Learning to be Quick to Listen

Kevin Considine gives us a nice, brief explanation of why many venerate the Virgin Mary. The veneration and adoration of Mary is as old as the church itself. The earliest record of Mary’s veneration probably comes from the Third Ecumenical Council at Ephesus in A.D. 431. There church fathers affirmed Mary as the Theotokos, or God-bearer. The title stuck, and today we refer to her as the “Mother of God.” This designation of Mary as the mother of God is really at the root of Roman Catholic veneration. Mary is the link between our broken humanity and the boundless divinity present in the triune God. Mary is redeemed, as she is human, but she is also considered to have a special and unique relationship with God, as she shares DNA with Christ. Mother Teresa once remarked, “She gave Jesus his body, and his body is what saved us.” In the many years since 431, Mary has come to occupy a powerful place in Roman Catholic spirituality. She has many faces and innumerable names, among them Our Lady ...

Here are more suggestions for us to reclaim Christmas. What could Christmas be like? More time spent with people, sharing memories of the past year, making plans for the coming one. Doing things together, being more prayerful and more playful, telling stories, talking about God. Reaching beyond ourselves. One common theme emerge, a plan of action takes shape. One family might make their presents this year. Or give each other things they already own, trade things that are important parts of their lives. This will help them get to know each other better and experience each other as family, helping each other grow by giving to each other. Or maybe this year the family will make a little retreat to a quiet spot in the woods. They could take the time to relax and regain a sense of family, to get to know each other again, and then return in time to share their strength and peace on Christmas day. A group of friends might make a special effort this Christmas to reach out to those less fort...

This is part of an article published 35 years ago in US Catholic Magazine. It is still so relevant, maybe even more so now. Why do we race around the week before Christmas buying expensive gifts as if it were a rite of preparation for the coming of the Lord? Jesus did not say we would recognize him in the breaking of the bank. And in fact it becomes very difficult to recognize him when we spend most of the season fighting crowds and fatigue. Mostly we get trapped. It’s not that we intend to be swept up by the needless overconsumption of the season. It’s that we haven’t stopped to think about the season ahead of time and make sense of it. We haven’t stopped to choose what kind of Christmas we would like to have. We’ve been trapped into thinking we have to act in a certain way during the season. Advertisers pull out the heavy artillery at Christmas, bombarding us with messages that say, “The only way to celebrate is to buy these shiny, expensive gifts.” But Christmas is for sharing. W...

At the opening of the Year for Consecrated Life, Pope Francis issued a challenge to consecrated men and women, inviting them to lives of courage, communion, and joy. Nearly 50 years after Vatican II's decree on the Adaption and Renewal of Religious Life, Perfectae Caritatis, Pope Francis convoked the Year with the aim of expressing the “beauty and preciousness of this unique form” of Christian discipleship. The Year for Consecrated Life begins Nov. 30, the first Sunday of Advent, and concludes Feb. 2, 2016. Because the start of the 2015 Year for Consecrated Life coincided with Pope Francis' trip to Turkey, his message was read out in his absence on Nov. 30 by Cardinal João Braz de Aviz at the beginning of Mass in Saint Peter's Basilica. Through various initiatives in the coming months, Pope Francis told consecrated men and women in his message that their “shining witness of life will be as a lamp,” placed where it can “give light and warmth to all of God's people.” ...

A life-affirming online ad campaign seeks to present the positive experience of adoption as an alternative to abortion for women facing unexpected pregnancies. “We believe that women deserve to know about all of the options available to them, and we are grateful for the opportunity to connect more women with information and support as they consider adoption as one of those options,” said Marissa Cope, Director of Special Projects at Heroic Media. Heroic Media, a pro-life multimedia organization, teamed with the Gladney Center for Adoption in 2013 to promote the choice of adoption. This year, they worked together to launch a pro-life adoption advertisement titled “Last Year.” “The newest ad features a young woman sharing her positive experience of placing her child up for adoption, stating that she has made a plan to finish school and the adoptive family she chose will raise her baby ‘and love her forever,’” Heroic Media said in a Nov. 25 statement. The commercial highlights a you...

As we celebrate everything Mary today on the feast of the Immaculate Conception, it is important to remind ourselves why this day is important. The feast itself speaks to the dogma that Mary was redeemed from the moment of her conception. It is based on the fact that God had a special mission for Mary. God of course knew what would become of Mary and so it makes sense that he would preserve her for what was to come. It also reassures us that God has a plan for each of us. We should allow God to guide us toward Hise plan and Mary provides the perfect example of that adherence. So why was Mary chosen as Jesus's birth mother? After all, couldn't God have merely come to earth as a man without all of the usual pregnancy issues? Remember that Jesus was fully man and fully god. Mary's part in this birth then becomes very important. Jesus was born just as you and I were born. Our kinship is formed by this human birth, in the same way that Joachim and Anne formed Mary. So why honor ...

An innovative educational model that would serve Baton Rouge’s most impoverished students may become part of the Catholic school system as early as the 2016-17 school year. Community leaders as well as school officials of the Diocese of Baton Rouge have spent the past several months discussing the potential launch of a Crisco Rey Network high school, which employs a unique model where students work one day a week to help defray the cost of tuition. At least three meetings have already been held and a fourth was scheduled this past week. “We have had excellent feedback but we are still at the beginning stages,” said Cristo Rey Director of Growth Brian Melton, adding that a feasibility study must first be completed before moving forward. “It’s not a foregone conclusion (that a school will open in Baton Rouge) but we sure hope so,” he added. “A lot of things have to happen before then.” Bishop Robert W. Muench and Dr. Melanie Verges, superintendent of Catholic Schools, endorsed the fe...

In an address to the Swiss bishops on Monday, Pope Francis urged them maintain a lively faith, lest their country’s religious buildings become nothing more than dust-filled museums. The Holy Father also used the opportunity to encourage the bishops to live their episcopal fatherhood; to uphold the ministerial priesthood; to engage in frank ecumenism; and to maintain the Church's witness to the Gospel. “Your country has a long Christian tradition,” he said in a text delivered to the bishops of Switzerland Dec. 1 at the Vatican, adding, “you have a great and beautiful responsibility to maintain a living faith in your land.” “Without a living faith in the risen Christ, your beautiful churches and monasteries will gradually become museums; all the commendable works and institutions will lose their soul, leaving behind only empty spaces and abandoned people.” He continued, “the mission that has been entrusted to you is to nurture your flock, proceeding in accordance with current cir...

The sacrament of the anointing of the sick is just one way priests and chaplains can minister to the dying and their families. They -- along with others in pastoral care ministry -- can also pray, sing, read Scriptures, counsel, help with arrangements and mediate conflicts. They even grant final requests. One patient at Our Lady of Mercy Life Center nursing home in Guilderland, for example, expressed a lifelong desire to see a certain play. Marie Venaglia, the Catholic chaplain, rented a DVD from the library and played it for her. After residents die, the center holds a service for family, staff and visitors. It also has periodic memorial services. "It's another form of closure, another way to talk about how (the bereaved are) doing," Venaglia told The Evangelist, newspaper of the Albany Diocese. "Death is a natural process. We can speak freely about it. It's not all medical. The pastoral ministry here is all incorporated into the whole care." ...

After the historic announcement by Pope Francis that he will visit Philadelphia next September, the reality of the challenges and joys of the event is sinking in for planners, civic officials and ordinary Catholics in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. It will be a "once-in-a-lifetime chance for Philadelphia to shine," Daniel Hilferty called the 2015 World Meeting of Families, which will be capped by the papal visit to the city. Chairman of the meeting's Executive Leadership Committee, he said the event will require unprecedented coordination and support. During a news conference at the Philadelphia Art Museum Nov. 17, the day the pope confirmed his visit at the Vatican, Hilferty called on the region's business community to contribute financial and corporate support to the event. He said the fundraising effort was "more than halfway toward the goal," which he did not state. Philadelphia Archbishop Charles J. Chaput has said he plans to announce t...

The recent announcements by Facebook and Apple that they would include among employee health benefits the option for young women to freeze their eggs for future use at a cost of up to $20,000 has been greeted with numerous objections by bioethicists and pro-life leaders. Unlike normal medical procedures intended to restore health to a person with an illness, this proposal offers "risky technology" to otherwise healthy young women, noted Jennifer Lahl, president of the California-based Center for Bioethics and Culture. "This is still an enterprise that has a very high failure rate," she said, and no one yet knows the long-term health effects of the medications and other chemical agents that are used in the processes of retrieving and freezing eggs. It's amazing to her, Lahl said, how little attention "these very smart people" at the tech companies are paying to "human biology 101," which knows that advancing maternal age always carries risks, ...

For couples struggling to conceive a child, in vitro fertilization has been a medical standard for the past 30 years. The Catholic Church has long opposed the process as immoral, because it separates conception from the marital act and it destroys embryos. With the procedure's prevalence in the medical world, some Catholic couples are led to believe they are out of medical options after a doctor recommends it. However, officials from the Pope Paul VI Institute for the Study of Human Reproduction in Omaha, Nebraska, say that in vitro fertilization, or IVF, is not a miracle procedure and they report that more effective options exist. Dr. Kristina Pakiz, associate medical consultant, said couples "do not have to feel trapped in a corner where they are told they will never have a child without in vitro fertilization. The truth is that there is superior gynecologic health care available to them." She said IVF has a success rate of about 30 percent and increases the risk of hig...

Pope Francis has worked to keep in the public discourse the issue of poverty understood in its widest possible sense, said the prefect of the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. "Going well beyond a merely economic conception of poverty, Pope Francis has tried to indicate to the world the true poverty of the human condition in our times: the poverty of body and soul, pointing out all the forces at work in the world further impoverishing mankind," said Cardinal Gerhard Muller . He made the comments at a conference on poverty. In a keynote discussion, Cardinal Muller was asked to speak about his 2014 book, " Poor for the Poor: The Mission of the Church ," released by the Vatican Publishing House. Pope Francis wrote the preface to the book. "The mission of the church is to free mankind from the poverty of our fallen condition and constantly remind us that we are created in the image and likeness of God; we are the object of his divine l...

The “rock” of our faith is not found in “wise and persuasive words,” Pope Francis said, but rather in the “living word” which is Christ's death and resurrection. Human history culminating in Christ's coming was the main focus of the Pope's homily for Mass, celebrated in Saint Peter's Basilica on behalf of all cardinals and bishops who have died over the last twelve months. Jesus' death and resurrection, said Pope Francis, “represents the culmination of the entire journey: it is the event of the resurrection which responds to the people of God's long search, to the search of every man and all of humanity.” “Each of us is invited to enter into this event,” he continued. Like Mary, the women, and the centurion, we are first called to be before the Cross. There, we are to “listen to Jesus' cry, and his last breath, and finally the silence,” which continues until Holy Saturday. After that, the Holy Father continued, “we are called to go to the tomb,...

The heir to the British throne suggested that Islamic leaders must speak out against the persecution of Christians by Muslims if they are to guarantee freedom within their own countries. Prince Charles said in a video message released Nov. 4 that it was an "indescribable tragedy that Christianity is now under such threat in the Middle East," especially as the followers of the two faiths had lived together "peaceably" for centuries. The message coincided with the presentation in the British Parliament of the 2014 Religious Freedom Report by the United Kingdom branch of Aid to the Church in Need, a Catholic charity helping persecuted Christians around the world. The prince said faith leaders had a duty to ensure that their co-religionists treated those of other faiths with tolerance. "Rather than remaining silent, faith leaders have, it seems to me, a responsibility to ensure that people within their own tradition respect people from other faith traditions,"...

When it comes to human sexuality, one of the predominant themes being discussed by participants at the Extraordinary Synod on the Family pertains to the certainty that truth and mercy cannot be separated. This is according to Fr. Stephen Fawcett of the Archdiocese of Birmingham, who is one of 27 volunteers serving at the Synod on the Family. Fr. Fawcett, whose role throughout the Synod has been in part to act as one of two secretaries to one of the small groups over this past week, told CNA that “one big strand that’s coming out of the groups echoes Benedict XVI’s reminder of the link between love and truth.” “God shows his mercy to all of us… to grow into the people we should be,” he said. “It’s not (that) some people need mercy, and some people don’t. All of us need the truth… and all of us need the grace to journey in that truth.” He explained that there has been neither a sense of toning “down the truth and raise up the sort of focus on mercy,” nor of a toning “down the merc...

An incorrect translation into English of the original midterm report of the Synod on the Family may have spurred controversial interpretations of the document itself. The document's original version was written in Italian, which Pope Francis directed to be used as the official language of the synod. In prior synods the official language had been Latin, esteemed for its precision and lack of ambiguity. The point of controversy occurs at paragraph 50 of the relatio. The Italian original, after praising the gifts and talents homosexuals may give to the Christian community, asked: “le nostre comunità sono in grado di esserlo accettando e valutando il loro orientamento sessuale, senza compromettere la dottrina cattolica su famiglia e matrimonio?” In the English translation provided by the Vatican, this is rendered as: “Are our communities capable of providing that, accepting and valuing their sexual orientation, without compromising Catholic doctrine on the family and matrimony?” Th...

They came from different states. They spanned a wide range of ages. Their backgrounds were varied. But all who gathered for the Society of St. Vincent de Paul's 2014 national assembly in Atlanta shared one common mission: to learn how to better serve those who most need their help. More than 750 Vincentians -- the largest turnout in more than 13 years -- attended the annual assembly coming from as far away as Puerto Rico. The Sept. 24-27 conference featured workshops, committee meetings and national and local keynote speakers. Bill Bolling, executive director of the Atlanta Community Food Bank, gave the keynote speech during lunch Sept. 27. Since Bolling founded the food bank in 1979, the organization has grown to distribute more than 35 million pounds of food and grocery products each year through a network of 600 local and regional partner nonprofit organizations that feed the hungry across the state. Bolling spoke of the importance of the table, pointing out that e...

In his homily for the Feast of Holy Guardian Angels, Pope Francis told those gathered for daily Mass to be like children who pay attention to their “traveling companion.” The doctrine of the angels, the Holy Father stressed, is not imaginary, but “reality.” Citing what Jesus has said, “I send an angel before you to protect you, to accompany you along the path, so that you do not make mistakes!” According to the tradition of the Church, each of us has a guardian angel who protects us and helps make us aware of things, the Pope said at the Santa Marta residence Oct. 2. Often times, we have the feeling that “I should do this, this is not right, be careful.” This, he said, “is the voice of” our guardian angel: our “traveling companion.” Our guardian angel will “carry us” throughout our entire life. For this reason, he said we should “listen to his voice, don't rebel against it.” We all have this tendency toward rebellion and the will for independence, the Holy Father continued. “It...

Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York has urged U.S. Catholics to listen to the “chilling” pleas of Greek-Catholic bishops who say Ukraine is “flowing with blood” due to the Russian military’s actions. During the Cold War, Cardinal Dolan said, “Catholics in the United States were in solidarity with persecuted Christians in Poland, Ukraine, Croatia, Lithuania, Hungary, and the other countries under Russia’s jackboot. We spoke up for them; our government listened. We had hoped it would now be different. Things looked so bright in Ukraine for awhile. It appeared that religion was free, the Church encouraging a just, open, civil society,” the New York archbishop said. “Apparently, a prosperous, free, independent Ukraine, with freedom of religion leading to a revived faith, is a threat to a neighbor with a history of interference. The jackboots have apparently come out of storage.” Cardinal Dolan praised the Catholic Church in Ukraine as “young, alive, growing and prophetic” despite the Church...

Ezekiel 33:7-9 says Thus says the LORD: You, son of man, I have appointed watchman for the house of Israel; when you hear me say anything, you shall warn them for me. If I tell the wicked, “O wicked one, you shall surely die," and you do not speak out to dissuade the wicked from his way, the wicked shall die for his guilt, but I will hold you responsible for his death. But if you warn the wicked, trying to turn him from his way, and he refuses to turn from his way, he shall die for his guilt, but you shall save yourself. A powerful Bible reading that provides an equally powerful lesson. It illustrates for us that we are responsible for our fellow Christians. We are to help them on their journey. We are to tell them when we see them doing wrong. In the same sense, they are to do the same for us. Wouldn't this make our lives so much easier if our fellow Christians were looking out for our best interests? There would certainly be a lot less back-biting gossip that tends to consum...

The Diocese of Baton Rouge has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse a Louisiana Supreme Court decision that a priest may be compelled to testify as to what he heard in the confessional in 2008 concerning an abuse case. The legal step is the latest in a case involving Father Jeffrey Bayhi, pastor of St. John the Baptist Church in Zachary, Louisiana, and the sanctity of the seal of confession. The petition to the U.S. Supreme Court comes after a Louisiana Supreme Court ruling in May outlining arguments that priests are subject to mandatory reporting laws regarding abuse of minors if the person who made the confession waives confidentiality. The state Supreme Court opened the door for a hearing in which the priest would testify about what he heard in the confessional. Under canon law, the seal of confession is sacred under the penalty of excommunication. In the case, a girl who was 14 in 2008 said she told her parish priest, Father Bayhi, in the confessional that she was abused by a no...

Returning from a visit to the Kurdish region of Iraq, Syriac Catholic Patriarch Ignace Joseph III Younan called the Islamic State invasion "pure and simple religious cleansing and attempted genocide. What we, the five patriarchs, saw in Ankawa, Irbil and other cities of Kurdistan, was something indescribable in terms of the violation of human rights and the threat of disappearing of various communities among the vulnerable minorities of Northern Iraq," Patriarch Younan said. "It is a pure and simple religious cleansing and attempted genocide. Patriarch Younan and Syriac Orthodox Patriarch Ignatius Aphrem II stayed in Iraq for six days after arriving as part of a delegation of Catholic and Orthodox patriarchs who visited Irbil to give moral and spiritual support to the beleaguered Iraqis from the Ninevah Plain. The displaced minorities -- Christians, Yezidis, Shiite Muslims and Shabaks -- sought refuge there from their besieged towns and villages, which fell to Islamic St...

Although Christians, Muslims and Jews have struggled for hundreds of years to live peacefully alongside each other in the Middle East, "we have never seen the kind of 'religious cleansing' we are witnessing today," said the head of the region's Franciscans. "All religious communities must raise their voices against this abomination" being carried out, particularly in Iraq and Syria, by terrorists calling themselves the Islamic State, said Franciscan Father Pierbattista Pizzaballa, custos of the Holy Land. Speaking in Rimini, Italy, at an international meeting sponsored by the Communion and Liberation movement, Father Pizzaballa said political, economic and probably military intervention will be needed to protect the Christian and other minority communities of the Middle East. However, he added, their survival ultimately will depend on the courage and willingness of the region's inhabitants to love and protect one another. "Political solutions mu...

Catholics Come Home, an organization based in the Atlanta suburb of Roswell, will premiere a new TV series that features individuals who have joined the Catholic Church or returned to the Catholic faith after many years away. The "Catholics Come Home" series, which was filmed in more than a dozen locations in the U.S. and Canada, will debut Sept. 4 at 10 p.m. Eastern time on the Eternal Word Television Network. The series consists of 13 30-minute episodes, each featuring an interview with someone who recently returned to the church as a result of a Catholics Come Home campaign and in response to "the call of the Holy Spirit," said a news release on the series. Catholics Come Home, whose founder and president is Tom Peterson, has worked with dozens of U.S. dioceses on TV ad campaigns, especially at Lent and Christmas, to invite inactive Catholics to get more involved in the church, fallen-away Catholics to return to the church and non-Catholics to join ...

Robin Williams' apparent suicide has placed a dark cloud on this day. He brought laughter to so many people and in a world short on joy, we need people who can lighten the mood. Many of the news stories about him note that he suffered from depression. It is a misunderstood mental health illness that many suffer from, often in silence. Robin Williams death reminds us of his comedy. His portrayal as Mrs. Doubtfire is really unmatched. The movie itself was so pro-family and it really emphasized how important relationships can be. It was a good movie that illustrated how important it is for children to have a good mother and father. So often, comedies turn the father into a irredeemable buffoon. That was not so of Mrs. Doubtfire. His passing also reminds us that we are very often our worse critics. We beat ourselves senseless over unimportant things. Jesus tells us to work on our interior and leave the rest to him. Romans 5:4-5 says, "Patience produces character, and character pro...

If you have seen an artistic Facebook cover photo with a saint and a powerful quote, there's a good chance it came from Cassie Pease. The 22-year-old South Dakota native's designs have been floating around social media and phone backgrounds for over a year now. While Pease has always been interested in design, she did not realize her saint art would be so popular. The first composition she made was of Saint John Paul II, and she shared it on Facebook for her friends to enjoy. “I started putting these designs on Facebook just to kind of share with my friends so they could know what I was up to,” Pease said. “About a week later I checked it and it had over 300 shares…and I was just astonished.” Growing up, Pease said she enjoyed creating designs with characters from movies and T.V. shows. While attending college for graphic design in Sioux Falls, her art began reflecting her growing faith. “I started falling more in love with Jesus and the Catholic Church, so for different p...

Sister Mary Evelyn Jegen, one of the co-founders of Pax Christi USA and the group's first national coordinator, died July 4 after a long illness. She was 86. A funeral Mass for Sister Jegen, a member of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur for 66 years, was scheduled for July 11 in the chapel at her community's motherhouse in Cincinnati. In 1982, she became the third recipient of Pax Christi USA's Pope John XXIII Teacher of Peace Award. During her tenure as national coordinator, from 1979 to 1982, Pax Christi USA's membership grew from less than 1,000 to more than 5,500 members, including 46 U.S. bishops. "Mary Evelyn Jegen was teacher and mentor for an entire generation of Catholic peace activists like me," said a July 7 statement form Tom Cordaro, Pax Christi USA's "ambassador of peace" and an author and lay minister. "She had that rare combination of gifts that set her apart from many others in the movement. She was an excellent ...

A priest at the Pontifical Council for the New Evangelization has said Sister Cristina Scuccia, who recently won The Voice Italy, is an example of how the Church must go out to the existential peripheries. "What Sister Cristina has done can be considered going out to the peripheries, because she has gone to a different stage to bear witness to her choice of life, and in this sense I think she has hit the target," Father Alejandro Diaz, a Colombian, said in a recent interview with CNA. Like Sister Cristina, he explained, "we have to come out ourselves to speak of God to others, not in the abstract, but about what God has done in our lives." At the beginning of June, the 25 year-old religious won The Voice Italy and gained world-wide acclaim for her charisma and ability to bring share the Word of God with the public. "I have a dream, which is to hold hands and pray together the Our Father," she told the studio audience when she won. "I want Jesus to ent...

We have been spending time in Bible study with the book of Revelation. When we first began to talk about embarking on the journey through Revelations, I was anxious. There is such an aura around St. John’s revelation that I have found myself either avoiding or skipping the last book of the Bible. Now that I have begun to read and study the book, my anxiety has subsided. I am certainly not an expert but it does allow you to come to a deeper understanding about the Mass and other aspects of our faith. In addition, something that I have often wondered about was what happened to the Virgin Mary and the apostle John after Jesus rose from the dead and then left them again. We do know that Mary and John settled in Ephesus and there is a message to the town in Revelation. It reveals what is happening in Ephesus and subsequently tells us a little of the life of Mary, John, and Timothy (who served as bishop of the church there). One of my favorite passages so far urges us to use our voices like ...

A new radio program launched in the Palm Beach Diocese in June with a focus on shedding light on pro-life issues, and sharing ways to get involved in promoting the culture of life in the not-so-pro-life world. Organizers believe the program may be the only one of its kind in Florida, if not the United States, that is broadcast from a site across the street from an abortion clinic. "We are doing battle on the frontlines," said Anne Lotierzo, a parishioner of St. Joseph Parish in Stuart, who hosts "CrossRoads" with Duane Berreth, a parishioner of St. Mark the Evangelist in Fort Pierce. Berreth, a grand Knight of Columbus, heads the parish's respect life ministry. "We like being at the front lines. That is where the battle is," Lotierzo said in an interview with the Florida Catholic, Palm Beach's diocesan newspaper. "CrossRoads" airs on WJPP 100.1 FM (Prince of Peace Radio) that reaches listeners in areas of Stuart, Palm City, ...

In a narrowly tailored 5-4 ruling, the Supreme Court June 30 said closely held companies may be exempted from a government requirement to include contraceptives in employee health insurance coverage under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. The court said that Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Woods, the two family-run companies that objected to the government mandate that employees be covered for a range of contraceptives, including drugs considered to be abortifacients, are protected from the requirement of the Affordable Care Act. The opinion essentially held that for-profit companies may hold protected religious views. But the court also said that government requirements do not necessarily lose if they conflict with an employer's religious beliefs. The court noted that cases challenging the mandate for nonprofit entities, such as Catholic colleges and faith-based employers, are pending and that the June 30 ruling doesn't consider them. The decision also did not delve into whethe...

Love is more about giving than receiving and is best expressed through action, not words, Pope Francis said. God's love, in fact, can only be experienced by people willing to let go of their egos and humbly let God take the lead, allowing him take their hand like a loving father with his children, the pope said in his homily June 27. Celebrating the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Pope Francis focused his homily on the heart of Jesus and his immense love. "One can say that today is the feast of God's love in Jesus Christ, of God's love for us, of God's love in us," he said during an early morning Mass in the chapel of his residence, the Domus Sanctae Marthae. The pope said, "There are two aspects of love. First, love is more about giving than receiving. Second, love is more about deeds than words," he said, according to Vatican Radio. Love is always given or transmitted to another, he said, and "love always gives life, fosters growth."

The goal of Life Teen "is to completely transform the idea of what youth ministry is in our church and what it can be," said the director of events for the Mesa-based organization. "It needs to be more dynamic. It's not meant to be boring, but to be an experience on Sunday night and not just a class," said Stephen Lenahan. "Everything in our church is so grand, why not for our youth on a Sunday night by showing them the beauty of our church?" Lenahan, who works in Life Teen's Atlanta office, made the comments to The Catholic Sun, newspaper of the Phoenix Diocese, during the organization's mid-June conference in in Scottsdale. The annual Catholic Youth Ministry Training Convention, sponsored by Mesa-based Life Teen Inc., was an opportunity for new and seasoned leaders to be renewed and affirmed in their ministry. The conference had as its "Inspire," and it didn't disappoint the 700 attendees with its 60 breakout sessi...

There's a dark, little-discussed side to large groups of people gathering for big sporting and other events -- from the Olympics to the Super Bowl to the annual College World Series in Omaha. It is an increase in human trafficking, particularly sex trafficking. During the June 14-24 baseball tournament, Catholic-related groups and other organizations planned to lead prayer sessions to raise awareness and bring the power of prayer to the issue. The prayer series is an ecumenical effort supported by the Archdiocese of Omaha. "The CWS is an exciting event for Omaha, but sex trafficking increases, with young girls trafficked into our hotels and motels," said Sister Celeste Wobeter, a Notre Dame Sister who helped organize the prayer series, with representatives of a number of faiths leading sessions in two-hour blocks from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. at a Salvation Army chapel. People have been invited to join in the prayer at the chapel at any time, for whatever length of time they can...

Marriage is -- "and can only ever be" -- a relationship "solely between one man and one woman, regardless of the decision of a judge or any vote," said Bishop Robert C. Morlino of Madison. "This is not based on any private sectarian viewpoint, but on the natural moral law that is universally binding on all peoples, at all times, and inscribed into our human nature, as man and woman from the beginning of creation," he said. Bishop Morlino made the comments in response to a late June 6 ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Barbara Crabb, who declared as unconstitutional a 2006 amendment to the Wisconsin Constitution that outlawed same-sex marriage. Almost immediately, county clerk offices in Wisconsin began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Crabb was to decide later whether she would stay her decision while an appeal moved through the courts. Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen has asked an appeals court to stop such marriages while he appe...

The Catholic Church must establish a presence in the digital world of communications or risk being at the margins of people's lives, said the president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications. "If the church is not present and does not share the good news of God's love for all people in this world, then we risk becoming marginal to the lives of many and are failing our mission to bring the Gospel to the ends of the earth," Archbishop Claudio Maria Celli told more than 250 people at the Brooklyn Diocese's annual celebration of World Communications Day. The May 22 event was organized by the DeSales Media Group, the parent company of The Tablet, the diocesan newspaper. Many dioceses mark World Communications Day June 1. This year's theme is "Communication at the service of an authentic culture of encounter." Before the archbishop's keynote address, Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio and Msgr. Kieran Harrington, president of DeSales, presented Arch...

Father God, we come to you today to ask that you send strong and pure young men and women forward to lead your Church on earth. Lord, we need dedicated men who will carry your message and build your Church. Inspire men to come forward and embrace the priesthood as their vocation. Holy Spirit, enter the hearts of young women and lead them to the call of sisterhood as religious women of faith. Continue to use lay men and women as your vessels. Help us to lead with clarity and humility modeled by Blessed Mother Theresa and Pope John Paul II. Send forth the trumpet blast that will bring forth these leaders and continue your work on earth. In the stillness and solitude, whisper in the ears of those who will respond and convince those who are struggling with the worldliness of our current culture. Father we ask all of this in the name of your son, Jesus Christ. Amen!

Although Christ ascended into heaven, he remains present in a new form through the gifts and power of the Holy Spirit in order to accompany and guide people in their daily lives, Pope Francis said. Because, "by ourselves, without Jesus, we can't do anything," he said at his Regina Coeli address to those gathered in St. Peter's Square on June 1, the day the feast of the Ascension was celebrated in Italy and many other countries. The feast day comes 40 days after Easter and commemorates Jesus' ascension into heaven to be seated at the right hand of God. But some countries, like Italy, observe the feast day the following Sunday. Pope Francis said Jesus returns to heaven to open the way and "show us that the destination of our journey is the Father." But Jesus still "remains present and operates in human history with the power and gifts of his Spirit; he is by the side of each one of us; even if we don't see him with our eyes," he said.

It looked like any other military parade with bands playing, flags waving and thousands of men and women marching in colorful uniforms decorated with medals and ribbons. But instead of impressive displays of tanks and trucks, troops from dozens of nations fell in line behind religious banners, a large wooden cross and a rose-strewn statue of Mary. Candles and rosaries -- not weapons or rifles -- were held aloft in soldiers' hands. Such scenes were common during the 56th International Military Pilgrimage to the sanctuaries of Our Lady of Lourdes May 16-18. More than 12,000 retired and active duty military personnel, their families and compatriots from 36 nations took part in the annual encounter to pray for peace and the spiritual healing of nations and individuals. A large number taking part, and given special prominence in the many processions, were those wounded in the line of duty. Among the military personnel tackling disabilities were about 60 retired or active duty U.S. soldi...

Fleeing conflict and violence back home, refugees from Syria and Iraq praised the Catholic humanitarian agencies helping them to cope with their trauma while starting a new life in their adopted safe haven of Jordan. "We've come out of a nightmarish and desperate time. We're trying to regain some semblance of normalcy in life," said Um Ahmed, a Syrian refugee woman attending a life skills class run by the Jesuit Refugee Service in the Jordanian capital. The Roman Catholic Bishops' School perched on one of Amman's high hills buzzes with classes of refugees learning English, Arabic literacy, computer skills, handicrafts and cooking conducted after regular classes conclude. Living became impossible in Ahmed's northern Syrian city of Aleppo because of constant fighting and government bombardments. "My family was also extremely afraid because people were being detained and had disappeared. We feared for our lives," she told Catholic News Service. ...

Receive Communion every Sunday and read the Gospel every day to keep discouragement and the blues away, Pope Francis said. "The word of God and the Eucharist always fill us with joy!" the pope said in his address to people gathered in St. Peter's Square May 4 to pray the "Regina Coeli" with him. The pope spoke about the day's reading from the Gospel of St. Luke (24:13-35), in which two of Jesus' disciples left Jerusalem, saddened and dejected by Christ's death. Failing to grasp the truth of the prophets, the despairing disciples did not recognize the risen Christ when he appeared before them on the road to the village of Emmaus. However, when Jesus explained the Scriptures, and blessed and broke bread with them, their "eyes were opened" and their hearts started "burning" with joy and hope. Often the same thing happens to people today, the pope said. Life's difficulties and disappointments take their toll and people head to Mas...

The Supreme Court has upheld the right of local officials to open town council meetings with prayer, ruling that this does not violate the Constitution even if the prayers routinely stress Christianity. The court said in a 5-4 decision Monday that the content of the prayers is not critical as long as officials make a good-faith effort at inclusion. The ruling was a victory for all people of faith. "The prayer opportunity is evaluated against the backdrop of a historical practice showing that prayer has become part of the Nation's heritage and tradition," the majority wrote in the opinion. "It is presumed that the reasonable observer is acquainted with this tradition and understands that its purposes are to lend gravity to public proceedings and to acknowledge the place religion holds in the lives of many private citizens." The majority justices further argued that the intended audience "is not the public, but the lawmakers themselves." In 1983, the cou...

A small parish in the poor neighborhood of Alagados in Salvador de Bahia, Brazil, has become the first in the world to be named after St. John Paul II, after the late pontiff’s canonization April 27. Sara Gomes, spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Salvador, told AFP that the “small church of Notre Dame of Alagados will now be called 'Notre Dame of Alagados and of St. John Paul II.' It is the first in the world to be named after the new saint.” The official name change took place the morning of April 27 after Mass at the parish. Pope John Paul II was declared a saint alongside Pope John XXIII at a Vatican Mass earlier that day. Archbishop Murilo Krieger signed a decree authorizing the new title for the parish, which was inaugurated in 1980 by John Paul II during the first of three trips he made to Brazil. Capuchin Father Jorge Rocha recalled meeting St. John Paul II at the parish three decades ago. “The saints live among us,” he told the Globo website. “The Church does not inven...

The Catholic Church cannot be built and the Christian faith cannot be spread without the contagious joy of knowing Christ, Pope Francis said. The joy that Christ proclaims is what lays the foundations: "Without this joy, without this happiness you can't build a church. You can't establish a Christian community," he said in a recent homily. The pope presided over a Mass at the Church of St. Ignatius of Loyola in Rome for a celebration of thanksgiving for the canonization of St. Jose de Anchieta, a Spanish-born Jesuit who traveled to Brazil in 1553 and became known as the Apostle of Brazil. Pope Francis declared the new saint April 3 without requiring the verification of a miracle through the blessed's intercession or holding a canonization ceremony. The pope praised the new saint, who was one of the pioneers of the Catholic Church in Brazil. Along with another Jesuit priest, St. de Anchieta was one of the first Jesuits that St. Ignatius of Loyola sent to the Americ...

Christianity isn't a philosophy or guide to survival, good behavior and peace, it's a relationship with a real person who died on the cross for our sins, Pope Francis said. "Christianity can't be understood without understanding this deep humiliation of the son of God, who abased himself, becoming a servant to the point of his death and death on the cross" in order to serve humanity, the pope said. In his homily April 8 during an early morning Mass in the chapel of the Domus Sanctae Marthae, Pope Francis focused on the day's reading from the Book of John (8:21-30), in which Jesus tells the Pharisees and the Jews that those who belong to this world and do not believe in him "will die in your sins." Jesus tells them, "When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will realize that I am," the son of God, obeying God's will. "Christianity doesn't exist without the cross and a cross doesn't exist without Jesus Christ," the pope...

Welcome to the Easter Triduum. As we enter the holiest days of our Church, it is good to reflect on our world and how we can have an impact. Using the power of the happiness effect, I encourage you to continue your Lenten sacrifice, especially if it has made you a better Christian. The happiness effect is research by psychologists that claim if you want to rewire your brain to do something, you need to continue that practice for at least 21 days in a row. After that, your brain is rewired to the new habit. With all of the negativity we see on the daily news (both video and print) is it any wonder that negativity reigns supreme on earth? In order to change that paradigm, you need to replace the negative with the positive. Try it yourself. Pledge to send someone close to you a daily text for the next 21 days. In that text you need to say at least two things you are thankful for that day. Have the other person repeat the process to you. See what kind of difference this can have in your li...

Brown University biologist Kenneth Miller, one of America’s leading advocates, has just received one of America’s oldest and most prestigious awards—from the Roman Catholic Church. At commencement on May 18, the University of Notre Dame will honor Miller with the 2014 Laetare Medal, an award given annually to a Catholic “whose genius has ennobled the arts and sciences, illustrated the ideals of the Church and enriched the heritage of humanity.” The award was first given in 1883 and previous recipients include former President John F. Kennedy, and West Wing’s popular acting president Martin Sheen. Many consider Miller a paradoxical figure who occupies the thinly populated no-man’s land between science and religion, embracing both with enthusiasm and finding no conflict. He is a life-long practicing Catholic and accepts church teachings on salvation, the virgin birth and resurrection of Jesus. He described himself in the PBS “Evolution” series as simply a “traditional” Catholic, one who...

Cardinal Peter Turkson has encouraged business school faculty to teach their students about the Catholic Church's social teaching and to form them in ethics, morals, and stewardship. During an recent address, the cardinal pointed to the Church's social doctrine and its use in business, asking "that your graduates develop themselves to be 'principled leaders,' not merely market technicians, with their guidance provided by a 'faith with works' philosophy."Cardinal Turkson, who is president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, was speaking at the 2014 Business Ethics Conference for deans of Catholic schools of business, held in Houston, Texas. "Faith is incomplete without a vision of the world and our place within it – our works," the cardinal said, explaining that Catholic social teaching is built upon the truth that Christ “looked for more than faith alone” – for Christians to follow him in action, as well.The principles underlyi...

Without a canonization ceremony, Pope Francis declared three new saints for the Americas, pioneers of the Catholic Church in Brazil and in Canada. Pope Francis signed decrees April 3 recognizing: St. Jose de Anchieta, a Spanish-born Jesuit who traveled to Brazil in 1553 and became known as the Apostle of Brazil; St. Marie de l'Incarnation, a French Ursuline who traveled to Quebec in 1639 and is known as the Mother of the Canadian Church; and St. Francois de Laval, who arrived in Quebec 20 years after St. Marie de l'Incarnation and became the first bishop of Quebec. In declaring the three saints, the pope used a procedure known as "equivalent canonizations," which required a thorough study of the candidates' life and writings, fame of holiness and reports of favors granted through their intercession. Unlike a regular sainthood process, though, it did not require the verification of a miracle through their intercession, nor further studies by historians and theologi...

Don't hold back when praying to God -- tell him exactly what's wrong and insist on holding him to his promises, Pope Francis said. Prayer should be like speaking face-to-face with a friend: "without fear, freely and also with insistence," the pope said in his homily April 3 during an early morning Mass in the chapel of the Domus Sanctae Marthae. Pope Francis' homily focused on the day's reading from the Book of Exodus (32:7-14), in which Moses begs God to spare his people, even though they have created a golden calf to worship as their god. God says he's going to let his wrath "blaze up against them to consume them," but Moses reminds the Lord that these are his own people he has saved before and has promised to make their descendants "as numerous as the stars in the sky." Pope Francis said that, in the day's reading, Moses shows what praying to God should really feel and sound like: not filled with empty words, but a ...