December 31: St. Sylvester I, Pope https://youtu.be/kLYJeOYe2JA?si=9laf2sA6VuAqSi98
Wednesday, December 31, 2025
Seventeen missionaries and pastoral workers killed
Seventeen missionaries and pastoral workers killed in 2025 https://www.indcatholicnews.com/news/54026
Tuesday, December 30, 2025
Wednesday, December 24, 2025
The_Mystic_Marriage_of_Saint_Catherine_of_Siena
Sunday, December 21, 2025
Work for God as a Priest or Religious
A young Catholic man may choose to become a priest rather than pursue a worldly career for several reasons:
Spiritual Calling: Many believe they feel a divine calling or vocation to serve God and the Church. This deep sense of purpose drives them to commit their lives to spiritual leadership.
Desire to Serve Others: Becoming a priest allows individuals to serve their communities, provide guidance, and help others grow in faith. This vocation appeals to those who want to make a positive impact in people's lives.
Connection to Faith: A desire to deepen their relationship with God and help others do the same can motivate a young man to pursue the priesthood.
Tradition and Family Influence: Some may come from families with a strong religious background, where the vocation to priesthood is valued and encouraged.
Fulfillment of Values: For many, being a priest aligns with their core values and beliefs, offering a sense of fulfillment that a traditional career may not provide.
Community Life: The communal aspect of priesthood, including collaboration with fellow clergy and church members, may attract those who value connection and belonging.
Teaching and Leadership Opportunities: Priests often take on roles as educators and leaders, enabling them to share their knowledge and faith with others, which can be deeply rewarding.
Ultimately, the decision is personal and often involves a combination of spiritual, emotional, and practical factors.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
A young Catholic girl may choose to become a nun rather than pursue a worldly career for several reasons:
Religious Vocation: Many women feel a strong sense of calling from God to dedicate their lives to religious service and to the Church, viewing this as a higher purpose.
Desire to Serve: Nuns often engage in ministries that serve others, such as education, healthcare, and social justice. This commitment to helping those in need can be a significant motivating factor.
Community and Sisterhood: The communal life of a convent provides a sense of belonging and support among women who share similar values and commitments, fostering deep spiritual friendships.
Deepening Faith: A desire to grow closer to God through prayer, contemplation, and religious practices can lead to a commitment to religious life.
Living Out Values: For many, becoming a nun aligns with their values and beliefs about spirituality, charity, and service, providing a fulfilling alternative to secular careers.
Influence of Family and Tradition: Some may come from families that value religious life or have a tradition of women entering the convent, which can inspire similar decisions.
Focus on Spiritual Growth: A commitment to a contemplative life allows for a focus on personal and spiritual development, which may be more appealing than the distractions often found in the secular world.
Overall, the decision to become a nun is deeply personal and can be influenced by a combination of spiritual insights, personal experiences, and a desire to make a meaningful impact in the world.
Thursday, December 18, 2025
Counselor nuns help women escape toxic relationships in India
Counselor nuns help women escape toxic relationships in India https://www.globalsistersreport.org/node/319701
Sainthood effort begins for Mother Antonia, the nun who chose to bring Gospel behind bars
Sainthood effort begins for Mother Antonia, the nun who chose to bring Gospel behind bars.
Sainthood effort begins for Mother Antonia, the nun who chose to bring Gospel behind bars https://www.globalsistersreport.org/node/319921
Apostles
https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01626c.htm
The word "Apostle", from the Greek apostello "to send forth", "to dispatch", has etymologically a very general sense. Apostolos (Apostle) means one who is sent forth, dispatched--in other words, who is entrusted with a mission, rather, a foreign mission. It has, however, a stronger sense than the word messenger, and means as much as a delegate. In the classical writers the word is not frequent. In the Greek version of the Old Testament it occurs once, in 1 Kings 14:6 (cf. 1 Kings 12:24). In the New Testament, on the contrary, it occurs, according to Bruder's Concordance, about eighty times, and denotes often not all the disciples of the Lord, but some of them specially called. It is obvious that our Lord, who spoke an Aramaic dialect, gave to some of his disciples an Aramaic title, the Greek equivalent of which was "Apostle". It seems to us that there is no reasonable doubt about the Aramaic word being seliah, by which also the later Jews, and probably already the Jews before Christ, denoted "those who were despatched from the mother city by the rulers of the race on any foreign mission, especially such as were charged with collecting the tribute paid to the temple service" (Lightfoot, "Galatians", London, 1896, p. 93). The word apostle would be an exact rendering of the root of the word seliah,= apostello.
Portraits of the Apostles
https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12294b.htm
St. Andrew
https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01471a.htm
From the fourth Gospel we learn that Andrew was a disciple of the Baptist, whose testimony first led him and John the Evangelist to follow Jesus (John 1:35-40). Andrew at once recognized Jesus as the Messias, and hastened to introduce Him to his brother, Peter, (John 1:41). Thenceforth the two brothers were disciples of Christ. On a subsequent occasion, prior to the final call to the apostolate, they were called to a closer companionship, and then they left all things to follow Jesus (Luke 5:11; Matthew 4:19-20; Mark 1:17-18).
When Constantinople was taken by the French, in the beginning of the thirteenth century, Cardinal Peter of Capua brought the relics to Italy and placed them in the cathedral of Amalfi, where most of them still remain.
The Archdiocese of Amalfi, directly dependent on the Holy See, has its seat at Amalfi, not far from Naples.
St. Peter, Prince of the Apostles
https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11744a.htm
St. James the Less
https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08280a.htm
St. John the Evangelist
https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08492a.htm
St. James the Greater
https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08279b.htm
Salome was a sister of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and James the Greater and John were first cousins of the Lord; this may explain the discipleship of the two brothers, Salome's request and their own claim to the first position in His kingdom, and His commendation of the Blessed Virgin to her own nephew. But it is doubtful whether the Greek admits of this construction without the addition or the omission of kai (and). Thus the relationship of St. James to Jesus remains doubtful.
"The twelve apostles are Peter, Andrew, James (son of Zebedee), John, Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Matthew, James (son of Alphaeus), Thaddeus, Simon (the Zealot), and Judas."
Wednesday, December 17, 2025
Enemies of Christianity at the Time of the Reformation
Enemies of Christianity at the Time of the Reformation https://crisismagazine.com/opinion/reformation-still-matters-500-years-later?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=novashare
Enemies of Christianity at the Time of the Reformation https://crisismagazine.com/opinion/reformation-still-matters-500-years-later?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=novashare early everyone knows the basics of the Reformation, the first being that 500 years ago, it began with Martin Luther nailing his Ninety-Five Theses to the Wittenberg castle door on October 31, 1517—except that scholars now think that what probably happened was that Luther mailed them, not nailed them, to his archbishop, Albrecht of Brandenburg. A much less dramatic beginning, perhaps. But this is a rather trivial historical point. There are much larger and more important things that regularly get overlooked in basic histories of the Reformation, things all Christians need to know. The first is that, after 500 years, the Reformation is coming to an end. Christians both Protestant and Catholic are finding out, more and more, that what they have in common is more important than what divides them. The impetus for focusing on what is common arises largely from a rather unpleasant set of sources: the persecution of all Christians by radical secularism and by radical Islam. Catholics and Protestants have been the object of persecution by radical secularist political regimes for the last hundred years, beginning with the rise of the atheistic communism with the Russian Revolution of 1917. More Christians were martyred in the twentieth century, than all other centuries combined. The turn into the twenty-first century has brought a new wave a persecution, with 100,000 Christians martyred every year, largely at the hands of radical Islam, and an ever more aggressive secular attack on Christian morality and faith. The good that God is bringing out of this evil is that Christians are uniting against these common enemies, and thereby bringing, slowly but surely, the Reformation to an end. But something else you may not realize about the Reformation is that radical atheistic secularism and radical Islam were there 500 years ago at the time of Martin Luther, and were aiming back then at the extermination of Christianity. We think that radical atheism is our problem, something that Christians didn’t have to contend with way back then in the “age of faith.” Not true, as it turns out. Modern atheism arose in the 1300s and 1400s with the Renaissance rediscovery of ancient Greek and Roman pagan atheists such as Epicurus, Lucretius, and Lucian. Reading these pagans produced what may rightly be called neo-pagans, the first modern atheists, a large number of whom were Italian, such as Marsilius of Padua (1275–1342), Poggio Bracciolini (1380–1459), Lorenzo Valla (1407–1457), Pietro Pomponazzi (1462–1525), Pietro Aretino (1492–1556), Cesare Cremonini (1550–1631), Lucilio Vanini (1585–1619), and of course, Italy’s most famous atheist, Niccolò Machiavelli (1469–1527), who believed that all religions were bunk, but should be used by clever unbelieving rulers to better control the credulous masses. The next generations of atheists counseled a ‘divide and conquer’ strategy against Christianity, taking advantage of the Protestant-Catholic divisions to weaken the cultural hold of faith. You can see the problem this spate of Italian atheists would cause from the vantage point of the German Augustinian monk Martin Luther: Italy looked like a seedbed of atheism, and the luxurious and very worldly papacy was in Rome. Had the seat of St. Peter been taken over by a secret atheist? Many Reformers had their suspicions. And what of radical Islam? Islam had been conquering Christians since the latter 600s. At the time of the Reformation, it looked as if triumphant Islamic armies were going to overrun Europe. The Holy Roman Emperor, Catholic Charles V, was unable to deal with Luther in Germany because he was largely absorbed in fighting back the Muslim advance. On his part, Luther proclaimed that the looming victory of Islam over Christendom was a divine punishment for the sins of the papacy, and that this impending grand battle was a sign that the prophecies of the book of Revelation were coming true (with the pope, of course, playing the part of the Anti-Christ). Speaking of Islam, while you probably know that Luther published his own German translation of the New Testament, you aren’t aware that he ensured that a translation of the Koran was done (1543), and he provided the preface for it. The reason? He believed knowledge of Islam would undermine the papacy, showing how similar a religious aberration it was to Roman Catholicism. More accurately, he considered Islam to be superior, even though it was erroneous. Ironically, Luther’s (muted) trumpeting of the virtues of Islam and his translation of the Koran contributed to the cause of radical secularism. While atheists in the century following Luther believed that all religions were bunk, they also asserted that Islam was superior—to all Christianity, not just Catholicism. This was the historical origin of the secular Left’s notion, today, that Christianity is an evil to be removed, and Islam a beneficent religion to be welcomed. These are just a few of the things you need to know about the Reformation 500 years later. Editor’s note: Pictured above is a detail of the Machiavelli statue in the Uffizi colonnade in Florence, Italy. Author Benjamin D. Wiker Benjamin Wiker is Professor of Political Science and Senior Fellow of the Veritas Center at Franciscan University. His website is www.benjaminwiker.com
Thailand: Compassion in the villages of Chiang Mai - Vatican News
Thailand: Compassion in the villages of Chiang Mai - Vatican News https://www.vaticannews.va/en/church/news/2025-12/sisters-project-155-thailand-chiang-mai-idente-missionaries.html
Tuesday, December 16, 2025
Sur le Pont D'Avignon (subtitles in French and English)
Sur le Pont D'Avignon (subtitles in French and English) https://youtu.be/07eY__crBUo?si=211ke_9JKnATYyWS
This past Friday, the feast of Our Lady of .../photos-from-sr-isabel-marias-first-profession
This past Friday, the feast of Our Lady of ... https://www.passionistnuns.org/blog/2025/12/15/photos-from-sr-isabel-marias-first-profession
Monday, December 15, 2025
Monks and nuns:Key Things They Give Up:
Monks and Nuns: Key Things They Give Up:
Monks and nuns give up worldly possessions, marriage/sex (chastity), personal autonomy (obedience), and often social engagement for a life dedicated to spiritual goals, embracing vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience (PCO), simplicity, and service to God/enlightenment, foregoing family, careers, and personal desires for a life of prayer, contemplation, and community within a monastery or convent.
Material Possessions (Poverty): They surrender personal property, with anything they owned going to the order, living communally.
Marriage & Family (Chastity): They commit to celibacy, dedicating their energy to spiritual service rather than romantic relationships or family life.
Personal Will (Obedience): They pledge obedience to superiors (Abbot, Mother Superior) and the monastic rule, accepting assignments as directed.
Worldly Pleasures: They renounce typical worldly pursuits like fame, power, luxury, and many mundane comforts for spiritual discipline (asceticism).
Outside World Engagement: Cloistered monks/nuns live secluded lives, limiting contact with the secular world, focusing inward on prayer and community.
Why They Give Things Up:
Focus on God/Spiritual Growth: To remove distractions (family, careers, possessions) and dedicate their entire being to worship, prayer, and achieving spiritual enlightenment or union with God.
Service: To serve God and humanity through prayer (their primary work) and ancillary tasks like charity, education, or care.
Purity: To live a pure and holy life, pleasing to God, by renouncing attachments that bind them to the cycle of suffering or worldly existence (especially in Buddhism).
Examples Across Traditions:
Christianity (Catholic/Orthodox/Anglican): Emphasize Poverty, Chastity, Obedience (PCO), and detachment from the world.
Buddhism: Renounce worldly desires (money, power, relationships) and suffering-causing attachments to reach enlightenment, practicing simple living and meditation.
What do nuns give up?
AI Overview
What Is a Nun? Nuns and Their Role in Religious Communities
Nuns give up personal ownership, marriage, and romantic relationships through vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, relinquishing personal property, salaries, and control over their lives to live simply and serve their community and God. They give up worldly possessions, often including their inheritance, and commit to communal living, surrendering personal finances and possessions to the order for communal use.
Key sacrifices and vows
Vow of Poverty: Nuns renounce personal property, including bank accounts, salaries, and inheritances, placing all resources at the community's disposal for shared needs.
Vow of Chastity: They abstain from marriage and sexual/romantic relationships, dedicating their love to God and their community.
Vow of Obedience: Nuns commit to following their religious superiors and the rules of their order, surrendering personal autonomy.
Personal Life: They often give up personal smartphones, social media, and worldly entertainment, focusing on prayer, work, and community service.
Family: While not necessarily giving up family, they must ensure any dependent children are cared for before entering, as their lives become communal.
Practical implications
No Personal Finances: Income earned goes to the order; basic needs like food, clothes, and toiletries are provided by the community.
Communal Living: Everything is shared, from living spaces to resources, fostering interdependence rather than individualism.
Simplicity: Life is focused on spiritual purpose, with personal desires for material goods set aside for a life of service and prayer.
https://asec-sldi.org/news/general/vows-catholic-nuns/#:~:text=Nuns%20take%20solemn%20vows,live%20interdependently%20within%20a%20community.
https://www.newidea.com.au/news/nun-rules-and-facts/
------------------------------------------------
What do monks renounce?
Ascetics may withdraw from the world or continue to be part of their society, but typically adopt a frugal lifestyle, characterized by the renunciation of material possessions and physical pleasures, and also spend time fasting while concentrating on religion, prayer, or meditation.
Friday, December 12, 2025
How to Pray for Others
How to Pray for Others (The Secret Weapon You Never Knew You Had!) | Mar... https://youtu.be/5RM8G_mbpiU?si=vSFBQU_sMsLOLP0j
Thursday, December 4, 2025
Tuesday, December 2, 2025
The prophetic vision of peace and unity remains a vision, but one that we can hope for and work toward. —Carol J. Dempsey
The prophetic vision of peace and unity remains a vision, but one that we can hope for and work toward. —Carol J. Dempsey https://www.ncronline.org/spirituality/first-sunday-advent-what-are-we-waiting
First Sunday of Advent: What are we waiting for? This last day of November ends another calendar month and moves us closer to December 21, the winter solstice and the shortest day of the year, when we will be plunged into deeper darkness. Meanwhile, the liturgical season of Advent begins. These next few weeks will find us waiting for the dawn of a new day, embodied in the arrival of the Christ Child whose birth is supposed to usher in a time of peace, one that is forever on the horizon but yet to be realized. Advent is a time of waiting. But what are we waiting for? Surely the Second Coming will not arrive on December 25, 2025 — or will it? First Sunday of Advent November 30, 2025 Isaiah 2:1-5 Psalm 122 Romans 13:11-14 Matthew 24:37-44 Reflecting on our present time, we cannot help but be shaken to our core at how immigrants are being treated by other human beings, outfitted in military gear and face coverings. Under the guise of keeping the peace these agents instead instill fear in those on the margins who have little or no power to resist. Elsewhere, artificial intelligence data centers are being built with rapid speed, changing the course of how and what we think, how we live our lives and how we will relate— or not relate — to one another in the future. Already, communities in high tech regions are experiencing AI’s drain on water supplies, especially in areas receiving less rainfall because of climate change. And political, social, economic, cultural and religious wars rage on. Yet even in times such as these, hope dawns; we move from Ordinary Time to the season of Advent with a prophetic vision lighting our path. People in biblical times experienced similar traumas, upheavals, tragedies and devastations. And yet, they were never without a word of hope. Today’s first reading from the book of Isaiah captures the spirit of anticipation and hope. "The prophetic vision of peace and unity remains a vision, but one that we can hope for and work toward." —Carol J. Dempsey Tweet this The poem opens on a futuristic note, "in days to come." The prophetic vision of peace and unity remains a vision, but one that we can hope for and work toward. The vision anticipates a time when nations will come together, focused on a common journey, ready to receive instruction from the One who sets the tone for relationships among the nations. The Holy One does not act like a judge and does not condemn any of the nations; rather, the Holy One arbitrates among them. When the negotiation takes place, the people can beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks, never again to take up the weapons of war against each other or to learn war. The way to peace is not through violence and bloodshed; rather, it is through instruction and arbitration, initiated, in this poem, by God. We who are baptized into the Catholic faith are baptized into the prophetic; it is our vocation and our calling. We are the recipients of this marvelous vision in these tumultuous times of global crises. The vision calls us to remain faithful to a non-violent way of life, no matter how polarized our world is and will continue to become. The vision provides us with the impetus for hope: hope that one day all communities of life will live in peace, the fruit of justice. But this vision also reminds us that we are not just the recipients of this vision, but the ones who work to make this vision a lived experience. Each of us is imbued with the prophetic spirit of the divine. Each of us has the potential and capacity to exercise our prophetic vocation and calling, and in doing so, to enflesh the presence of the divine in the here and now. The more we embody the Holy One — the one who negotiates and arbitrates among all peoples and across all cultures and nations — the more we offer hope to our world that is anticipating the advent of a new time. Business cannot continue as usual. The letter to the Romans is a clarion call to people everywhere, not just to the early Christian communities. Now is the time for all of us to get our acts together, to look outward instead of focusing on what is continuously self-satisfying. The reading calls for a higher ethic, one based on the Gospel capable of transforming all the sordidness of life. Would that people in leadership heed this clarion call and work to bring about the vision of peace that has justice as its foundation. What are we all waiting for?
Immaculate Heart Vocations
Immaculate Heart Vocation Prayer Society https://youtu.be/yW8tkpGo8xk?si=aP0Aj-klLjWZ7gce
Thursday, November 27, 2025
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)