Catholic Church

By Dom Cingoranelli, Catholic Stand - Between our human condition and the work of the evil one, we face many obstacles on our path to holiness. We can and must overcome the obstacles, though. St. John of the Cross tells us that a bird tied down to earth can’t fly; it doesn’t matter if it’s tied down with a thread or a rope. An attachment is still an attachment, no matter how great or how small. Some of them are greater than others, but they all impede our progress along the narrow path. Self-awareness through prayerful discernment and spiritual direction can show us where we need to focus first. Prayer and ongoing accountability through spiritual direction can help us gradually cut those threads or ropes that are holding us back from Our Lord and Savior.

By Michael W. Chapman, CNSNews - Catholic Cardinal Raymond Burke, an American who serves on the highest court at the Vatican, said the coronavirus should be viewed in natural terms and spiritual terms because "great evils like pestilence are an effect of original sin and our actual sins."… God must "repair the disorder which sin introduces into our lives and into our world," he said, and our response to the pandemic must include a consideration of our culture, which kills the unborn through abortion, neglects the elderly, and perverts human sexuality -- God made them male and female -- through "so-called 'gender theory'" and even "violent" sex-change surgery.

By Bradley Eli, M.Div., Ma.Th., Church Militant - Bishops are feeling the pressure to conform as diocese after diocese shuts off sacraments to Catholics owing to the Wuhan virus… Tyler, Texas Bp. Joseph Strickland on Thursday addressed the need for each bishop to run his own diocese… “I think the principle of subsidiarity, it's my new word for all of this, because we've lost it," Strickland said on World Over. "Really, with the Church we have these huge organizations, this megachurch that is controlling everything. That's not what Christ gave us. He gave us successors of the Apostles."… "I have no authority. [As] soon as you leave the borders of the 33 counties I have no authority. Thank God! Thank you, Lord"…

By Fr. Edward Looney, Catholic Exchange - The rosary is a powerful prayer.  In Fatima, Our Lady said pray the rosary every day for peace in the world.  I’m certain Our Lady wants us to pray the rosary everyday now for the end to global health crisis.  In these rosary meditations, you will discover how we can pray with and around the current situation, by using the life of Jesus and Mary.  I hope these meditations enrich your prayer life and prove fruitful for the world.