VATICAN CITY (CNS) — After candlelight filled a darkened St. Peter’s Basilica, Pope Francis asked consecrated men and women not to let their spirits “doze off” while waiting to encounter the Lord but to keep their hearts awake in anticipation “like an eternal flame.” “We must recognize at times that we have lost the ability…
Reading 1 Mal 3:1-4 Thus says the Lord GOD:Lo, I am sending my messengerto prepare the way before me;And suddenly there will come to the templethe LORD whom you seek,And the messenger of the covenant whom you desire.Yes, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts.But who will endure the day of his coming?And who…
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Lent is a time to free oneself from slavery and take action to free others suffering from the multiple forms of slavery that afflict the world, Pope Francis said. Even though baptism has begun a process of liberation, “there remains in us an inexplicable longing for slavery. A kind of attraction…
WASHINGTON – We must unite to identify and address conditions that lead to human trafficking and promote efforts to prevent it, says Bishop Mark J. Seitz of El Paso. The Catholic Church observes the International Day of Prayer and Awareness Against Human Trafficking on February 8, the feast day of Saint Josephine Bakhita, the patroness…
Reading 1 1 Kgs 2:1-4, 10-12 When the time of David’s death drew near,he gave these instructions to his son Solomon:“I am going the way of all flesh.Take courage and be a man.Keep the mandate of the LORD, your God, following his waysand observing his statutes, commands, ordinances, and decreesas they are written in the…
Readings for the Memorial of Saint John Bosco, priest Reading 1 2 Sm 24:2, 9-17 King David said to Joab and the leaders of the army who were with him,“Tour all the tribes in Israel from Dan to Beer-shebaand register the people, that I may know their number.”Joab then reported to the king the number…