-
Shooting in Vienna ‘apparent terrorist attack’
This story is developing and will continue to be updated. Click here for the latest. Exchanges of gunfire Monday night between police and unknown assailants in Vienna come after several days of apparently Islamist attacks and demonstrations against Catholics and Catholic churches in... Read more -
Purgatory is Based on a Promise of Jesus
I have blogged before on Purgatory. Here is a link to one of those blogs: Purgatory – Biblical and Reasonable. I have also written more extensively on its biblical roots here: PDF Document on Purgatory. On this Feast of All Souls, I want to reflect on Purgatory as the necessary... Read more -
Islamic State attack on Kabul University kills 22, wounds 22
An hours-long siege on Kabul University claimed by the Islamic State left at least 22 dead and 22 wounded Monday after two gunmen stormed the campus, took several students hostage and battled security forces for hours before the scene was cleared and all hostages were freed. The attack in... Read more -
Andrew Walther, president of EWTN News, remembered as servant of the Church after death on All Saints’ Day
Andrew Thomas Walther, president and chief operating officer of EWTN News, died Sunday evening in New Haven, Connecticut. Remembered foremost as a loving husband and father, in his life’s work he was dedicated to serving the Catholic Church and defending persecuted religious minorities... Read more -
8 Ways to honor the Holy Souls this November
For Catholics, November is the month of the Holy Souls in Purgatory. The Catechism teaches: “All who die in God’s grace and friendship but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death, they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness... Read more -
William Shakespeare and the Saints
When most of us think of Shakespeare we don’t immediately connect him with the saints. We might think of the play Sir Thomas More, on which he collaborated with other contemporary playwrights and which was banned during his lifetime for its volatile pro-Catholic... Read more -
Vatican Secretariat of State provides context of Pope Francis civil union remark
The Vatican’s Secretary of State has asked papal representatives to share with bishops some clarifications regarding comments on civil unions made by Pope Francis in a recently released documentary, according to the apostolic nuncio to Mexico. The clarifications explain that the pope’s... Read more -
Ninety-Nine and a Half Won’t Do—A Homily for the Feast of All Saints
Today is the Feast of All Saints. Some saints of the Church have a particular day on the calendar associated with them and are commonly recognized by name. Many more, though not as familiar to us, are still known by God and have been caught up with Him to glory. Today is their day, the day of... Read more -
Our vocation to holiness and the wondrous variety of the saints
Saint Augustine has referred to the Sermon on the Mount as the “charter of the whole Christian life.” The first part of the Sermon, the Beatitudes, is proclaimed at Mass on the Solemnity of All Saints. Pope Benedict XVI teaches that the Beatitudes, taken together like so many... Read more -
‘He lived the Beatitudes’: Mass of Thanksgiving for Blessed Michael McGivney
At the Nov. 1 Mass of Thanksgiving for newly beatified Father Michael McGivney, founder of the Knights of Columbus, Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore said McGivney provides a model for both priests and laypeople of how to “live the Beatitudes.” “Anyone aspiring to holiness will... Read more