World

The origin of the icon that is at the center of devotion to Our Lady of Perpetual Help is unknown.

Many have thought that St. Luke painted it, but its existence prior to the late Middle Ages cannot be confirmed.

Likely it is Eastern in origin due to the Byzantine style and Greek lettering. Read more »

The final corporal work of mercy, “bury the dead,” is especially relevant this week as we remember the 43rd anniversary of Roe v. Wade.

Tragically, most if not all of the unborn children who lost their lives from abortion were never given the dignity of a proper burial.

Most were thrown into the trash, treated like garbage. Read more »

In more ways than one, Ash Wednesday – celebrated March 1 this year – leaves a mark.

That's because not only are Catholics marked with a sign of penitence with ashes on their foreheads, but the rich symbolism of the rite itself draws Catholics to churches in droves even though it is not a holy day of obligation and ashes do not have to be distributed during a Mass. Read more »

This corporal work of mercy includes two separate acts: “ransoming the captive” and “visiting the imprisoned.”

For the purposes of this article we will look at “visiting the imprisoned” as that is a bit more accessible for the average person.

In my last article, we looked at a recent pope, John Paul II, and his practice of “visiting the sick.” Read more »

St. Padre Pio was an Italian priest who was known for his piety and charity as well as for the gift of the stigmata, which has never been explained.

St. Padre Pio was born Francesco Forgione, on May 25, 1887, in Pietrelcina, Italy. His parents were peasant farmers.

He had an older brother and three younger sisters, as well as two other siblings who died in infancy. As a child, he was very religious and by the age of 5 he reportedly made the decision to dedicate his life to God. Read more »

Brunei Catholic lawyers celebrated the Red Mass on 25th May 2016. The inaugural mass was held last year.

This year the Votive Mass of the Holy Spirit was once again celebrated at the Church of Our Lady of the Assumption, Bandar Seri Begawan.

The main celebrant at the said Mass was Bishop Cornelius Sim, Vicar Apostolic of Brunei. Read more »

While preparing an article for this corporal work of mercy (visiting the sick), I immediately thought of one pope who highlighted this practice during his pontificate.

That pope was St. John Paul II, who throughout his life emphasized the habit of “visiting the sick.”

He is an inspiration to me and challenges us all to renew our own efforts in performing this work of mercy. Read more »

We will focus on the next corporal works of mercy, “harbor the harborless” (shelter the homeless).

The Vatican highlighted this particular work of mercy this year when the new “Gift of Mercy” homeless shelter was established in October.

Even Pope Francis made a surprise visit. Read more »

The third corporal work of mercy, “clothe the naked,” seems rather straightforward.

One would think that it simply means to give clothes to someone who doesn’t have any.

While that certainly is an aspect of this work of mercy, it does not paint the whole picture. Read more »

St. Agnes of Rome was born in 291 AD and raised in a Christian family.

Agnes was very beautiful and belonged to a wealthy family. Her hand in marriage was highly sought after, and she had many high ranking men chasing after her.

However, Agnes made a promise to God never to stain her purity. Her love for the Lord was great and she hated sin even more than death! Read more »