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Ten Things to Remember For Lent
In your 40-day Lenten retreat, here are ten things to remember as you go on your Lenten Journey to the Foot of the Cross:
Down syndrome could get a patron saint
Jerome Lejeune, who discovered trisomy 21, is on the path to canonization.
For many centuries people with Down syndrome were misunderstood. Some even thought it was a disease caused by syphilis in the mother from prostitution. However, that all changed when Jerome Lejeune and Marthe Gautier, studying in Professor Raymond Turpin’s laboratory, discovered the link between Down syndrome and trisomy 21 in 1958.
This helped families come out of the shadows with the scientific proof that it was a chromosome abnormality and not a result of sinful behavior.
Whatever you do for the least of my brethren, you do it for me
Furthermore, Lejeune’s research was motivated by his deep Catholic faith and concern for others. The motto of his life was, “Just one sentence, spoken by Jesus himself, will suffice to determine our behavior: ‘Whatever you do for the least of my brethren, you do it for me.'”
He also had a special friendship with St. John Paul II, who appointed him the first president of the Pontifical Academy for Life.
Person tests positive for coronavirus in Vatican City
In a statement released March 6, 2020, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said services were halted "in order to sanitize the area after a patient tested positive for COVID-19."
"The Directorate of Health and Hygiene is informing the competent Italian authorities and, in the meantime, the foreseen health protocols have been initiated," Bruni said.
Read more Person tests positive for coronavirus in Vatican City
American Lasallian Missionary Brother, James Alfred Miller, beatified
A martyr for education
"A martyr, an excellent educator and evangelical defender of the poor and oppressed, who became one of us and for us gave his life": this is how Cardinal José Luis Lacunza Maestrojuán, Bishop of David (Panama), representing Pope Francis, described Brother James Alfred Miller, of the Lasallian Christian Brothers school, during the beatification celebrations that he presided over Saturday, December 7, 2019, in Huehuetenango, Guatemala, in the place of his martyrdom.
His life’s journey
Blessed James Miller was born on September 21, 1944 in Ellis, a small town in Wisconsin, in the north of the United States. Outgoing, simple and enthusiastic, full of energy, tireless, in the Pacelli High School of Stevens Point, headed by the Lasallian Christian Brothers, his vocation matured.
He joined the Lasallians in 1959, professed his religious vows in 1969, and wanted to go on a mission. Destined for Nicaragua, he remained there until 1980, giving proof to his abilities, also appreciated by the civil authorities. When President Somoza was dismissed, they called him back to the United States.
Read more American Lasallian Missionary Brother, James Alfred Miller, beatified
Raphael’s tapestries help our understanding of Sistine Chapel
For the first time since 1983, all ten of Raphael’s grand tapestries depicting the lives of Saints Peter and Paul will be exhibited together in the Sistine Chapel, hanging at eye level beneath Michelangelo’s frescoed ceiling as was the original intention.
Scheduled to be on display Feb. 17-23, 2020, this will be the Vatican’s way of honoring the famous Renaissance master as the world marks the 500th anniversary of his death. The last time they were presented was for the 500th anniversary of his birth.
The artist, who died in 1520 at the age of 37, never saw all ten together. The pieces were woven over a four-year period in Brussels, in the notable and highly successful Brussels tapestry workshop of Pieter van Aelst, using silk, wool and gilded silver thread.
Raphael painted the “cartoons” used to create the tapestries while he was decorating the “Stanze” in the Vatican, also called the Raphael rooms, and he remained in Rome while the tapestries were created. (Only seven of these “cartoons” survive, and are on display at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.)
Read more Raphael’s tapestries help our understanding of Sistine Chapel
Why Kobe Bryant took his Catholic faith so seriously
It is overcast and quiet as parishioners stream into Newport Beach’s Our Lady Queen of Angels Church, greeted by pastor Father Steve Sallot, both his grin and Roman collar askew. Though it’s the 7 a.m. Mass, the flow of cars and people remains steady, perhaps because it’s Super Bowl Sunday and there are dips waiting to be layered. Or perhaps because this Mass, and at this parish, figures to be forever linked to the final hours of Kobe Bryant’s life.
Read more Why Kobe Bryant took his Catholic faith so seriously
The importance of being a good neighbor
Recently I was asked to be on a panel of leaders from various faiths for a regional youth event at the local Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. As I arrived the building was abuzz with youthful energy. A few hundred young people, some who had woken up as early as 5 a.m. to make the drive with their youth groups, were gathered for a day of teaching, prayer, and service.
“Won’t You Be My Neighbor?”
(from top left) Symbols representing: Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Jews, Baha'is, Eckists, Sikhs, Jains, Wiccans, Unitarian Universalists, Shintoists, Taoists, Thelemites, Tenrikyoists, and ZoroastriansTheir theme for the day was “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” The theme was perfect for our part of the day as well as the moment we find ourselves in culturally. The church we were gathered at is literally neighbor to some of the panelists, right up the street from our local Islamic Center, and is ever more connected to and a driver of local service and interfaith activity.We saw the teens in groups of about 100 at a time because there were so many they couldn’t fit in the space all at once. As the young people filtered in for the first conversation, I was struck at how similar the gathering felt to every Catholic youth event I’ve been a part of: loud kids, quiet kids, nerdy kids, cool kids, and a few sleepy kids (I’m guessing they were part of that 5am crowd).
We panelists were taking our seats at the same time. I was seated next to a woman who is a Quaker. Next to her was a Muslim college chaplain, and on the end was a woman from the Jewish Federation. One thing I love about being involved in interfaith activities is that they always get me thinking about what’s distinct about our different faiths and what we hold in common.
Why the film, ‘Marriage Story’, is our story
Netflix describes its new film “Marriage Story” as a “compassionate look at a marriage coming apart and a family staying together,” but that is a rather optimistic assessment. It does not have a happy ending. It is also one of the best movies on marriage ever made.
A delicate tragedy that looks with immoderate compassion and unconventional sincerity at the limits of human love, director Noah Baumbach serves us up with a truth that is hard to look at, but whose contemplation might, in the end, leave the door open for hope (spoilers ahead).
Intimate sharing
In a delicate ruse, the movie begins with each character reading a list of things they love about their partner. I’d consider myself most fortunate if my wife wrote only a half of what Nicole (Scarlett Johansson) has to say about her husband. Charlie (Adam Driver) cleans up, sews, keeps the house in order, takes all his wife’s moods steadily and never makes her feel bad about them, and even loves to wake up in the dead of night to tend to their child.Africa Martyrs – Charles Lwanga and his Companions
Stained glass at Munyonyo Martyrs Shrine Church (Kampala) at place were St. Kizito was baptized; photo: Wulman83Between November 15, 1885 and January 27, 1887, St. Charles Lwagna and many other martyrs gave their lives for the faith in Namugongo, Uganda.
Catholicism began to spread there in 1879, when the White Fathers, a congregation of priests, were received peacefully by King Mutesa of Uganda. The priests began baptizing and converting a number of pages in the king’s court.
The persecution began
But after Mutesa died, his son Mwanga, a corrupt man who ritually engaged in pedophilic practices with the young pages, took the throne. After Mwanga had a visiting Anglican bishop murdered, his chief page, Joseph Mukasa, who had been converted and protected the younger boys from the king’s actions, denounced Mwanga. Joseph was beheaded on November 15, 1885.Charles protected the youth
Charles Lwanga became the chief page at the age of 25. He was also a Catholic, and took on the role of protector for the younger pages. The night that Joseph was martyred, Charles took many of the pages to the White Fathers to be baptized, fearing for their own lives. Another 100 catechumens were baptized in the week after Joseph’s death.Read more Africa Martyrs – Charles Lwanga and his Companions
Meditation for the La Salette Year of Vocations
a prophet to the nations I appointed you” (Jeremiah 1:5).
For the La Salette Year of Vocation inaugurated on September 19, 2019, we are invited to reflect on the following theme: "Come, do not be afraid, Christ lives and wants you to be alive".
Mary said to the two children at La Salette: "Come near, my children" and theys are the words of Pope Francis to the youth in his Post Synodal Exhortation to the youth (Christus Vivit). Vocation is a gift of God's love for his people. The call of God is to stay with him “whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him” (I John 4:16).
Love is what life is all about
“The source of every perfect gift is God who is Love, Deus caritas est: “Whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him” (1 John 4:16). Sacred Scripture tells the story of this original bond between God and humanity, which precedes creation itself. Writing to the Christians of the city of Ephesus, Saint Paul raises a hymn of gratitude and praise to the Father who, with infinite benevolence, in the course of the centuries accomplishes his universal plan of salvation, which is a plan of love. In his Son Jesus – Paul states – “he chose us, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish before him in love” (Ephesians1:4).
We are loved by God even “before” we come into existence! Moved solely by his unconditional love, he created us “not … out of existing things” (see 2 Maccabees 7:28), to bring us into full communion with (the Lord)” (Pope Benedict on the 49th World day of Prayer for Vocations).