Catholic Church

By Msgr. Charles Pope - There are times—times like these—when many may be discouraged. There are times when evil may seem to triumph and the victory of Christ seems far off. For indeed, we live in a fallen world, governed by a fallen angel, and we have fallen natures… As Advent progresses, however, there comes a word of encouragement from Isaiah, who is the main prophet of reference during this season. Addressed to the fainthearted, it is an unambiguous declaration that God is working His purposes out and that nothing in this world can prevent His plan from being fulfilled.

By Jeanne Smits, Paris correspondent, LifeSiteNews - In an initiative that originated in France, Catholics are being called to mark the liturgical feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Thursday, December 12, by prayers of love and reparation for the idolatrous parodies of her image in the Vatican Gardens, in the Synod Aula, in the streets of Rome, in the church of Santa Maria in Traspontina near St Peter’s Square and in St Peter's Basilica itself, at the very heart of Christendom.

By Msgr. Charles Pope - I have noted before on this blog that one of the trends in modern liturgy is the shift of focus from God to “the assembly.” Too much of liturgy today is anthropocentric… Back in the 1990’s, in his book Why Catholics Can’t Sing, Thomas Day observed that modern liturgy often amounts to “the aware, gathered community, celebrating itself.” Many songs today go on at great length about how we are gathered, we are the flock, we are God’s song, etc. When God is mentioned it is more in relation to us, rather than the reverse. He is all about us, and this seems to please us greatly.

By Jake Ross, LifeSiteNews - A new YouTube channel started by young seminarians in Switzerland is teaching people around the world about beauty and tradition in the Catholic liturgy.The channel is the project of Brother Alexandre Frezzato, from the Wallis region in Switzerland, and Brother Stefan Ansinger, from the Netherlands. Both study at the University of Fribourg in Switzerland and are Dominican seminarians. The brothers provide a weekly private class in Gregorian chant to anyone willing to learn.