Loading
Latest columns
May 02, 2013
How the Church built western sacred music: part three
By Sr. Joan L. Roccasalvo, C.S.J.

The music of Western civilization was born in the Catholic Church. Adapted from mid-eastern chants, it began with Pope St. Sylvester I (4th century), who founded a school of choristers. It was then supervised by Pope St. Damasus (d 384) and Leo the Great (d 461). Pope St. Gregory (d 604), after whom plainchant was named, collected, adapted, and codified the many chants for liturgy. Benedictine monks and nuns taught the laity to sing plainchant. Today, hundreds of chant manuscripts are...

(Read more)

May 02, 2013
The President needs a history lesson
By Robert R. Reilly

In the spring of 1983, President Ronald Reagan did something highly unusual for a sitting president. He wrote and published an unsolicited article in "The Human Life Review," titled "Abortion and the Conscience of the Nation." In it, he denounced the "raw judicial power" by which the Supreme Court had dispossessed the unborn of their inalienable right to life in the Roe v. Wade decision, and mourned the some 15 million lives that had been snuffed out by abortion by that time.

On April 26,...

(Read more)

Our news outlets are not known for their squeamish attitude toward violence. On the contrary, reporters are often criticized for fixating on violence, exploiting it as fodder for the 24-hour news cycle.

We rarely see journalists shying away from a gruesome case. Yet, the media has been reluctant to cover the trial of Dr. Kermit Gosnell – a Philadelphia abortionist accused of committing unspeakable crimes at his “Women’s Medical Center.”

Already indicted by a grand jury, Gosnell is...

(Read more)

April 30, 2013
The Gosnell story and its lessons
By Francis Maier

Some stories, no matter how unsettling, just can't be ignored – even when some people are determined to look away.

The murder trial of Philadelphia abortionist Kermit Gosnell will soon go to jury. And like every other criminally accused person under the law, Gosnell is innocent until proven guilty. Whatever the verdict though, there's no ambiguity about the kind of business he ran at his West Philadelphia “Women's Medical Center” – an abortion clinic that critics have likened to a...

(Read more)

April 29, 2013
An Iron Lady of Siena
By Jason Godin

Among the many admirable accolades that the late Margaret Thatcher accumulated over 30 years in public life, perhaps none looms larger or longer in memory than her nickname. In January 1976, a Soviet military officer used the phrase “Iron Lady” to profile Thatcher. But words intended only to alarm old men in the Politburo instead captivated audiences around the world to a broader fact – here was a woman who could (and eventually would) defeat a Cold War adversary, and wouldn’t...

(Read more)

April 26, 2013
Israel's past and America's future
By Joe Tremblay

America can learn something from the nation of Israel. In the Old Testament we see that when the Israelites drifted away from God and hence fell into idolatry, loose living was but the sad result. As such, liberty under God’s law turned into license in the absence of his law. Historian, William Durant, once said that when liberty turns to license, dictatorship is near. In fact, the last verse of the book of Judges indicates that the Hebrews grew weary of God’s law and authority. Indeed,...

(Read more)

April 25, 2013
Mass of Christian Burial: Ecclesial crisis on display
By Louie Verrecchio

Make no mistake about it: The Church in our day is in the midst of a terrible, and in many ways unprecedented, crisis of faith. This objective reality, however, is largely lost on the overwhelming majority of Catholics, both clerical and otherwise.

While some Catholics, with deliberate intent, actively promote the various agendas that underlie the situation, others simply choose to downplay the magnitude of the crisis out of sheer weakness, as acknowledging the problem suggests a...

(Read more)

April 25, 2013
The Boston bombings and their aftermath
By Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M., Cap.

Violence and grief in the Boston area have rightly dominated our news media for the past week. The latest terrorist bloodshed is not at all senseless. It’s the work of calculated malice. Innocent people, including children, have paid the price for other people’s hatred. Our most important task right now is to pray for the victims and their families.

God exists, and God can heal even the worst suffering, despite every human attempt to ignore him and every terrible sin that seems to...

(Read more)

April 24, 2013
Unemployment and St. Joseph the Worker
By Sr. Joan L. Roccasalvo, C.S.J.

In 1955, Pope Pius XII designated May 1st as the feast of St. Joseph the Worker to counter two other celebrations in the Northern Hemisphere: the pagan and neo-pagan festivities ushering in spring and International Workers’ Day for unions, workers, and socialists. In most of these countries, May Day is an official holiday, and preparations are already underway for its festivities.

While Labor Day focuses on the value of both work and leisure, loss of employment and financial crisis can...

(Read more)

April 22, 2013
Boston solidarity
By Brian Caulfield

My 8-year-old son will receive his First Holy Communion next month, so I was struck with an overflowing sense of empathy when I saw the online image of the 8-year-old boy in his First Communion suit who was killed in the Boston Marathon bombing. That could have been my boy in the picture, dressed in a white tie and jacket, smiling innocently while standing outside the church, holding an art project with symbols of the sacrament – chalice, bread, host – very similar to the First...

(Read more)

« Previous page      Back to index     Next page »

RESOURCES »

Featured Videos

Heroic Newssub demo_Matt Williamson
Heroic Newssub demo_Matt Williamson
Denver women's clinic will offer natural, Catholic care
Interview Clips: Barbara Nicolosi speaks to CNA
US Cardinals press conference at North American College
Pope Benedict to retire to monastery inside Vatican City
Pope cites waning strength as reason for resignation
Hundreds convene in Denver to urge respect for life
New Orange bishop encourages Catholic unity in diversity
Chinese pro-life activist calls for reform, international attention
At Lincoln installation, Bishop Conley says holiness is success
Mother Cabrini shrine reopens in Chicago after a decade
Ordination of 33 deacons fills St. Peter's with joy
Cardinal says "Charity is the mother of all the virtues"
Augustine Institute expands evangelization effort with new campus
Bishops recall 'Way of St. James' as chance to trust in God
Los Angeles cathedral's newest chapel houses Guadalupe relic
Lay missionaries to the poor open new Denver headquarters
New Buffalo bishop stresses need for modern-day martyrs
Guadalupe message resounds at Los Angeles' massive Marian festival
Pastors of Aurora churches comfort, encourage parishioners
May
19

Liturgical Calendar

May 19, 2013

Pentecost Sunday

All readings:
Today »
This year »

Catholic Daily

Gospel of the Day

John 20,19-23

Gospel
Date
05/19/13
05/18/13
05/17/13

Daily Readings


First Reading:: Acts 2:1-11
Second Reading:: 1 Cor 12:3b-7, 12-13
Gospel:: Jn 20:19-23

Saint of the Day

St. Ives »

Saint
Date
05/19/13
05/17/13

Homily of the Day

John 20,19-23

Homily
Date
05/19/13
05/18/13
05/17/13

Ads by AdsLiveMedia.com

Ads by AdsLiveMedia.com
     HTML
Text only
Headlines
  

Follow us: