How Can We Be Sure That God Is Good?
Even when we remain convinced of God’s existence, there are times when we are tempted to doubt His goodness. In these dark moments, our cry is similar to that of the psalmist: “Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has he in anger shut up his compassion? ... It is my grief that the right hand of the Most High has changed.” Particularly when we experience deep suffering...
Who We Are, Sophia’s Pitch, and Made in China...
One of the stories we have been tracking over the past few years is a movement in Europe, mostly centered in the Low Countries, in which Catholics have been suing the Church to erase their names from baptismal registers. As Luke noted in Starting Seven yesterday — and if you aren’t getting Starting Seven, I pity you — the advocate general at the European Court of Justice issued an opinion stating that everyone has
7 Memorable Moments From Fulton Sheen’s Beatification...
Seven days out from the beatification of Blessed Fulton Sheen, the afterglow of the marvelous occasion remains. Reporting on the man and the ceremony was comprehensive, yet particular aspects of the events in St. Louis and Peoria seem to me to be worth highlighting. I propose seven vignettes, organized in honor of Blessed Fulton’s preaching of the Seven Last Words from the Cross, which he did for 58 years on Good Friday.
The One World Leader We Can All Look Up To...
Living on the Vine: A Reflection on the Upcoming 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time...
In today’s Gospel Jesus returns to the Old Testament symbol of the vineyard to teach about Israel, the Church, and the kingdom of God. And the symbolism of today’s First Reading and Psalm is readily understood. God is the owner and the house of Israel is the vineyard. A cherished vine, Israel was plucked from Egypt and transplanted in a fertile land specially spaded and prepared by God, hedged about by the city walls of Jerusalem...
6 Basic Facts and Clarifications About the Angels...
Angels are not human and never have been human. Human beings never become angels or “earn wings.” Angels are persons, but persons of pure spirit. Hence they have no designation as either male or female. Since we have to envision them somehow, though, it is not wrong that we portray them with masculine or feminine qualities. But it is important to remember that they transcend any such distinction.
Notre Dame Consecrated to Sacred Heart for First Time in University’s 184-Year History...
Notre Dame is no stranger to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The university was founded by a religious order with a particular devotion to the Sacred Heart (the Congregation of Holy Cross), its on-campus basilica is named accordingly, and a former campus cobbler is currently being considered for canonization in part because of his miracle-working intercession to the Sacred Heart.
‘Master, I Want to See’: How True Participation in Mass Makes You Like God...
Insist on Jimmy Lai’s Release...
It’s hard to bear yourself at the foot of the cross. And it’s hard to recognize your own shortcomings, but it’s also the only thing that helps.” Claire Lai had been reading Fulton J. Sheen, archbishop and trailblazing American TV host, who is advancing on the road to sainthood. She brought up the scriptural image and quote from Sheen in an interview earlier this year...
This Sunday, Jesus Sums Up You and Your Fellow Catholics In a Very Short Parable...
50,000 Pilgrims Gather in St. Louis for Beatification of Fulton Sheen...
Philly Riots, the News, and Bible ‘Workout’ Trax...
10 Things You Should Know About Matthew’s Gospel...
Priest Describes Tearful ‘Spiritual Experience’ During Consecration After Video Goes Viral Online...
St. Peter’s Basilica Completes Mosaic Restoration of Ornate Chapel Dome...
God’s Glory Is Revealed on the Cross...
Pope Leo XIV Appoints Newark Auxiliary Bishop to Diocese of Metuchen, New Jersey...
This Sunday, Christ Will Arrive For His Vineyard Today. Will You Receive Him?
Sunday’s Gospel reading comes from Matthew Chapter 21, after the Entry into Jerusalem. It begins by saying, “Jesus said to the chief priests and elders of the people, ‘Hear another parable.’” Jesus tells a story about a landowner’s son being killed by tenants at his vineyard. Given the time and place of the story, it is only about the significance of his death; its claim about his divinity helps lead to his death...
‘Put Us to Work’: How 6 Young Men With Down Syndrome Served Pope Leo XIV in Paris...
As hundreds of thousands of voices fell silent across Place de la Concorde in Paris on Sept. 26 for the start of Mass with Pope Leo XIV, 22-year-old Maxime took his place near the altar, completely in his element. To anyone watching, he was simply a confident altar server handling his duties, but to those who know him best, he is the self-proclaimed “altar boy manager,” a title he takes to heart.
Last Words Can Tell You a Lot About a Person...
St. Thérèse of Lisieux, whose feast day is today. On September 30, 1897, at 24 years old and suffocating from tuberculosis, she fixed her eyes on the crucifix and said, “Oh! I love him... My God, I love you!” In 1997, St. John Paul II named Thérèse a Doctor of the Church. It’s a title the Church has given to only 38 saints in 2,000 years...
Pilgrimage of Dignity, the News, and Head-to-Head Combat...
The Roman Pontiff is so back. He’s back from France, I mean. Pope Leo just spent the weekend on a Franco-pilgrimage that’s making headlines around the world. It was a pilgrimage of human dignity. During his few days in France, Leo met with abuse victims. He told the world that life means more than avoiding suffering, and that euthanasia is not compassion...
Was This Inevitable? Narnia Wars 2027...
During a fistfight, young David Bowie suffered an injury to his left eye, leaving its pupil permanently wide open, with one blue eye looking radically different than the other. Bowie didn’t have heterochromia – different-colored eyes. But his mysterious gaze was a key trait of Ziggy Stardust, his genderbending, rainbow-hued stage persona mixing glitter, bright lipstick, platform shoes and various female fashion trends.
‘This Is Only the Beginning’: Pope Leo’s Visit Electrifies France...
A Setback for the U.S. Catholic Witness to Religious Freedom in China...
Religious freedom and academic freedom suffered a blow this past summer when Purdue sociologist Fenggang Yang was disinvited from delivering the keynote address at the conference of the U.S.-China Catholic Association at the University of St. Thomas in Houston, Texas. The story is excellently documented in the National Catholic Register.
The Humble Path: A Reflection on the 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time...
This Sunday, Christianity Is Like Work Before It Is Like a Party...
Lindsay Clancy or Mother Teresa?
The last few days have brought us both the mistrial of Lindsay Clancy and the feast of Mother Teresa (Sept 5). Curiously, each represents a different direction: the path of the feminist or the Christian. The feminist embodies a life of glamorized victimhood, control, and sterility, while the second embodies the life of a woman deeply in love with Christ who has poured herself out fruitfully for others.
Sainthood Cause for Tom Vander Woude, Virginia Farmer Who Saved His Son’s Life, Moves Forward...
Vatican Latin Mass Permissions Steady Across Papal Transition...
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The Complete List of Popes
- St. Peter (32-67)
- St. Linus (67-76)
- St. Anacletus (Cletus) (76-88)
- St. Clement I (88-97)
- St. Evaristus (97-105)
- St. Alexander I (105-115)
- St. Sixtus I (115-125)
- St. Telesphorus (125-136)
- St. Hyginus (136-140)
- St. Pius I (140-155)
- St. Anicetus (155-166)
- St. Soter (166-175)
- St. Eleutherius (175-189)
- St. Victor I (189-199)
- St. Zephyrinus (199-217)
- St. Callistus I (217-22)
- St. Urban I (222-30)
- St. Pontian (230-35)
- St. Anterus (235-36)
- St. Fabian (236-50)
- St. Cornelius (251-53)
- St. Lucius I (253-54)
- St. Stephen I (254-257)
- St. Sixtus II (257-258)
- St. Dionysius (260-268)
- St. Felix I (269-274)
- St. Eutychian (275-283)
- St. Caius (283-296)
- St. Marcellinus (296-304)
- St. Marcellus I (308-309)
- St. Eusebius (309 or 310)
- St. Miltiades (311-14)
- St. Sylvester I (314-35)
- St. Marcus (336)
- St. Julius I (337-52)
- Liberius (352-66)
- St. Damasus I (366-84)
- St. Siricius (384-99)
- St. Anastasius I (399-401)
- St. Innocent I (401-17)
- St. Zosimus (417-18)
- St. Boniface I (418-22)
- St. Celestine I (422-32)
- St. Sixtus III (432-40)
- St. Leo I (the Great) (440-61)
- St. Hilarius (461-68)
- St. Simplicius (468-83)
- St. Felix III (II) (483-92)
- St. Gelasius I (492-96)
- Anastasius II (496-98)
- St. Symmachus (498-514)
- St. Hormisdas (514-23)
- St. John I (523-26)
- St. Felix IV (III) (526-30)
- Boniface II (530-32)
- John II (533-35)
- St. Agapetus I (535-36)
- St. Silverius (536-37)
- Vigilius (537-55)
- Pelagius I (556-61)
- John III (561-74)
- Benedict I (575-79)
- Pelagius II (579-90)
- St. Gregory I (the Great) (590-604)
- Sabinian (604-606)
- Boniface III (607)
- St. Boniface IV (608-15)
- St. Deusdedit (Adeodatus I) (615-18)
- Boniface V (619-25)
- Honorius I (625-38)
- Severinus (640)
- John IV (640-42)
- Theodore I (642-49)
- St. Martin I (649-55)
- St. Eugene I (655-57)
- St. Vitalian (657-72)
- Adeodatus (II) (672-76)
- Donus (676-78)
- St. Agatho (678-81)
- St. Leo II (682-83)
- St. Benedict II (684-85)
- John V (685-86)
- Conon (686-87)
- St. Sergius I (687-701)
- John VI (701-05)
- John VII (705-07)
- Sisinnius (708)
- Constantine (708-15)
- St. Gregory II (715-31)
- St. Gregory III (731-41)
- St. Zachary (741-52)
- Stephen II (III) (752-57)
- St. Paul I (757-67)
- Stephen III (IV) (767-72)
- Adrian I (772-95)
- St. Leo III (795-816)
- Stephen IV (V) (816-17)
- St. Paschal I (817-24)
- Eugene II (824-27)
- Valentine (827)
- Gregory IV (827-44)
- Sergius II (844-47)
- St. Leo IV (847-55)
- Benedict III (855-58)
- St. Nicholas I (the Great) (858-67)
- Adrian II (867-72)
- John VIII (872-82)
- Marinus I (882-84)
- St. Adrian III (884-85)
- Stephen V (VI) (885-91)
- Formosus (891-96)
- Boniface VI (896)
- Stephen VI (VII) (896-97)
- Romanus (897)
- Theodore II (897)
- John IX (898-900)
- Benedict IV (900-03)
- Leo V (903)
- Sergius III (904-11)
- Anastasius III (911-13)
- Lando (913-14)
- John X (914-28)
- Leo VI (928)
- Stephen VIII (929-31)
- John XI (931-35)
- Leo VII (936-39)
- Stephen IX (939-42)
- Marinus II (942-46)
- Agapetus II (946-55)
- John XII (955-63)
- Leo VIII (963-64)
- Benedict V (964)
- John XIII (965-72)
- Benedict VI (973-74)
- Benedict VII (974-83)
- John XIV (983-84)
- John XV (985-96)
- Gregory V (996-99)
- Sylvester II (999-1003)
- John XVII (1003)
- John XVIII (1003-09)
- Sergius IV (1009-12)
- Benedict VIII (1012-24)
- John XIX (1024-32)
- Benedict IX (1032-45)
- Sylvester III (1045)
- Benedict IX (1045)
- Gregory VI (1045-46)
- Clement II (1046-47)
- Benedict IX (1047-48)
- Damasus II (1048)
- St. Leo IX (1049-54)
- Victor II (1055-57)
- Stephen X (1057-58)
- Nicholas II (1058-61)
- Alexander II (1061-73)
- St. Gregory VII (1073-85)
- Blessed Victor III (1086-87)
- Blessed Urban II (1088-99)
- Paschal II (1099-1118)
- Gelasius II (1118-19)
- Callistus II (1119-24)
- Honorius II (1124-30)
- Innocent II (1130-43)
- Celestine II (1143-44)
- Lucius II (1144-45)
- Blessed Eugene III (1145-53)
- Anastasius IV (1153-54)
- Adrian IV (1154-59)
- Alexander III (1159-81)
- Lucius III (1181-85)
- Urban III (1185-87)
- Gregory VIII (1187)
- Clement III (1187-91)
- Celestine III (1191-98)
- Innocent III (1198-1216)
- Honorius III (1216-27)
- Gregory IX (1227-41)
- Celestine IV (1241)
- Innocent IV (1243-54)
- Alexander IV (1254-61)
- Urban IV (1261-64)
- Clement IV (1265-68)
- Blessed Gregory X (1271-76)
- Blessed Innocent V (1276)
- Adrian V (1276)
- John XXI (1276-77)
- Nicholas III (1277-80)
- Martin IV (1281-85)
- Honorius IV (1285-87)
- Nicholas IV (1288-92)
- St. Celestine V (1294)
- Boniface VIII (1294-1303)
- Blessed Benedict XI (1303-04)
- Clement V (1305-14)
- John XXII (1316-34)
- Benedict XII (1334-42)
- Clement VI (1342-52)
- Innocent VI (1352-62)
- Blessed Urban V (1362-70)
- Gregory XI (1370-78)
- Urban VI (1378-89)
- Boniface IX (1389-1404)
- Innocent VII (1404-06)
- Gregory XII (1406-15)
- Martin V (1417-31)
- Eugene IV (1431-47)
- Nicholas V (1447-55)
- Callistus III (1455-58)
- Pius II (1458-64)
- Paul II (1464-71)
- Sixtus IV (1471-84)
- Innocent VIII (1484-92)
- Alexander VI (1492-1503)
- Pius III (1503)
- Julius II (1503-13)
- Leo X (1513-21)
- Adrian VI (1522-23)
- Clement VII (1523-34)
- Paul III (1534-49)
- Julius III (1550-55)
- Marcellus II (1555)
- Paul IV (1555-59)
- Pius IV (1559-65)
- St. Pius V (1566-72)
- Gregory XIII (1572-85)
- Sixtus V (1585-90)
- Urban VII (1590)
- Gregory XIV (1590-91)
- Innocent IX (1591)
- Clement VIII (1592-1605)
- Leo XI (1605)
- Paul V (1605-21)
- Gregory XV (1621-23)
- Urban VIII (1623-44)
- Innocent X (1644-55)
- Alexander VII (1655-67)
- Clement IX (1667-69)
- Clement X (1670-76)
- Blessed Innocent XI (1676-89)
- Alexander VIII (1689-91)
- Innocent XII (1691-1700)
- Clement XI (1700-21)
- Innocent XIII (1721-24)
- Benedict XIII (1724-30)
- Clement XII (1730-40)
- Benedict XIV (1740-58)
- Clement XIII (1758-69)
- Clement XIV (1769-74)
- Pius VI (1775-99)
- Pius VII (1800-23)
- Leo XII (1823-29)
- Pius VIII (1829-30)
- Gregory XVI (1831-46)
- Blessed Pius IX (1846-78)
- Leo XIII (1878-1903)
- St. Pius X (1903-14)
- Benedict XV (1914-22)
- Pius XI (1922-39)
- Pius XII (1939-58)
- St. John XXIII (1958-63)
- St. Paul VI (1963-78)
- John Paul I (1978)
- St. John Paul II (1978-2005)
- Benedict XVI (2005-2013)
- Francis (2013-2025)
- Leo XIV (2025—)