COLLECTION OF CATHOLIC PRAYERS ETC.
Holy Mother Church exhorts us to rejoice on Laetare Sunday of the Lenten Season with these words, “Rejoice, Jerusalem, and all who love her. Be joyful, all who were in mourning; exult and be satisfied at her consoling breasts” (Is. 66:10-11). But how can we pause to rejoice when we are recalling our many sins,…
Do you remember Jesus’ mysterious prophecy about the “Sign of Jonah”? Here is Luke 11:29–32: When the crowds were increasing, [Jesus] began to say, “This generation is an evil generation; it seeks a sign, but no sign shall be given to it except the sign of Jonah. For as Jonah became a sign to the…
Reading 1 Numbers 21:4-9 From Mount Hor the children of Israel set out on the Red Sea road, to bypass the land of Edom. But with their patience worn out by the journey, the people complained against God and Moses, “Why have you brought us up from Egypt to die in this desert, where there…
WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) announced its decision not to renew the cooperative agreements with the federal government related to children’s services and refugee support. Citing the government’s suspension of the cooperative agreements to resettle refugees, Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, president of the USCCB explained how the government’s decisions have…
St. Julie (Julia) Billiart was born in 1751 and died in 1816. As a child, playing “school” was Julie’s favorite game. When she was sixteen, to help support her family, she began to teach “for real”. She sat on a haystack during the noon recess and told the biblical parables to the workers. Julie carried…
Read More “St. Julie Billiart: Saint of the Day for Tuesday, April 08, 2025” »
WASHINGTON – Bishop Chad W. Zielinski used to make pastoral visits using a snow machine and seaplane when he was bishop of Fairbanks, Alaska. As chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Subcommittee on Catholic Home Missions, he asks Catholics to consider the challenges faced by dioceses like Fairbanks and to give generously to the annual appeal…
Read More “Catholic Faithful Help to Sustain More than 70 Mission Dioceses in the United States” »
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, prefect of the Dicastery for the Service of Charity, was driving one of four ambulances donated to Ukraine with the help of U.S. Catholics. With Easter approaching, Pope Francis wanted to make a concrete gesture to show his closeness to “tormented Ukraine,” the dicastery said in a press…
Read More “Pope sends papal almoner to deliver ambulances funded by US Catholics” »
The 17th century was a time of immense expansion for the Catholic Church as missionaries set sail across uncharted lands, bringing the Gospel to distant peoples. These missionaries faced daunting challenges—hostile environments, cultural barriers, persecution, and often violent opposition. Yet, through it all, one source of strength remained constant: the Eucharist. More than a religious…
It is human nature to hold onto cherished memories. As a friend once pointed out to me, often we keep those memories close to our hearts through little “mementos” that remind us of past events. A vacation photo, for example, will be framed and placed on the mantle, calling to mind for us the wonderful…
Reading I Daniel 13:1-9, 15-17, 19-30, 33-62 or 13:41c-62 In Babylon there lived a man named Joakim, who married a very beautiful and God-fearing woman, Susanna, the daughter of Hilkiah; her pious parents had trained their daughter according to the law of Moses. Joakim was very rich; he had a garden near his house, and…