Catholic Church

By Kathleen Beckman, Catholic Exchange - Satan is a dealer of doubt, a sower of dissent, a divider, and a deceiver. Sexual sin and moral disorder are definitely the devil’s playground — and yes, even priests go there. That’s why priests have dire need of strong spiritual armor reinforced by the prayers and fasting of God’s people. It’s why informed Catholics are not surprised to be told, “You must always carry a special place in your prayers and in your heart for the sanctification of the priesthood and the sacredness of the Mass”

By Msgr. Charles Pope - All the shed blood of lambs could not save. Those offerings only pointed to the true Lamb of God and our Passover, Jesus Christ. Even the extravagant offering of a bull could never pay our debt of sin; only Jesus could redeem us, paying the price of our salvation. All those ancient sacrifices could only remind us that by our sins we had a debt we could not pay; they could only serve to symbolize our repentance.

By Joseph Pronechen, EWTN News - First, Christians “must realize that a moment of crisis is not a time of despair, but of opportunity.  The more we can anticipate the doom, the more we can avoid it. Once we recognize we are under Divine Wrath, we become eligible for Divine Mercy.  It was because of famine the prodigal said: ‘I will arise, and will go to my father.’ The very disciplines of God create hope.  The thief on the right came to God by a crucifixion. The Christian finds a basis for optimism in the most thorough-going pessimism, for his Easter is within three days of Good Friday.”

By Rob Schwarzwalder, The Stream - He did not buckle. Even when he had to stand against the Roman emperor himself. From 328 until his death in 373, Athanasius of Alexandria was exiled no less than five times for a total of 17 years. He was threatened with death more than once. When a friend said to him, “Athanasius, the whole world is against you,” he responded, “Then it is Athanasius against the world.”