Pope Francis has declared the period between the recent Feast of the Immaculate Conception (December 8, 2015) until the Feast of Christ the King (November 20, 2016), the "Year of Mercy." Rooting the Church’s renewed focus on Divine Mercy in … [Read more...]
About The “Year of Mercy”
December 8, 2015 - November 20, 2016
The Synod’s End and an Advent Prayer Time for the Church
Pope Francis During Extraordinary Synod of Bishops; Advent wreath. The Synod on the Family, called by Pope Francis to address: “The vocation and mission of the family in the Church and the contemporary world,” has come to a close. There ha … [Read more...]
What a Catholic Education Owes Its Students
As our students—big and small—begin to return to school, it is good to be reminded of what a truly Catholic education owes its students. For most of human history, education was a private affair between (usually) a young boy and his tutor. I … [Read more...]
July Editorial: Interview with Dr. Janet Smith of the Sacred Heart Seminary in Detroit
Fr. Meconi: It is an honor to be with you. Your reflections on the beauty of Humanae Vitae, and the Church’s incessant teaching on the divine will for married love, have helped many come to see what Christian marriage really means. R … [Read more...]
On the Gift of Laughter
One of the oldest jokes for which we have evidence goes something like this: A slave owner returns to the man who had just sold him his most recent purchase. “That slave you sold me last week just died.” The man who sold him replied: “Hey, … [Read more...]
Dante, the World’s Second Greatest Poet
Sometime this month back in 1265, exactly 750 years ago, the World’s Second Greatest Poet was born in Florence, Dante Alighieri. Not many realize that Popes Benedict XV and Paul VI issued official Vatican statements lauding Dante for the u … [Read more...]
My Ways or Your Ways?
What do ISIS, the Chinese government, and many Catholics have in common? It begins like a bad joke, I know, but none of them allows Christ’s Church to carry out her mission fully. Reading the papers these past few weeks only confirms a c … [Read more...]
Revisiting the Rabbits
He said it. I wish he hadn’t said it, but he said it: “God gives you methods to be responsible. ... Some think that—excuse the word—that in order to be good Catholics, we have to be like rabbits. No.” Pope Francis’ unguarded line about an un … [Read more...]
The Holy Land
Spending the Christmas season in the Holy Land has made me much more sensitive to how communities are “ringing in” the New Year. As the date turned from 2014 to 2015, two very different calls for solidarity made the news. On the one hand, J … [Read more...]
Thanks from the Phillipines
Thank you very much for your much appreciated help to is priests in the busy parishes! More power to your Media Apostolate! Msgr. Felicito C Sison Archdiocese of San Fernando Pampanga Philippines … [Read more...]
Why God Becomes Human
The Advent and Christmas seasons are upon us. Like the reality itself, we Christians have to look more deeply to see the mystery beneath the glitter and the commotion. God has now descended into his creation to take up his rightful place as … [Read more...]
Reflections on God’s Providence
Pope Francis and the Synod on the Family
November always begins with our remembering what true life in Christ looks like—All Saints—and ends with our anticipation of a new chance at that same rejuvenation—Advent. In the Christian calendar, November is the month of transition: the l … [Read more...]
Holiness and Helmets
A monthly editorial will always lag a bit behind current affairs, especially these days, when most of us no longer get our headlines once a day from a morning newspaper, but off the internet every couple of minutes. Yet, these past few … [Read more...]
Pope Francis and Islam
...with all the headlines, and all the ugly truths surrounding ISIS, and other Islamic factions, how is a Christian to think of such a religion which is seemingly intent on destroying Christians and the Gospel of Jesus? Pope Francis … [Read more...]
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