscience before God, I have come to the certainty that my strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry," Pope Benedict said. He made his remarks in Latin to a meeting of cardinals who were gathered to vote on whether or not to canonize three people. The last pontiff to resign was Celestine V, who left office almost 600 years ago. At a quickly arranged press conference, Father Federico Lombardi told the media that there is no sickness the Pope is suffering from that is behind this decision. "It's something that happens normally in people with advanced age, ...

In societies that have largely forgotten or abandoned Christianity, Catholic schools are often seen as vital tools for reintroducing faith to the wider culture. Principal Jim Bailey of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton School can testify to this. He was in the process of entering the Catholic Church when he became the principal of the South Anchorage elementary school in 2008. “Being principal strengthened my desire to join the church,” Bailey told the Catholic Anchor. He credits the Catholic school experience and its immersion in faith with influencing him. It is a phenomena he sees occur with many parents who send their children to Catholic school. This year, Bailey said the school has at least three parents going through the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults — the process by which adults are introduced to the Roman Catholic Church. “And that’s fairly typical,” Bailey said of parents who come to the faith through their contact with the school. Evangelization, he said, is the natural outgr...