BIG C CATHOLICS

Please remember the Holy Father Pope Francis' intentions in prayer throughout the month of June: National Leaders That national leaders may firmly commit themselves to ending the arms trade, which victimizes so many innocent people. Urgent Intention - Peace and Healing May the Holy Spirit grant peace to the entire world. May He heal the wounds of war and terrorism, which most recently struck innocent civilians in London. Let us pray for the victims and their families.

Echoing the words of his predecessor, Blessed Pope Paul VI , about the nature of Christ and the Church He founded: "it comes as no surprise to the Church that she, no less than her divine Founder, is destined to be a 'sign of contradiction,'" Pope Francis said Wednesday that Jesus "was not one to adapt to the world," but came rather to transform it. Breitbart News has more on Pope Francis' remarks: "The gospel of Jesus Christ is an ongoing challenge to the world rather than a mirror of society, Francis suggested in his weekly General Audience before a crowd of tens of thousands gathered in Saint Peter’s Square. 'Jesus is not one to adapt to the world, tolerating that death, sadness, hatred and the moral destruction of the person should endure in it... Our God is not inert, but dreams of the transformation of the world, and He brought it about in the mystery of the Resurrection,' he said. [ ... ] As the 'world' embraces sam

On May 4, 2017, it was announced that His Holiness Pope Francis had approved the beatification of Venerable Father Solanus Casey (1870 – 1957), a priest and professed member of the Capuchin Franciscan Order of St. Joseph, who served in Detroit, Michigan. A miracle attributed to Casey’s intercession paved the way for his beatification. Detroit's Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron, reflected on the decree : The beatification of Father Solanus Casey is an incomparable grace for the Church in the Archdiocese of Detroit and for the whole community of Southeast Michigan. He is an inspiration to all us Catholics – and to all – of the power of grace to transform one’s life. Venerable Solanus Casey was born, Bernie Francis Casey, in 1870, in Oak Grove Wisconsin. As a Franciscan Capuchin priest, he was known for his great faith, humility and role as spiritual counselor and intercessor. After holding numerous jobs, (the last of which he witnessed a woman’s brutal murder) he answered a call t

His Holiness, Pope Francis, has approved the second miracle needed to canonize Blessed Francisco and Jacinta Marto, two of the shepherd children who witnessed the apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima.The canonization Mass will be celebrated on May 13th, when the pope visits Portugal in honor of the 100th anniversary of the apparitions. Blessed Francisco and Jacinta Marto are the youngest non-martyrs to be beatified in the Church's history. Below is an earlier post about their witness. ___________________________________________________ Between May 13, and October 13, 1917, three children, Portuguese shepherds from Aljustrel, received apparitions of Our Lady at Cova da Iria, near Fatima, a city 110 miles north of Lisbon. At that time, Europe was involved in an extremely bloody war. Portugal itself was enduring political turmoil, having overthrown its monarchy in 1910; the government disbanded religious organizations soon after. At the first appearance, Mary asked the children

(For English subtitles click the closed caption icon on the lower right of the video.) Via the TED website: A single individual is enough for hope to exist, and that individual can be you, says His Holiness Pope Francis in this searing TED Talk delivered directly from Vatican City. In a hopeful message to people of all faiths, to those who have power as well as those who don't, the spiritual leader provides illuminating commentary on the world as we currently find it and calls for equality, solidarity and tenderness to prevail. "Let us help each other, all together, to remember that the 'other' is not a statistic, or a number," he says. "We all need each other."

Please remember the Holy Father Pope Francis' intentions in prayer throughout the month of May: Christians in Africa That Christians in Africa, in imitation of the Merciful Jesus, may give prophetic witness to reconciliation, justice, and peace. Urgent Intention - Priestly Vocations  Led by the Spirit for Mission - May he give us priests enamored of the Gospel, close to all their brothers and sisters, living signs of God’s merciful love.

Douglas Farrow, the Kennedy Smith Chair in Catholic Studies at McGill University, writing for First Things last month , asks whether the papacy of Pope Francis is driving the Church toward schism. The confusion surrounding Amoris Laetitia has resulted in a diversity of understandings based upon the subsidiarity judgment of individual priest and prelates. Seeking clarity, four cardinals issued a dubia asking the Holy Father to answer questions about his post-synod apostolic exhortation. Pope Francis has yet to answer the dubia. Consequently, prelates worldwide have interpreted Amoris in radically different ways . Farrow observes, "The trauma of the two synods on the family, which led to Amoris and to the dubia, is a trauma for which Francis himself is largely responsible." "Actually, very little one hears from the Vatican these days reassures." Farrow continues. "This leaves those of us who are struggling with “discernment of situations” (to use the p

Please remember the Holy Father Pope Francis' intentions in prayer throughout the month of April: Young People  That young people may respond generously to their vocations and seriously consider offering themselves to God in the priesthood or consecrated life. Urgent Intention - Landslide Victims/Peace  Victims of the landslide in Colombia and peace in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Venezuela, and Paraguay.

March 24th, is the optional memorial of Blessed Oscar Romero. When Monsignor Romero was installed as Archbishop of San Salvador, El Salvador in February 1977, he was thrust into a tumultuous situation. A military coup in October 1979 led to a gruesome, twelve-year civil war. These events were precipitated by the great disparity between a small number of powerful, wealthy families – who were backed by local politicians and the military, and the rest of El Salvador’s citizens. Many people suffered extreme poverty. Laborers worked for minimal pay for wealthy landowners, yet they could not hope to obtain land for themselves. The military terrorized the people in order to ensure that the families of affluence held on to their land and wealth, so as to maintain their powerful political influence. The Catholic Church became a target when some clergy began to defend the poor. In response to these injustices, some Salvadorans took up arms and fought against the military. While some Latin A

On March 30th, 2017, canon lawyers, theologians and scholars will attend a first of its kind colloquium titled: " The Pope's Deposition, Theological Sites - Canonical Models - Constitutional Issues ". The two day gathering at the University of Paris will discuss a subject that has never been the topic of a Catholic conference previously, how to depose a heretical pontiff. The colloquium seeks to examine "the mechanisms that are built into the Catholic Church for dealing with a pope who openly teaches falsehood." LifeSiteNews has more on the upcoming event : The conference includes 15 speakers who will be giving a range of talks on the subject matter with titles such as "Conciliarism and the Deposition of a Pope Through the Prism of Gallicanism," "The Downfall of the Pope: Between Renunciation and Deposition," and "The Deposition of John XXII and Benedict XIII at Constance..." Those speaking at the conference include,"Prof

One longtime Catholic commentator says, in the most demonstrative of terms, that the papacy of Pope Francis is a disaster. In Phil Lawler's Op-Ed for Catholic Culture he writes: For over 20 years now, writing daily about the news from the Vatican, I have tried to be honest in my assessment of papal statements and gestures. I sometimes criticized St. John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI, when I thought that their actions were imprudent. But never did it cross my mind that either of those Popes posed any danger to the integrity of the Catholic faith. Looking back much further across Church history, I realize that there have been bad Popes: men whose personal actions were motivated by greed and jealousy and lust for power and just plain lust. But has there ever before been a Roman Pontiff who showed such disdain for what the Church has always taught and believed and practiced—on such bedrock issues as the nature of marriage and of the Eucharist? Pope Francis has sparked controvers

Please remember the Holy Father Pope Francis' intentions in prayer throughout the month of March: Support for Persecuted Christians. That persecuted Christians may be supported by the prayers and material help of the whole Church. Urgent Intention  For the Pope: “I ask, please, for your prayers for me and my collaborators, who until Friday (3/10) will be on retreat.” -Pope Francis Beginning in 2017, the Pope will present one monthly intention, rather than two. Should an urgent need arise, an additional intention may be added.

Please remember the Holy Father Pope Francis' intentions in prayer throughout the month of February: Comfort for the Afflicted That all those who are afflicted, especially the poor, refugees, and marginalized, may find welcome and comfort in our communities. Beginning in 2017, the Pope will present one prepared prayer intention per month, rather than two. Should an urgent need arise, an additional intention may be added.

Here is the Holy Father's message to President Trump offering his prayers that God would grant him wisdom and strength, and America peace, concord and spiritual prosperity. The Honorable Donald Trump President of the United States of America The White House Washington, D.C. Upon your inauguration as the forty-fifth President of the United States of America, I offer you my cordial good wishes and the assurance of my prayers that Almighty God will grant you wisdom and strength in the exercise of your high office. At a time when our human family is beset by grave humanitarian crises demanding farsighted and united political responses, I pray that your decisions will be guided by the rich spiritual and ethical values that have shaped the history of the American people and your nation’s commitment to the advancement of human dignity and freedom worldwide. Under your leadership, may America’s stature continue to be measured above all by its concern for the poor, the outcast a

Fr. René J. Butler, M.S. Provincial Superior, La Salette Missionaries of North America Hartford, Connecticut ( Click here for today’s readings )  Homily originally delivered in 2014 “What is the meaning of this?” That is, if I recall correctly, the last line of the strangest play I ever saw: Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mamma’s Hung you in the Closet and I’m Feeling so Sad. It was definitely in the category of the Theater of the Absurd, which challenges our sense of the meaning of life. That question is open to at least two answers. 1.) Life has no meaning at all. (There are people who believe this sincerely.) Or 2. Life as most people live it has no meaning. We need to give it meaning. How? by creating something? helping people? leaving a legacy? As Christians we believe that the meaning of life comes not from ourselves alone, but also and especially from Jesus who restored to humanity what was lost by sin. In that sense the meaning of our life comes from the

We have posted several times on the persecution of Christians by ISIS in the Middle East and elsewhere. Our brothers and sisters in faith face intimidation, torture and death simply for being disciples of Christ. Last January, the Vatican condemned ISIS for razing Iraq's oldest Christian monastery . In March, four religious sisters of the Missionaries of Charity, along with 12 other people were murdered in Yemen after ISIS terrorists attacked a home for the sick and elderly. In July, French priest, Father Jacques Hamel was martyred while saying Mass . Other ISIS atrocities against Christians include: assassinations of Church leaders, mass murders and deportations, kidnapping for ransom, sexual enslavement and systematic rape of girls and women, forcible conversions to Islam, as well as, the destruction of Christian churches, monasteries, cemeteries, and artifacts. The violent genocide against Christians by militant Islamic extremists is met by some (particularly in the West)

Beginning in 2017, the Pope will present one prepared prayer intention per month, rather than two. A second prayer intention related to current events will be added each month. The urgent prayer request will mobilize prayer and attention to an immediate situation. We will add the second intention as soon as it is available. Christian Unity  That all Christians may be faithful to the Lord’s teaching by striving with prayer and fraternal charity to restore ecclesial communion and by collaborating to meet the challenges facing humanity.

Misericordia et Misera (Mercy and Misery) is Pope Francis' apostolic letter in which he concludes the Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy. He returns to the central theme contained in the document Amoris Laetitia , in asking the Church to "regard all human problems from the standpoint of God’s love, which never tires of welcoming and accompanying." The Holy Father explains how we are called to live out mercy in both its corporal and spiritual dimensions. No one is excluded from such charity as we strive to serve our brothers and sisters in imitation of Christ. He writes in part: "Now is the time to unleash the creativity of mercy, to bring about new undertakings, the fruit of grace. The Church today needs to tell of those ‘many other signs’ that Jesus worked, which ‘are not written’ (Jn 20:30), so that they too may be an eloquent expression of the fruitfulness of the love of Christ and the community that draws its life from Him. Two thousand years have passed,

From L-R: Sr. Anselm, Sr. Reginette, Sr. Judith, Sr. Marguerite. A petition on change.org to Zeid bin Ra'ad, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the President of India asks them to facilitate the release of Fr. Uzhunnalil, the Indian priest held by ISIS since March. The petition page states: "It has been 6 months since Father Tom Uzhunnalil's kidnapping in Yamen. Indian foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj (quoted by Asia News May 18) said 'Father Tom Uzhunnalil is alive and 'safe', and 'last efforts' are being made to 'ensure his release'. But he is still missing and we have no information about him. Father Tom was seized on the 4th of March after a militant group stormed into a home for the sick and elderly, run by the Blessed Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of the Charity in Aden, ... Four sisters of the religious congregation (pictured) and 12 lay people, were killed in the attack on the facility. (More on the attack her

Please remember the Holy Father Pope Francis' intentions in prayer through the month of December: Universal: End to Child-Soldiers That the scandal of child-soldiers may be eliminated the world over. Evangelization: Europe That the peoples of Europe may rediscover the beauty, goodness, and truth of the Gospel which gives joy and hope to life.