COLLECTION OF CATHOLIC PRAYERS ETC.
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis’ condition remained “critical” the evening of Feb. 23, his doctors said, with blood tests showing “initial, mild renal failure, at present under control.” The pope has had “no further respiratory crisis since last night,” said the medical bulletin published by the Vatican, but it said he was continuing to…
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — “Being ordained is not an ascent but a descent, whereby we make ourselves small, lower ourselves and divest ourselves,” Pope Francis said in a message to 23 men from eight countries, including three from the United States, who were ordained permanent deacons in St. Peter’s Basilica. The Feb. 23 ordination Mass…
Read More “Deacons are called to selflessness, men ordained at Jubilee Mass are told” »
St. Polycarp was born around 69 AD and was a disciple of St. John the Apostle. As Bishop of Smyrna, he guided the early Church with wisdom, defending the faith against heresies and strengthening Christian communities facing persecution. He traveled to Rome to settle disputes on Church practices, always seeking unity among believers. In 155…
St. Polycarp was born around 69 AD and was a disciple of St. John the Apostle. As Bishop of Smyrna, he guided the early Church with wisdom, defending the faith against heresies and strengthening Christian communities facing persecution. He traveled to Rome to settle disputes on Church practices, always seeking unity among believers. In 155…
Reading I 1 Samuel 26:2, 7-9, 12-13, 22-23 In those days, Saul went down to the desert of Ziph with three thousand picked men of Israel, to search for David in the desert of Ziph. So David and Abishai went among Saul’s soldiers by night and found Saul lying asleep within the barricade, with his…
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis experienced “an asthmatic respiratory crisis of prolonged magnitude, which also required the use of oxygen at high flows” Feb. 22, said the daily medical bulletin released by the Vatican. In addition to needing more oxygen, which was administered through a nasal cannula, the bulletin said that the 88-year-old pope…
Read More “Pope has respiratory ‘crisis,’ doctors say ‘prognosis reserved’” »
The Chair of Saint Peter the Apostle is a feast that celebrates the authority and mission given by Christ to St. Peter and his successors. It symbolizes the unity of the Church under the Pope, the Bishop of Rome, who continues Peter’s role as the visible head of the Church on earth. The feast, observed…
Reading 1 1 Peter 5:1-4 Beloved: I exhort the presbyters among you, as a fellow presbyter and witness to the sufferings of Christ and one who has a share in the glory to be revealed. Tend the flock of God in your midst, overseeing not by constraint but willingly, as God would have it, not…
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — While Pope Francis’ life is not in immediate danger, the level of multiple infections in his lungs means he is not completely “out of danger,” said Dr. Sergio Alfieri, director of medical and surgical sciences at Rome’s Gemelli hospital. The biggest risk he faces is sepsis, that is, if the infection…
Read More “Pope’s chronic lung condition plus infection are serious, doctors say” »
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — On his sixth full day in Rome’s Gemelli hospital, “the Holy Father’s clinical condition is improving slightly,” the Vatican said. He continues to be without fever and “his hemodynamic parameters continue to be stable,” said an evening bulletin Feb. 20. “Hemodynamic parameters” refer to a series of tests measuring cardiac output…
Read More “Pope continues showing ‘slight’ improvement, Vatican says” »