Solemnity of Pentecost, Year A

The lectionary readings for Pentecost Sunday, Year A
are taken from: the Acts of the Apostles, the first letter of
Paul to the Corinthians, and the gospel of John. Since this
is a special feast, there is a prose text or poetic text that
can be read or sung - a Sequence. It is also given in this page.
[Just click on the link on Solemnity of Pentecost above to get
to the page.] In the book of Acts, we read the story of the
descent of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles and Mary - arriving
and coming upon them like a strong, driving wind and with tongues
of fire resting on each of them.  Then in the letter of Paul
to the Corinthians, Paul teaches that the Holy Spirit gives
different gifts and ministries to each member of the body of
Christ.  Lastly, in the gospel of John, we read of one of the
resurrection appearances of Jesus to His apostles - which, in
this passage He breathed on them so that they would receive
the Holy Spirit. learn more

The Pentecost Event in Acts 2:1-11

The Pentecost event that we read in the book of Acts -
specifically chapter 2, verses 1-11, can be understood from
both a historical point of view and a spiritual point of view.
If we try to picture Galilee at the time of the apostles, we
can presume to see that it contained a mixed population of
different peoples and races.  Some of the disciples of Jesus
(outside the apostles) could have been from other races in the
Roman Empire.  Thus, interacting with them, the apostles may
have learned basic words and phrases that belonged to their tongue.
So, when the Holy Spirit came down upon the apostles and emboldened
them to speak of Jesus and His saving ministry, they had the gift
of courage to speak in that second or third language they learned
from interacting with their companion disciples.  This way of
understanding the Pentecost event considers the social and cultural
factors that may be have been a part of the event.  If we however
understand it from a purely spiritual point of view, then the gift
of tongues (speaking in different languages) is seen as a genuine
supernatural gift that the Holy Spirit has given the apostles, so
that the miraculous powers of God may continue to be felt by His
people so that they may acknowledge Him as Lord and Giver of Life.
learn more

“What Must We Do Brothers?” - Acts 2:38

When Peter and the apostles received the Holy Spirit at Pentecost,
they stood up before the people and preached a gospel of repentance
from sin and reconciliation with God.  The text of the Scripture
said that the people were “cut to the heart” - proving that the Word
of God is indeed a double-edged sword.  They asked Peter, “What
shall we do?” And Peter said to them, “Repent, and be baptized
every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of
your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”  The
people received the apostles’ word and had themselves baptized.  In
our modern times, we tend to place the blame on many other things
except the wrong use of our free will and freedom. Dr. Karl Menninger,
a famous psychologist who wrote the book, “Whatever Happened to Sin?”,
teaches us in his book that much of what we suffer in life is due to
our disregard of our sense of moral responsibility. If we listen to
the voice of God more through our consciences, and follow an ethical
standard that is genuinely Christian, we can learn how to use our
freedom and will wisely, prudently and according to the teachings of
Christ through the Church. learn more

Sharing and Witnessing to Christ of His Love

It is a truth that the world listens to witnesses more than to
teachers. This is evident in how many follow those who witness by
deed more than by word. When teachers teach what they know, some
of what they teach are not necessarily being lived out by them.
This holds true for many of us who teach whatever we know about. The
audience or student body who listens to teachers listen and acknowledge
the teacher’s expertise of the subject because the teacher is often a
professional and is well-trained to deliver what he was educated to
do as an educator. The impact on the audience of his teaching is based
on the truth of what he learned and what he imparts from both theory
and experience. What is in witnessing that creates such a life-changing
direction and outlook in people? It is in the very example of the way
he is living his talk or ‘walking his speech’. That creates a good
and positive impact. Although witnesses can have this great impact,
a greater impact can be made by teachers who are also witnesses of
how great Christ is in their life. They are often more powerful
witnesses because of their command of their knowledge of Christ
and their commitment to Him. However, we need not teach at a
professional level in order to make this greater and more powerful
witness. We only need to know the necessary basics and rudiments of
our faith, nurture and strengthen our relationship with Christ
through the Eucharist, and in our ministry to others, and commit
ourselves every day to do as we say. This is a challenge. It is
a Christian challenge that we are called to make by virtue of
our baptismal commitment. learn more

“The Holy Spirit Strengthens the ‘Inner Man’”

The late holy father, John Paul II, has written an encyclical
on the Holy Spirit, entitled “Dominum et Vivificantem”.  In
this encyclical, he mentions, among so many other truths, that the
purpose why God sent His Holy Spirit into the world was to strengthen
us in a way that we become more and more like His Son, and have the
courage and fortitude to bring the Gospel to all peoples.  For those
of us who are working along this line on the Net (which John Paul II
encourages Catholics to do so), we receive His Holy Spirit continuously,
and every moment of our life, by our commitment to follow His will
through our participation in the sacraments, especially the Eucharist,
and then make the Catholic presence on the Net a way of making Christ
more central, and vital to anything technological in content or in
tools.  The witness on the Net shows that the Net is not only a mere
mass of technological information, but can also contain the words
of the Gospel of Christ Jesus.  If we use it rightly, the Net can
disseminate and spread classic Catholic tradition to those who use
this medium as part of their daily lives: in their family setting,
in their workplace, in their religious communities, in their parish,
or in big secular institutional settings. learn more

Saint in Review: St. John Chrysostom, bishop and doctor

St. John Chrysostom earned the title golden-mouthed or “Chrysostom”,
because of the eloquence of his preaching.  He was made patriarch
of Constantinople against his wishes, but at once reformed the
see of Constantinople when he assumed the position.  As patriarch, he
incurred the enmity of the imperial court and other less worthy bishops.
He particularly incurred the enmity of the Empress Eudoxia because he
reprimanded her for her vanity, lack of charity and dress.  He also
incurred the enmity of bishops, more specifically his rival to the
see of Constantinople - bishop Theophilus.  Due to this political
situation, he was sent into exile several times.  On his trip to his
last exile, he eventually died of exhaustion due to the stifling
heat. St. John Chrysostom was declared Doctor of the Universal Church
in the council of Chalcedon in 451 A.D. St. John Chrysostom is the
fourth of the four men - along with Saints Athanasius, Basil and
Gregory Nazianzen - who were considered the great Doctors of the
Church from the East until more were added in the sixteenth century.
Due to the excellence and eloquence of his preaching ability, he
was also named patron of preachers by Pope Pius X.  His feast day is
September 13. learn more

Saint in Review: St. Benedict of Nursia, abbot

St. Benedict is also one of the greatest saints that the Church has
produced.  His way of life and spirituality had a great influence
in the life of the Church for many centuries.  The religious order
he founded, the Benedictines, has given to the Church 50 popes,
7,000 bishops, and 40,000 saints and blesseds.  Our current pontiff,
Pope Benedict XVI, (a.k.a. Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger), took the name
of this saint, because he believed that the present conditions of
world societies are similar to the conditions that were happening
also during the time of St. Benedict.  Since St. Benedict was very
active in combatting the evils in himself first, and then in the society
of his time, he sets a very good example for us in contemporary time to
have courage to fight through all attacks of evil and not to grow weary,
to labor on ourselves and to change ourselves until we become one with
ourselves and experience oneness with others in the oneness with God.
learn more

Jesus of Nazareth, the Hope of our Lives

Ever since the Holy Father Benedict XVI wrote his second encyclical
Spe Salvi, Jesus as the source of our hope became more and more
pronounced in his statements and addresses.  He wrote a book called
Jesus of Nazareth, wherein the Pope shares with us his profound and
powerful insights about the person of Jesus Christ, and where he
inspires us to deepen our own understanding and relationship with
Him.  In this bold, momentous work, the Pope — in his first book
written as Benedict XVI — seeks to salvage the person of Jesus
from recent “popular” depictions and to restore Jesus’ true identity
as discovered in the Gospels. Through his brilliance as a theologian
and his personal conviction as a believer, the Pope shares a rich,
compelling, flesh-and-blood portrait of Jesus and invites us to
encounter, face-to-face, the central figure of the Christian faith.
A quotation from the book: “the great question that will be with us
throughout this entire book - But what has Jesus really brought, then,
if he has not brought world peace, universal prosperity, and a
better world? What has he brought? The answer is very simple: God.
He has brought God! learn more

News item from Zenit.org

Church Awaiting Miracles on Pentecost, Says Pope

check news item at: http://www.zenit.org/article-22538?l=english

Solemnity of the Ascension, Year A

The lectionary readings for the solemnity of the Ascension
of the Lord are taken from: the Acts of the Apostles, the
letter of Paul to the Ephesians, and the gospel of Matthew. 
In the book of Acts, we find the account of the Ascension of
the Lord into heaven - and the promise of the Holy Spirit to
the apostles so that they can be His witnesses in Jerusalem,
throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. 
Then, in the letter to the Ephesians, we read about Paul
praying for the community of the Ephesians that they be
granted a spirit of wisdom and insight to know Christ clearly
- especially as regards the immeasurable scope of His power
- that those who believe in Him may be enlightened with the
innermost vision to know the great hope to which Jesus has
called them.  Lastly, in the gospel of Matthew, we find Jesus
commissioning His apostles to go forth and make disciples of
all nations - baptizing them in the name of the Father, and
of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit - and promising them that
He will be with them always even until the end of the world.
learn more

7th Sunday of Easter, Year A

The lectionary readings for the 7th Sunday of Easter, Year
A, are taken from: the Acts of the Apostles, the first letter
of Peter, and the gospel of John.  In the book of Acts, we
read how after the Ascension of Jesus, the apostles returned
to Jerusalem to go to the upstairs room were they devoted
themselves to constant prayer - awaiting the coming of the
Holy Spirit. Then, in the letter of Peter, we read how Peter
encourages the faithful to rejoice in their sharing Christ’s
sufferings - for when Christ’s glory is revealed, they too
will rejoice exultantly.  Lastly, in the gospel of John, we
read about Jesus calling on the Father to glorify the Son,
for He had given glory to the Father on earth by finishing
the work that had been entrusted to Him.

Saints for the Month of May

The month of May has its share of well-loved saints. This page
highlights those saints who are honored in the liturgy for the
month of May.  Not all of them however are mentioned in the Mass,
though they are also included together with the ones who are
designated with feasts and memorials.  Popular among the saints
of May are: St. Joseph the Worker (May 1), St. Athanasius, bishop
and doctor (May 2), Sts. Philip and James, apostles (May 3),
Sts. Nereus, Achilles, and Pancratius, martyrs (May 12), St.
Matthias, apostle (May 14), St. John I, pope and martyr (May 18),
St. Bernardine of Siena, priest (May 20), St. Bede, priest and
doctor, St. Gregory VII, pope, and St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi,
virgin (May 25), St. Philip Neri, priest (May 26), St. Augustine
of Canterbury, bishop (May 27), and lastly the feast of the
Blessed Mary, the Visitation (May 31).

St. Jerome, Priest and Doctor

St. Jerome is one of the four original Doctors of the Church
- together with St. Augustine, St. Ambrose and St. Gregory the
Great.  He had a very good education in Rome and was ordained
by St. Paulinus.  Then, together with St. Paulinus, they were
sent to attend a Council were he remained there to be the
secretary of Pope Damasus. Pope Damasus then encouraged St.
Jerome to undertake the translation of the Bible.  It was this
work that earned St. Jerome his greatest achievement - the
production of the Vulgate.  This translation of the Bible became
the norm for many centuries until the middle of the twentieth
century, when bible scholars then already used the original sources
to translate the Bible.  St. Jerome also led a monastery of men
in Bethlehem in tandem with St. Paula, who led three convents
also in Bethlehem.  Being of fiery temperament, St. Jerome got into
fierce fights with many of the opponents of Christendom.  He even
got into a fight with St. Augustine over a matter of interpreting
a certain scriptural passage.  God however used this fiery
temperament of St. Jerome to conquer the enemies of Christendom
during his time.

New Titles are 20% Off

Ignatius Press has several new titles recently released off the
press! Take 20% off on these newest releases, including books by
popular authors such as Joseph Pearce, Russell Shaw, and Fulton Sheen.
Or, if you wish to be inspired and revitalized from the work you are
doing, Ignatius Press also has a few great new films. Check out the
titles of the books and the films on the page.

Christian Leadership to Truly Touch the World!

In the early months of our web site, Anne Macdonnell sent us and shared
her Christian experience in writing.  And so we dedicated part of our
web site to those who would want to have their Christian experience
published in the site.  We call this section, Sharing and Witnessing. 
Anne Macdonnell did very well in sharing with us her Christian journey
of knowing Christ and how we are called to make a leap of faith to witness
and share that Christian faith with others.  Here is a passage of what
she shares in her writing:

“My three years of study in the doctoral program in organizational
leadership at Regent University proved to be the most challenging,
exhilarating, and inspirational of my life. It was a very intense time
in which my entire life was devoted to diligently pursuing God’s truth
through my studies. The wonderful aspect of this program is the fact that
all of my professors and my fellow learners in Cohort I were deeply
committed to the Lord. Also, being a member of Cohort I was a pioneering
adventure!  After all, we were members of the first cohort of learners
to experience a computer-mediated doctoral program in organizational
leadership anywhere in the world! What an awesome privilege to be chosen
by the Lord to embark on a new, computer-mediated adventure involving
the prayerful sharing of charitable fraternity, ecumenical dialogue,
scriptural integration, and inspiring leadership- all based upon the
principles of Christian discipleship! Just as all Christians have been
commissioned to spread the Good News to all corners of the earth, we
were indeed using the miraculous power of the World Wide Web to spread
the Gospel literally throughout the entire planet.  What mission could
be more exciting than this one?”

Like Anne Macdonnell, if you also have a story to share wherein you
witness to the greatness and marvelous wonders of the Lord, just send us
your story and we shall publish it in this section called, Sharing and
Witnessing.

6th Sunday of Easter, Year A

In the passage from the gospel of John, Jesus promises the
Holy Spirit to His apostles.  He said that He will ask the
Father to send them another Paraclete: the Spirit of truth. 
And so, He assures them that He will not leave them orphaned,
and that the Spirit of truth will always be with them. This
Spirit, which they are to receive after His Ascension into
heaven and on the feast of Pentecost Sunday, will guide them
into all truth - all the truth that Jesus had taught them. 
And with the Spirit moving them, they will know how to preach
the commandment to love God and their neighbor.  Like the
apostles, we too received the Spirit on our baptism. And we
receive the gift of His presence regularly if we celebrate
the Eucharist and go to confession often.  Like the apostles
we are assured that Jesus will not leave us orphaned because
the Holy Spirit will always be with us in prayer, Word and
Sacrament, and through the bonds of love created by Him in
our family and professional lives. learn more

Jesuit Lombardi evaluates Pope’s USA Visit

Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, director of the Vatican
press office, gave this summary of the Pope’s April 15-20
U.S. trip, which had the theme “Christ Our Hope.” The spokesman
said he thinks the objective of the trip was achieved: The
Holy Father transmitted hope to Americans, particularly Catholics,
and to the United Nations. “He brought an announcement of hope
to a great nation, which should have the dignity and the sense
of greatness of its vocation in the world today,” Father Lombardi
said. The Pontiff communicated hope to “a Church that has lived
a particularly difficult period in recent years and that had
much need of being consoled and relaunched toward the future,
aware of its responsibilities in the realm of the universal
Church,” he added. learn more

Special offers in honor of the Pope’s USA visit
Following the Pope’s visit to the United States of America,
we reflect on his visit and the spiritual direction he provided
in his homilies and speeches. We can also look to his published
works for direction as well, particularily his two encyclicals:
God is Love and Saved In Hope. Both give us profound direction
which we can use in our everyday life. Given in this page is
an Ignatius Press offering of 20% off on God is Love and Saved
In Hope, as well as a list of additional titles that speak on
these two very important topics of hope and love. Titles like
the works of Josef Pieper, Hans Urs von Balthasar or Pope John
Paul II, these readings give a spirit of hope and love for
everyone! learn more

Featuring biographical sketches on the 33 Doctors of the
Church

We are continuing to provide in this web site brief biographical
sketches of the 33 Doctors of the Church declared by the Church.
Featured for this week is St. Isidore of Seville. Like St. Basil
the Great, St. Isidore of Seville comes from a family of saints:
his two brothers Leander and Fulgentius, and his sister Florentina
were also saints.  When their parents died, Leander, who was 26
years the senior of Isidore, took care of the education of Isidore. 
Isidore assisted Leander who became bishop of Seville. When Leander
died, Isidore succeeded Leander as bishop and continued their works
in the administration of the diocese of Seville.  Isidore was a
prolific and voluminous writer - writing so many noted works that
spanned many subjects and themes.  His well-noted work is the
Etymologies - an early encyclopedia that attempted to compile all
the knowledge and all the sciences during the age of Isidore.  St.
Isidore is the first Spaniard to be declared Doctor of the Church -
the other two being St. Teresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross
(both of whom lived a millenium after St. Isidore of Seville).
learn more

If you wish to learn of the other Doctors of the Church which
we have already written about, you can check the page The Doctors
of the Church: Introduction to the Church’s Great Teachers. We
hope to finish all the brief biographical sketches of these great
Doctors of the Church by the end of the year.

The arrival of Pope Benedict XVI to America is
an opportunity for the pontiff to renew the ties
that were established by John Paul II in the past.
Compared to John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI’s
visit created a precedent - that of a US President
meeting him at the airport himself.  Pope Benedict
XVI’s visit is one that will see to the needs of
the local Church and also address its relationship
with other Christians and with the peoples of other
world faiths. According to the U.S. ambassador to
the Holy See, Mary Ann Glendon, Benedict XVI and
U.S. President George Bush will also continue a
conversation about faith and reason - a theme the
two leaders discussed when Bush visited the Vatican
last year.  They will be talking about faith and
reason in the context of advancing their shared
goals.

16 titles by Pope Benedict XVI at all 20% off!

Pope Benedict XVI has already produced two significant
writings as the present Pope: Deus Caritas Est and
Spe Salvi. These two encyclicals, the first on the
doctrine of God as Love and the second on the doctrine
of Christian hope, mark not only the beginning of his
teaching as Pope, but a continuation of the many, many
writings he has already produced as a well-noted
theologian of the Church. In celebration of Pope
Benedict’s visit to the United States from April 15-20,
Ignatius Press is offering 20% off a selection of his
works. His many acclaimed spiritual and theological
works cover a broad range of important topics. To
learn more of these great works, offered at a special
discount, check Pope Benedict XVI’s writings.

The Church in America up to the 19th c.

Knowing a bit of the history of the Catholic Church
in American can help us see where the seeds of the
Church had been planted. The founding of the Catholic
Church in America was attributed to the early religious
communities who went on mission in the New Land: the
Jesuits, the Franciscans, the Capuchins, the Recollects
and many others. One of the first parishes was founded
in a Spanish colony of the new land.  And then when
America became independent, Catholics received more
favorable conditions since religious liberty was
implemented in 1776 A.D.  By about 1790 A.D., America
received her first bishop in the name of John Carroll. 
There were about 25,000 to 30,000 Catholics at the time.
But by the time of John Carroll’s death, the Catholic
population rose to 200,000.  It was however, during
the leadership of Bishop John England, when the Catholic
Church reached substantial gains - with the establishment
of more dioceses and the increase of more religious
communities helping in starting Catholic institutions
like schools and hospitals.  The Catholic population
swelled all the more when Catholic immigrants - Poles,
Irish, Italians, Germans - made their influx into the
land in the nineteenth century. learn more

A time of grace

The visit of Pope Benedict XVI to America can be seen
as a time of grace.  There are now approximately 65
million Catholics in America who have sprung from the
seeds of the Catholic mission that was planted in the
soil of the USA since the missionaries preached the
gospel upon settling in the land.  The growth of the
Catholic Church from the 25,000 to 30,000 in the time
of John Carroll to its present number of 65 million can
be said to be phenomenal - with some history books saying
the growth rate even greater than the growth rate of
the whole USA population at the time.  But as the
Church is a human institution, she is not perfect. 
Because of this, her faults have caused deep wounds
in the lives of all her children.  May this visit of
Pope Benedict XVI help the American Church towards a
direction of healing and reconciliation so that the
wounds that were dealt on some of her children may be
addressed with gentle care and attention.

3rd Sunday of Easter, Year A

“With that their eyes were opened…”

Like the two disciples on the way to Emmaus, we can be
disheartened, discouraged, and lack hope when we experience
great losses in life (as did the disciples who lost Jesus
as their leader).  In these times of great losses, we are
fortunate to have our family and loved ones by our side.
We also have the Eucharist as the source of strength, hope,
encouragement, consolation, light, and understanding, so
that we may again “recognize Jesus” and His message of the
Good News through the liturgical actions in the Eucharist,
and in the goodness and charity that we receive from our
family and our loved ones.  We thank the gift of the Eucharist
and the gift of our family and loved ones for helping us
“recognize Christ” in our midst - especially during those
times when we are experiencing great losses, difficulties,
problems and lack of support and help. learn more

In celebration of Pope Benedict’s visit to the United
States

In celebration of Pope Benedict’s visit to the United States
from April 15 - 20, Ignatius Press is offering 20% off a selection
of his works. Pope Benedict XVI is widely recognized as one of
the most brilliant theologians and spiritual writers of our age.
He has written many acclaimed spiritual and theological works
that cover a broad range of important topics. Listed and featured
in this page are just a small portion of his, offered at a special
discount. Four of his best written works are: The Spirit of the
Liturgy; The God of Jesus Christ; God is Love (his first
encyclical); and Jesus, the Apostles and the Early Church. If
you wish to learn more information of these works, kindly click
here.

Pope’s US Trip Not Just for Catholics

When Benedict XVI travels to the United States this month,
ecumenical and interreligious relations are a priority on his
agenda, according to an aide of the nation’s conference of
bishops. On April 17, the Pope will meet with 200 interfaith
leaders at the Pope John Paul II Cultural Center in Washington,
D.C. At the conclusion of that meeting, he will meet with
religious representatives of the Jewish community to present
to them his greetings for the feast of Passover, which begins
for the Jewish people on April 19. The next day, in New York,
Benedict XVI will lead an ecumenical prayer service at St.
Joseph’s Church in the Yorkville area of Manhattan. On his way
to that service, he will make a brief and informal visit to the
Park East Synagogue — a visit that is not part of his official
program, but which again will give a chance to express his
Passover best wishes. The meeting at St. Joseph’s Church is
for the sake of encouraging the work of promoting Christian
unity. On the evening before, April 17, the Holy Father will
meet with 150 interreligious representatives from the Jewish,
the Muslim, the Hindu, the Buddhist, and the Jain communities.
learn more

The First 12 Popes Who Succeeded St. Peter

The first 12 popes who succeeded St. Peter were all saints
and most of them died a martyr’s death.  Some of them had to
oppose the heresies that were battling Christianity for
adherents to their systems of belief.  All these first 12
popes who succeeded St. Peter reigned during the period 67
A.D. to 189 A.D.  Four of them have their feast days celebrated
in the month of April: St. Soter, April 22; St. Cletus, April 26;
St. Sixtus I, April 3; and St. Anicetus, April 17.  A number
of these Popes have no details on their life and pontificate
since many of them lived in the very early centuries of
Christianity when not much written records were made.  However,
some details about their life, martyrdom or pontificate have
come to us by way of Tradition and the writings of others.

Saints for the Month of April

In this page are listed the saints who are honored in the
month of April.  Popular among them are: St. Francis of Paola,
hermit and founder of the Minims; St. Isidore, bishop and doctor
of the Church, St. Vincent Ferrer, Dominican; St. Baptist de
la Salle, founder of the Brothers of the Christian Schools; St.
Anselm, bishop and doctor of the Church (wrote on the proof of
God’s existence through ‘Ontological Argument’); St. George,
known to have vanquished a dragon; St. Mark the Evangelist; St.
Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort, founder of three congregations
in 17th century France; and St. Catherine of Siena, one of
the three female doctors of the Church (together with St.
Teresa of Avila and St. Therese of the Child Jesus).

On the death anniversary of John Paul II

Last April 2, was the third death anniversary of John Paul II. 
A news item from Zenit news informs us that the papers needed
for study, so that the cause for his beatification will be
underway, are already being prepared by Cardinal Martins. When
the Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI approves it, John Paul II’s
heroic virtue will be recognized and he will be called venerable. 
Then a step needed for his official beatification will be a
miracle attributed to his intercession.  We are told in the
news that there was a nun who already attests to the intercession
of John Paul II when she got cured from her Parkinson’s disease. 
In this blog post are given: a Zenit news item and also a link
to a web page in the Vatican web site that gives much information
on the life and pontificate of John Paul II.  Also given in
this blog post is a prayer that was composed for the cause of
John Paul II’s elevation to sainthood.

3rd Death anniversary of John Paul II

Death, April 2, 2005

It has been three years already since the death of our
beloved pontiff, John Paul II.  With his pontificate
spanning about 25 years, he truly set a remarkable stamp
of mission and holiness in the spirituality of the Church.
According to Zenit News, March 31, 2008, The report
documenting the heroic virtues of Pope John Paul II is
nearly ready. This is announced by the postulator of his
cause of beatification, Monsignor Slawomir Oder.

Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins, prefect of the Congregation
for Saints’ Causes, announced March 25 in declarations to
Vatican Radio that he can guarantee that as soon as they
receive the documents, they will study it immediately without
losing a moment, since obviously the dicastery desires that
John Paul II arrives as soon as possible to the altars and
can be called ‘blessed,’ - thus responding swiftly to the
shouts in St. Peter’s Square upon his death: ’santo subito’
(sainthood now).”

A page in the Vatican web site in memory of John Paul II

There is a page in the Vatican web site - a section that
summarizes many of the information and facts on the life
and pontificate of John Paul II.  If you wish to learn
more about it, just click on the link given below:

http://www.vatican.va/special/anniversario_gpii/documents/index_en.htm

The page contains a link to: John Paul II’s pontificate,
1978-2005; a photograph archive; video archive; travels;
documents; World Youth Day; and on the homily of Benedict
XVI on the first and second anniversaries of his death.

A prayer for the cause of beatification of John Paul II

If you wish to join in the prayers for the cause of
beatification of John Paul II, the following is one of
the prayers composed for this very purpose:

“O Blessed Trinity, we thank You for having graced the
Church with Pope John Paul II and for allowing the tenderness
of Your fatherly care, the glory of the Cross of Christ,
and the splendor of the Holy Spirit, to shine through
him.  Trusting fully in Your infinite mercy and in the
maternal intercession of Mary, he has given us a living
image of Jesus the Good Shepherd, and has shown us that
holiness is the necessary measure of ordinary Christian life
and is the way of achieving eternal communion with You.
Grant us, by his intercession, and according to Your will,
the graces we implore, hoping that he will soon be numbered
among Your saints. Amen.”

Zenit news: http://www.zenit.org/article-22166?l=english

Various theologians are now preparing to study the document
in relation to the cause for beatification of John Paul II.
If it is approved, Benedict XVI could then grant a decree in
recognition of the Polish Pope’s heroic virtue. This would
then permit proclaiming John Paul II as venerable. Another
step is then needed for beatification: a miracle has to be
attributed to the intercession of John Paul II.

The Second Sunday of Easter, Year A

“Do not persist in your unbelief, but believe!”

Thomas, one of the apostles, had a natural reaction to
the report of his companions that Jesus had risen from
the dead: unbelief. It was of course difficult for anyone
to believe someone dead to rise and live again. But Thomas
persisted in his unbelief because he wanted to see the
very nail-marks and nail-prints on the wounds of Jesus.
So, when Jesus gave the gift of His presence again to the
apostles with Thomas present with them, Thomas eventually
believed in Jesus.

How often we also persist in our unbelief of certain
truths of our Christian faith. This is natural because
Catholics have a lot to “believe” in when comparing with
other Christians.  But we can receive the gift of faith
by being “restored” to our “sight” of God and like Thomas
be attuned well to the “presence of Christ”. This we can
do so when we go back to the significant persons who have
been with us in our Catholic journey - like members of
our family, friends, and companions in the Catholic
university we graduated from. These people can help us
be restored to share the Christian faith we received.
And like Thomas, we can exclaim our faith in Christ more
strongly. learn more

Petitioning for a fifth Marian dogma

Zenit news came out with a news item which featured
an interview of a Cardinal who supported the movement
for the declaration of a fifth Marian dogma.  In our
Catholic tradition, we have already four truths about
Mary which all Catholics are called to believe in and
assent in faith to. learn more

Witnessing our Catholic faith on the Net

It is now easier to witness one’s Catholic faith to a
global audience because of the communications reach of
the Net. We can help you set up a Catholic articles web
site if you also want to join in this movement to make
the gospel and the Catholic faith more present on the
Web.  In a blog post in the past few days, we featured
a sample of the simplified and updated steps to begin
a Catholic articles web site. learn more  So that
this revised, simplified and updated version will become
more systematized in its presentation, we are currently
updating our original Catholic eBook and will release
a new one in about four and half months time.

We also have short descriptions of eight books that can
help you build the content of your Catholic articles
web site. These books can add a great deal of ideas and
information to build the intellectual capital of your
site. learn more

Catholic books and items for sale

We have in our web site affiliate products from Amazon.com
and Ignatius Press to help you learn more of the Catholic
faith.  You can browse through these web pages that were
featured in the last few days and gather as much info as
you wish in order to know more about the books and the
items.  Ignatius Press features books on stories of
conversion while Amazon.com features a lot of other
items that can increase one’s knowledge of the Catholic
faith. click here

Pope Benedict XVI arriving to the USA in April

Pope Benedict XVI was reported to have walked only the
last three stations of the Cross last Holy Week to conserve
his strength for the April trip to the USA. Though there
is no reason to worry about his health, he is already taking
steps to preserve as much energy as he can so that the USA
trip will be successful.

If you want to know general information on what a pope is
and what titles he uses as head of the Roman Catholic Church,
you may wish to read the article, The Pope - Bishop of Rome
- Successor of Peter.

Pentecost Sunday will be May 11, 2008

There will be fifty days of Easter in the liturgical season
of Easter and the fiftieth day will be Pentecost Sunday.
To prepare for that glorious mystery in our Christian faith,
we will be including articles, prayers, and posts that will
help us learn more of the Holy Spirit, the Third Person of
the Blessed Trinity.  If you want to know a collection of
prayers to the Holy Spirit, this page has selected both
old and modern prayers to the Holy Spirit. click here

Building a Catholic Articles Web Site

In simplified and updated form

Our web site can help you join in the support
of the Catholic mission for the proclamation
of the gospel online and for the propagation
of the Catholic faith. Our free Catholic eBook
has all the details of our way of proceeding
in building, and contains the comprehensive
information that helped us obtain a mainstream
presence on the Net.  You may download this
free Catholic eBook at our partner web site
at Gospel and Culture.

After reading the eBook, there is a simplified
and more updated form for embarking on this
mission.  Below are the simplified steps that
you can take and with updated information so
that you can join in the support of the Catholic
mission on the Net.  We however suggest that
you also download the comprehensive information
in the eBook so that you will know the context
for using this simplified and updated form.

• Get a Yahoo! Web Hosting service package
• Make your homepage a WordPress blog that
  functions as the central content delivery system
  of the web site.  The WordPress blog can easily
  be uploaded through a Yahoo! Web Hosting service
  package
• A WordPress blog design is designed so that
  it will comply with the standards required by
  the Web (templates are available so that you
  need not make a design yourself)
• You have the option to engage in publishing
  ads or enter into affiliate programs if you
  wish or not. Revenue from such activities can
  however help offset the operating costs of the
  web site.
• Learn how to use ethical search engine
  optimization so that your web pages can be
  highly ranked in the index of the search engines.
• Borrow books from libraries or purchase
  your own personal copies so that you can find
  ideas in writing content for your web site.
• If you wish to learn short cuts in building
  your web site, you can always search through
  our Site Search page to find information that
  you need in building a Catholic web site from
  a lay Catholic family initiative. Be prudent
  though in applying short cuts.
• If you have other questions or would like
  to clarify certain points that you wish to
  understand more, don’t hesitate to write us
  and we will gladly give you as much information
  as you need to know to help you make a wise
  and prudent decision.

An opportune moment to begin this mission

It would be an opportune idea to begin this
mission at this point of time since the Holy
Father Pope Benedict XVI is visiting the U.S.A.
this coming month of April.  He will be the
second Roman Pontiff to visit the United States
- second after John Paul II.  With the visit of
the Holy Father, Catholic fervor would surely
result in an upsurge - and this could also be
part of the fervor of those who use the Internet
for searching information related to the Catholic
faith.  If you had an idea before of building a
Catholic blog or web site, now would be a truly
opportune time. 

Some background information on our web site

This web site is an offshoot of a Yahoo! list
and began its online activities in the year 2002.
It obtained its own domain in 2004 and is now
continually building on content and information
to help Catholics and nonCatholics with knowledge
that they wish to learn more about the Catholic
faith.  It is still a young web site but we hope
to be a support of service to the Church and to
the people who use the Net as long as there are
those who wish to learn more from Catholicism
from our site.

The Easter Season

“Jesus stood before them and said,
‘Peace!’”

The Easter Vigil marks the onset of the
Easter Season.  It is a long but very rich
and meaningful celebration filled with great
liturgical traditions - having its roots in
the past.  There are nine liturgical readings
read during the celebration starting with the
book of Genesis and ending with the gospel of
Matthew.  Many parishes will mark this night
as a glorious night of recalling the rising
from the dead of Jesus and His resurrection
appearance to Mary Magdalene and another
Mary.  These two women were the first to
receive the good news of the Resurrection.
When the angel told them to tell the disciples
of Jesus of His rising from the dead, they
bolted in both joy and fear, to relay the
exciting news to their companion disciples.
But on their way Jesus stood suddenly before
them and said, ‘Peace!’” learn more

Sunday Enrichment Post

For those who lead bible sharing or prayer
groups, we offer a Sunday Enrichment Post
that is delivered to your email inbox on a
Wednesday, to prepare for the attendance and
celebration of the Sunday Eucharist.  In this
Sunday Enrichment Post, you may discover an
insight or a spiritual message that will help
you moderate your bible sharing or prayer
group’s sharing of the gospel message. To
subscribe to this Sunday Enrichment Post by
email, just send us a message that you are
interested to receive this Post via email.
If however, you wish to just check the post
online, you may also do so by visiting The
Nexus Blog. The blog has an rss feed which
you can subscribe to your favorite rss reader.

Lectionary Readings for the Easter Season

The Easter Blog was constructed during Cycle
C of the liturgical year.  However, the weekdays
of Easter are the same for both Year C and Year
A.  If you wish to follow the lectionary readings
for the weekdays of Easter, just visit our Easter
Blog. As for the Sundays of the Easter Season,
Year A, you can check the references for the
lectionary readings for the Sundays of Easter,
Year A, at Lectionary Readings, Year A.

The Papal Visit to the U.S.A.

We will be covering the news via Zenit of the
papal visit of the Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI
to the USA this April.  These news items are
incorporated in the feed items that we have in
our Catholic Internet Mission Main Feed. If
you wish to be updated of the Holy Father’s
activities during His visit, you can also do
so through our Main RSS Feed.  Or you can also
visit the official web site of the United States
Conference of Catholic Bishops at:

www.uspapalvisit.org

We wish you a very Blessed and Glorious Easter
Season! May this Easter Season renew our hopes
and enkindle the light of Jesus in our hearts!

Holy Week and the Easter Triduum

March 16 to March 23, 2008

Passion Sunday marks the beginning of Holy
Week.  And when Holy Thursday is celebrated
On March 20, 2008, this marks the beginning
of the Easter Triduum - culminating with the
Easter Vigil in the evening and then with the
morning celebration of Easter Sunday on March
23, 2008.

The readings for Holy Week and the Easter
Triduum are the same for all the liturgical
years: cycle A, B and C.  The only exception
is the gospel readings for Passion Sunday and
the gospel reading for the Easter Vigil. Cycle
A has its own gospel reading for Passion Sunday
and also for the Easter Vigil. So you can follow
the readings for this Holy Week and the Easter
Triduum, below is a list of the links that
lead to these readings.  They were written
last year, Year C of the liturgical cycle,
but is also applicable for this year, Cycle A.
The gospel reading for Easter Vigil, Cycle A
is taken from Matthew 28:1-10

These readings will also be featured in our
Main RSS Feed.  You can always subscribe to
our RSS Feed through this page:

Catholic Internet Mission Main RSS Feed

• Passion Sunday
• Holy Monday
• Holy Tuesday
• Holy Wednesday (Spy Wednesday)
• Holy Thursday
• Good Friday
• Easter Vigil
• Easter Sunday

In case you want the complete and detailed
references to the Holy Week and Easter Triduum
of Cycle A of the liturgical readings, you can
always visit our reference for Lectionary Readings
at Lectionary Readings for Year A. With this
as your reference and with a Bible on hand, you
can read the scripture passages in a prayerful
way and have more time for meditation and
reflection.

“Clearly this was the Son of God!”
Reflection on the gospel of Passion Sunday
During the time of Jesus’ public ministry, He
already stirred conflict among His people. Foremost
among those He angered were the Jewish religious
leaders of His time.  These leaders were angry at
Jesus because of two main things: He and His
disciples disregarded the Jewish law and the
dictates of the Sabbath; and Jesus claimed to be
the Messiah and the Son of God.  For those whom
Jesus had healed and for those whom He had
converted [like the Samaritan woman and her
co-villagers], it was easy to have faith in Him.
But for those who followed the Jewish religious
Law to the letter, according to their standards,
Jesus was transgressing the Law.  With this
scenario, the conflict between Jesus and the
Jewish religious leaders escalated more and more,
until it came to the point when there was an
opportunity to arrest Him and sentence Him to
death.

As Jesus was arrested and sentenced to death,
we can see certain persons who were involved in
His Passion: Judas Iscariot, the Apostles, the
soldiers of the Pharisees, Caiaphas the high
priest, Peter, Pontius Pilate, Barabbas, the
crowd who wanted Jesus crucified, Simon of
Cyrene, the people who mocked Him, the two
insurgents crucified with Jesus, the three women
looking from a distance (Mary Magdalene, Mary
the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother
of Zebedee’s sons), Joseph of Arimathea, the
centurion and many more characters.  If we look
at these persons, we can tell who has faith in
Jesus and who did not believe in Him.  Pontius
Pilate is probably the only exception since he
did not want to be involved in this conflict and
divide. But what is remarkable is the centurion’s
confession - a confession that came by way of a
great sign which invoked fear amongst him and
his companions. learn more learn more

Books and films for the Holy Week
Featured on this page are a wonderful variety of
released titles that cover apologetics, spirituality,
Church history, and crucial current events. “Good
News, Bad News” by Fr. McCloskey and Russell Shaw
is a book on evengelization and conversion, that
has garnered more advance praise by highly regarded
figures than any other book ever by Ignatius Press.
Authors Cardinal Schonborn and Pope Benedict weigh
in with powerful titles on knowing Christ and on
the current identity crisis in Europe. “We Seek
a Kingdom” is another book takes us back to the
early Church for key lessons on living the faith.
learn more

To help you in your spiritual reading, meditation
and reflections, Ignatius Press features books and
films on various topics about Holy Week and Easter. 
Among the books featured on this page are: “On the
Passion of Christ”, by Thomas a Kempis and “To
Know Christ Jesus”, by Frank Sheed.  There are
also some films featured: the modern and popular
classic “The Passion of the Christ”, produced by
Mel Gibson; “Fulton Sheen: Good Friday”; and “The
Easter Triduum”. learn more