Catholic Church

By Sue Ellen Browder, EWTN News - In all spheres of our lives — economic, commercial, medical, global relations, etc. — we have reached amazing peaks of power. And yet, as a wise priest in Nazareth observed on the Solemnity of the Annunciation, in a few days, “everything changed,” and “all our perceptions changed dramatically. ... We felt powerful; now we feel powerless. We [trusted in] ourselves; now we cannot trust anything. ... In the past we were under the dominion of ourselves, our human power. Now we are under the dominion of fear,” and we feel powerless… The coronavirus is teaching us a valuable lesson: We are not in charge here. But will we listen?

By Fr. Mike Schmitz, Ascension Presents - When we pray “lead us not into temptation”, it may seem like God has the capacity to tempt us. But that’s not the case. God does not tempt us, but he can and sometimes must put us through tests. Here are a four helpful ways to look at this part of the Our Father: Tests reveal things to us. When God tests us, it reveals how much faith, hope, and love we have in God and for God.

By Mary Farrow, CNA - Bishops across the United States have suspended public liturgies and closed church buildings in the past few weeks in response to state-issued public safety policies, and Catholic leaders have warned of an immediate revenue shortfall. Consequences of that shortfall include staff reductions, furloughs, and decreased hours.

By Fr. Mark Withoos, Crisis Magazine - A cardinal, a Prince of the Church, remains locked up in a small cell, separated from all, locked in, and without access to the sacraments. No, this is not coronavirus, and this is not Italy. In many ways it is a metaphor—we might even be forgiven for thinking it a paragraph from Lord of the World—but for the man concerned, George Cardinal Pell, it is not a metaphor but reality.