"We have damaged the liturgy," said Cardinal Robert Sarah in a video interview with Le Figaro Idées (April 2). "It is too noisy. Too noisy. As if we were celebrating ourselves." He warned against reducing worship to mere "conviviality", insisting that a more sober liturgy celebrates the greatness of God. Cardinal Sarah also said: "Today, we practically never speak about salvation," and cautioned that "if the Church does not speak about the soul and what will happen to it after death, then it fails in its mission."
«L’Église a abimé la liturgie de la messe. Elle est trop bruyante ! C’est comme si on se célébrait nous-même. C’est devenu un moment convivial, alors que nous sommes là pour adorer Dieu, il faut une liturgie qui adore Dieu. On ne parle plus du salut et de l’âme !», se désole le cardinal Robert Sarah dans Le Club Le Figaro
Apr 3 Good Friday: the largest Cricifix in the world and the Canadian connection The "Cross in the Woods" is the "Catholic Shrine ... located in Indian River, Michigan. The Shrine is home to the largest crucifix in the world." About the shrine: The sculpture of the crucified Christ was titled 'The Man on the Cross' by the renowned Michigan sculptor Marshall Fredericks. It is made of bronze 3/8″ to 1/2″ thick. It weighs seven tons, is twenty-eight feet tall from head to toe, and the outstretched arms span twenty-one feet. The figure of Christ is attached by thirteen bolts 30″ long and 2″ thick that were made when the figure was cast in Norway. Fredericks wanted to portray Christ in a peaceful way. It was his dream to 'give the face an expression of great peace and strength and offer encouragement to everyone who viewed the Cross'. Apr 2 "You are clean, but not all of you" This is a very thoughtful homily given by Pope Benedict XVI for the Mass of the Lord's Supper. It was delivered at …
The final criminal case against the Catholic pro-life investigator David Daleiden has been dismissed. This ends a nearly decade-long legal battle stemming from his undercover investigation into the abortion industry. Daleiden released in 2015 a series of undercover videos showing that officials connected to Planned Parenthood Federation of America sold body parts and fetal tissue of aborted babies. In 2016, the office of then–California Attorney General Kamala Harris (2011-2017) prosecuted Daleiden and his colleague Sandra Merritt related to illegal recording (invasion of privacy). She did not prosecute Planned Parenthood. Over time, more than half of the charges were dismissed by a judge. Instead of going to trial on the remaining charges, David Daleiden agreed in 2025 to the deal “no contest” (nolo contendere) . It allows a defendant to resolve a criminal case without admitting guilt while accepting the court’s judgment. The agreement included no jail time, fines, or probation, …Siwaju sii
By Phil Lawler ( bio - articles - email ) | Mar 26, 2026 When is the last time you were at Mass—in an ordinary parish, not a monastery or retreat center—for a regularly scheduled parish Mass, not connected with any special event—and noticed that the congregation was predominantly male? I don’t think it had ever happened to me before last night. Whenever I see another seminar devoted to “Women in the Church,” I cannot resist making the prosaic observation that the discussion is unlikely to break any new ground. Open the door to a typical American Catholic church, and what do you see? Women in the church. Attend a meeting of the altar guild, the religious-education teachers, the parish secretaries, the extraordinary ministers. Time and again the women outnumber the men. But not at this church, where we attended Mass for the feast of the Annunciation because we are traveling. There were more men and boys than women and girls; if you counted the altar boys it wasn’t close. Moreover …
[Saint Albert the Great – Albertus Magnus – XIII Century AD; Duchy of Bavaria/Cologne, Holy Roman Empire; (Aged ca 80); German Dominican friar, philosopher, scientist, and bishop; one of the greatest medieval philosophers and thinkers; Doctor of the Church] “Chapter 7 ~ How the heart should be gathered within itself What is more, as is said in the book On the Spirit and the Soul (of St. Augustine), to ascend to God means to enter into oneself. He who entering within and penetrating his inmost nature, goes beyond himself, he is truly ascending to God. So let us withdraw our hearts from the distractions of this world, and recall them to the inner joys, so that we can establish them to some degree in the light of divine contemplation. For this is the life and peace of our hearts - to be established by intent in the love of God and to be sweetly remade by his comforting. But the reason why we are in so many ways hindered in the practical enjoyment of this matter and are unable to get into …Siwaju sii
"It is therefore right and necessary for the mind to raise itself above itself and everything created by the abandonment of everything, with humble reverence and great trust, and to say within itself, He whom I seek, love, thirst for and desire from everything and more than anything is not a thing of the senses or the imagination, but is above everything that can be experienced by the senses and the intellect. He cannot be experienced by any of the senses, but is completely desirable to my will. He is moreover not discernable, but is perfectly desirable to my inner affections. He cannot be comprehended, but can be loved in his fullness with a pure heart, for he is above all lovable and desirable, and of infinite goodness and perfection."
On Holy Thursday, Cardinal Luis José Rueda Aparicio of Bogotá, Colombia, washed the feet of homosexual prostitutes (“transgender sex workers”). This act mirrors similar gestures made by Pope Francis.
Arzobispo Primado de Colombia, monseñor Luis José Rueda, lavó los pies a un grupo de personas de la comunidad trans y de mujeres trabajadoras sexuales en el barrio Santa Fe, zona de tolerancia de Bogotá
[Saint Catherine of Genoa ~ XV-XVI Century; Genoa, Republic of Genoa/ Genoa, Republic of Genoa; (aged 62-63); Mystic; Spiritual Writer] “Chapter VIII ~ THE NECESSITY OF PURGATORY, AND HOW TERRIBLE IT IS AGAIN I say that, on God's part, I see paradise has no gate, but that whosoever will may enter therein ; for God is all mercy, and stands with open arms to admit us to His glory. But still I see that the Being of God is so pure (far more than one can imagine), that should a soul see in itself even the least mote of imperfection, it would rather cast itself into a thousand hells than go with that spot into the presence of the Divine Majesty. Therefore, seeing purgatory ordained to take away such blemishes, it plunges therein, and deems it a great mercy that it can thus remove them. No tongue can express, no mind can understand, how dreadful is purgatory. Its pain is like that of hell ; and yet (as I have said) I see any soul with the least stain of imperfection accept it as a mercy, not …Siwaju sii
"No tongue can express, no mind can understand, how dreadful is purgatory. Its pain is like that of hell ; and yet (as I have said) I see any soul with the least stain of imperfection accept it as a mercy, not thinking it of any moment when compared with being kept from its Love. It appears to me that the greatest pain the souls in purgatory endure proceeds from their being sensible of something in themselves displeasing to God, and that it has been done voluntarily against so much goodness ; for, being in a state of grace, they know the truth, and how grievous is any obstacle which does not let them approach God."
Why the Bride of Christ Cannot Disappear or Defect We are living through a period of profound upheaval in the life of the Church. The statistics alone are sobering. Since the mid-twentieth century – and especially in the decades following the promulgation of the New Mass – Attendance at Sunday Mass in formerly Catholic nations has collapsed, seminaries have emptied, religious life has declined dramatically, catechesis has weakened, and moral confusion has spread even within ecclesiastical circles.[1] Entire cultures once unmistakably Catholic now stand secularized. (The Fatima Center’s own David Rodríguez recently witnessed this firsthand in Croatia, a country which was well over 90% Catholic for over more than 1000 years!) The assault is not merely external. The Church is attacked from without by militant secularism, aggressive atheism, and moral revolution. Yet she is also wounded from within by doctrinal ambiguity, liturgical experimentation, denigration of piety, the embracing …
On Holy Thursday, Leo XIV washed and kissed the feet of 12 priests in the Lateran Basilica. In his homily, he remembered his predecessor: "As Pope Francis once remarked: 'This is a duty that comes from the heart. I love it. I love it and I love doing it, because that is what the Lord has taught me to do.' He was not speaking of an abstract imperative or a formal, empty command, but rather expressing his heartfelt obedience to the charity of Christ, the source and model of our own charity."
Il Giovedì Santo, Papa Leone XIV lava i piedi a 12 sacerdoti.
I am glad Pope Leo XIV has carried out the washing of the feet in a traditional, more dignified and proper way. But, I just don't get this "kissing the feet" thing. The Gospel of St. John tells us Jesus washed the feet of His Apostles, it says nothing about kissing them. I have seen this kissing before and I find it cringey! It comes across - to me - as one-upping Our Lord Jesus, a kind of false humility (like the Francis) or virtue-signaling! Personally, I have never kissed feet during the washing of the feet. In the past it was done (or had the possibility of been done) at a separate ceremony. Now days in many places the whole thing is abused and a bit of a circus. The only feet I'd kiss are the crucified feet of our Lord Jesus Christ. Laudetur Iesus Christus!
He could have retired to a mansion. Instead, he bought 6 tons of beef, 7,000 cakes, and 8,700 bricks of ice cream — and invited every man, woman, and child in three counties to come eat for free. His name was Edgar Byram Davis, and his story is one of the most extraordinary acts of generosity in American history. Davis grew up in Brockton, Massachusetts. He worked his way up from the shoe business to become a wealthy rubber industry investor. Then, at 46 years old, he followed his brother to a small, struggling farming town in Texas called Luling — where geologists had unanimously declared there was no oil worth finding. He drilled anyway. Six wells. All dry. His company sank into debt so deep that his phone was disconnected and the bank wouldn't cash a seven-dollar check. Most men would have walked away. Davis drilled a seventh well. On August 9, 1922, Rafael Rios No. 1 exploded 200 feet into the sky. Within two years, the Luling field was producing 43,000 barrels of oil per day. A …Siwaju sii
British schoolgirl arrested in East Germany #OnThisDay 1960: A British schoolgirl cheerily told Judith Chalmers about her holiday, which involved accidentally getting arrested in East Germany.