Our Lady of Fatima and Pope Leo XIV

“The Rosary for Peace will be held during the Jubilee of Marian Spirituality, which takes place on October 11-12. That day also marks the 63rd anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council, which Pope St John XXIII opened on October 11, 1962. The original image of Our Lady of Fatima will be in St Peter's Square for the Rosary prayer and the Jubilee of Marian Spirituality”. Pope Leo urges Catholics to pray daily Rosary for Peace in October • Sep 24th, 2025 ________________________________________ …. Source: Vatican Media Pope Leo XIV invited Catholics around the world to pray the Rosary every day during October, for peace in war-torn lands. He made the announcement during the Wednesday General Audience. He said the faithful in Rome will gather in St Peter's Square on October, 11, 2025 at 6pm. "I invite everyone, each day of the coming month, to pray the Rosary for peace-personally, in the family, and in community," he said. The Pope also invited Vatican employees to pray the Rosary daily in St Peter's Basilica at 7pm throughout October. He invited Christians to share with others "the love of Jesus that illumines and lifts up humanity." The Rosary for Peace will be held during the Jubilee of Marian Spirituality, which takes place on October 11-12. That day also marks the 63rd anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council, which Pope St John XXIII opened on October 11, 1962. The original image of Our Lady of Fatima will be in St Peter's Square for the Rosary prayer and the Jubilee of Marian Spirituality. Statue of Our Lady of Fatima travels to meet Pope Leo XIV The schedule for the Jubilee of Marian Spirituality, which will take place in Rome on 11 and 12 October, has been announced. The statue of Our Lady of Fatima, which is venerated in the Chapel of the Apparitions, will be present. Pope Francis expressed his desire to have the statue of Our Lady of Fatima present at the Jubilee of Marian Spirituality in Rome on 11 and 12 October, and this was reaffirmed by Pope Leo XIV. The sculpture venerated in the Chapel of the Apparitions will leave Cova da Iria on 10 October in order to be present at the schedule now announced by the Dicastery for Evangelization. There will be two occasions when Pope Leo XIV will be with the statue of the Virgin Mary: on Saturday, 11 October, at 6 p.m., at the prayer vigil in St. Peter’s Square, and at the Mass he will preside over on Sunday, 12 October, at 10:30 a.m., also in St. Peter’s Square. Throughout the 11th, the faithful will have the opportunity to venerate and be close to the Statue of Our Lady in the Church of Santa Maria in Traspontina. On that day, the schedule includes Mass at 9:00 a.m., presided over by the rector of the Shrine of Fatima, Father Carlos Cabecinhas; at 12:00 p.m., the Rosary presided over by Father Giuseppe Midili; and at 5:00 p.m., a procession from the Church of Santa Maria in Traspontina to St. Peter's Square. In a statement issued in February confirming the arrival of the statue of Our Lady in Rome, the Dicastery for Evangelization said that the presence of the image of the Virgin Mary at the Jubilee of Marian Spirituality will “further enrich this moment of prayer and reflection”. Quoted in the statement, Archbishop Rino Fisichella, the pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization, described the image as “one of the most significant Marian icons for Christians worldwide” and stressed that “the presence of the beloved original statue of Our Lady of Fatima will allow everyone to experience the closeness of the Virgin Mary”. This will be the fourth time that the sculpture has left Cova da Iria to go to Rome. For the rector of the Shrine of Fatima, Father Carlos Cabecinhas, it is a cause for great joy: “in this jubilee time, the Virgin of Fatima is thus the woman of Easter joy, even during the painful times the world is going through.” “Once again, the ‘Lady dressed in white’ will become a pilgrim of hope and, in Rome, she will be with the “bishop dressed in white’, as the little shepherds of Fatima affectionately called the Holy Father,” he said. Fatima and Pope Leo XIV – The iPadre Catholic Podcast Fatima and Pope Leo XIV Posted on May 13, 2025 by Fr. Jay Finelli Today is the 108th Anniversary of the First Apparition of Our Lady of Fatima. Let us examine the Prophetic Link Between Fatima, Pope Leo XIII, and Pope Leo XIV. On May 13, 1917, in a remote field in Cova da Iria, three shepherd children were visited by a radiant Lady from Heaven—Our Lady of the Rosary. That encounter would mark the beginning of one of the most important series of Marian apparitions in the history of the Church, culminating in the Miracle of the Sun on October 13, 1917. Today, we commemorate the 108th anniversary of that first apparition. But Fatima’s message did not come in isolation. In fact, I believe there is a divine thread that ties it together with another event—one that took place exactly 33 years earlier, on October 13, 1884. On that day, Pope Leo XIII, after finishing Mass in the Vatican, fell into a trance-like state. Witnesses reported that he stood frozen at the foot of the altar for about ten minutes. When he recovered, he was visibly shaken. He later recounted that he had been granted a terrifying vision: he had seen Satan asking God for permission to destroy the Church. The Lord allowed him a certain amount of time and power—after which, Our Lady would intervene. In response to this, Pope Leo XIII composed the Prayer to St. Michael the Archangel and ordered it to be said after every Low Mass throughout the world. The connection between these two events—Leo XIII’s vision and the apparitions of Fatima—is striking. One could say that they mark the beginning and end of a prophetic warning: a century-long battle between Heaven and hell, with the fate of countless souls hanging in the balance. A Time of Crisis… and a Time of Hope Since those two monumental events, we have seen the rapid advance of secularism, wars, moral collapse, and a tragic division within the Church. The cultural revolution of the 20th century, the loss of belief in the Real Presence, the spread of doctrinal confusion, and the weakening of religious vocations have left deep scars. Evil has grown bolder, and many of the faithful have grown weary. And yet, just when it seemed that darkness was gaining the upper hand, a new light has begun to shine—Pope Leo XIV. The Rise of Pope Leo XIV His rise to the papacy has been nothing short of extraordinary: • Ordained a priest in 1982 • Consecrated a bishop in 2014 • Created a cardinal in 2023 • Elected Pope on May 7, 2025 …. From an unknown diocesan bishop to the Supreme Pontiff in barely a decade—a pace and path rarely seen in Church history. …. It is as if Heaven is once again sending a signal: the battle continues, but God is not abandoning His Church. A Marian Pope for Marian Times Pope Leo XIV has demonstrated from the outset a deep and unwavering devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. In his writings, his homilies, and his public acts of piety, he consistently turns to her as both Mother and Queen, Intercessor and Warrior. It is not hard to imagine that Our Lady of Fatima herself has had a hand in his election. Perhaps she has chosen this Pope—this son devoted to her—to be the one who will usher in her promised Triumph, as foretold to the children of Fatima. Certainly, the signs of the times are converging. We may be closer now than ever before to that long-awaited moment when, in the words of Our Lady: “In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph. The Holy Father will consecrate Russia to me, and she will be converted, and a period of peace will be granted to the world.” A Call to Prayer and Fidelity If Pope Leo XIV has indeed been raised up for such a time as this, he will need our prayers more than ever. The weight of Peter’s keys is immense, and the forces aligned against him are powerful and relentless. Years ago, I was told something sobering by Cardinal Mario Luigi Ciappi, a dear family friend and the personal theologian to five popes. He once confided to me: “The Pope is surrounded by enemies.” Let that sink in. The Vicar of Christ walks daily through the fire of spiritual warfare. And yet, as we know, the gates of hell shall not prevail. Still, the Church depends on the fidelity and prayers of her children. Let us then storm Heaven with our supplications: • For the protection of our Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV • For the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary • For the renewal and purification of the Church • For the conversion of sinners and the peace of the world May our Heavenly Father hasten the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, may St. Michael defend Pope Leo XIV in the day of battle, and Our Lady of Fatima safely guide and guard our new Holy Father in these trying times. God love you!

Archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael

Following a vision of Satan “running riot” on the planet, “Pope Leo [XIII] composed three prayers to St. Michael, ranging from short to long” …. “The brief one, he commanded, should be prayed at the end of every Mass”. Today (29th September, 2025), the feast of the angels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, is my (Damien Mackey’s) 75th birthday. Daniel Payne wrote on this very feast-day, in 2023 (up-dated today, 2025): Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael: The 3 great archangels of the Bible | Catholic News Agency Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael: The 3 great archangels of the Bible By Daniel Payne CNA Staff, Sep 29, 2025 / 04:00 am Many Catholics can, at the drop of a hat, recite the prayer to St. Michael the Archangel — the famous petition to that venerable saint to “defend us in battle” and “cast into hell Satan.” In the culture of the Church, Michael is often accompanied by his two fellow archangels — Sts. Gabriel and Raphael — with the three forming a phalanx of protection, healing, and petition for those who ask for their intercession. The Church celebrates the three archangels with a joint feast day on Sept. 29. St. Michael the Archangel St. Michael the Archangel is hailed in the Book of Daniel as “the great prince who has charge of [God’s] people.” Michael Aquilina, the executive vice president and trustee of the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology in Steubenville, Ohio, described Michael among angels as “the one most often named — and most often invoked — and most often seen in history-changing apparitions.” Devotion to Michael, Aquilina told CNA, “has been with the Church from the beginning. And Michael has been with God’s people since before the beginning of the Church.” Michael’s history in the Bible is depicted through Daniel, in Jude (in which he battles Satan for possession of Moses’ body), and in Revelation as he “wag[es] war with the dragon” alongside his fellow angels. Michael, Aquilina said, was “a supremely important character who was there from the beginning of the story.” Rabbinic tradition holds that Michael was at the center of many of the great biblical dramas even if not explicitly mentioned. He was an early subject of veneration in the Church, though Aquilina noted that the Reformation led to a steep decline in devotion to the angels — until the end of the 19th century, when Michael began an “amazing comeback journey” in the life of the Church. Following a vision of Satan “running riot” on the planet, “Pope Leo composed three prayers to St. Michael, ranging from short to long,” Aquilina said. “The brief one, he commanded, should be prayed at the end of every Mass.” This was a regular feature of the Mass until the Vatican II era, after which it came to an end — though Pope John Paul II in 1994 urged Catholics to make the prayer a regular part of their lives. “St. Michael is there for us in the day of battle, which is every day,” Aquilina said. The St. Michael Prayer: St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil / May God rebuke him, we humbly pray / And do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host, by the divine power of God, cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen. St. Gabriel the Archangel Gabriel appears regularly in Scripture as a messenger of God’s word, both in the Old and New Testaments. Daniel identifies Gabriel as a “man” who came “to give [him] insight and understanding,” relaying prophetic answers to Daniel’s entreaties to God. In the New Testament, Luke relays Gabriel’s appearances to both Zechariah and the Virgin Mary. At the former, he informs the priest that his wife, Elizabeth, will soon conceive a child; at the latter he informs Mary herself that she will do the same. The two children in question, of course, were respectively John the Baptist and Jesus Christ. Christian tradition further associates Gabriel with the apostle Paul’s reference in his First Letter to the Thessalonians to the “archangel’s call” and “the sound of the trumpet of God.” “Judgment will begin with the archangel’s call and the sound of the horn,” Aquilina told CNA. “Thus we hear often of Gabriel’s trumpet.” Media workers in particular have “good professional reasons to go to Gabriel,” Aquilina said. “Since he is the Bible’s great communicator — the great teller of good news — he is the natural patron of broadcasters and all those who work in electronic media,” he said. “For the same reason, he’s the patron saint of preachers ... but also of postal workers, diplomats, and messengers.” The St. Gabriel Prayer: O Blessed Archangel Gabriel, we beseech thee, do thou intercede for us at the throne of divine mercy in our present necessities, that as thou didst announce to Mary the mystery of the Incarnation, so through thy prayers and patronage in heaven we may obtain the benefits of the same, and sing the praise of God forever in the land of the living. Amen. St. Raphael the Archangel Lesser-known among the three great archangels, Raphael’s mission from God “is not obvious to the casual reader” of the Bible, Aquilina said. Yet his story, depicted in the Book of Tobit, is “something unique in the whole Bible.” In other depictions of angels, they come to Earth only briefly, to deliver a message or to help God’s favored people in some way. “Raphael is different,” Aquilina said. “He stays around for the whole story, and by the end he’s become something more than an angel ... he’s become a friend.” In Tobit, Raphael accompanies Tobias, the son of the book’s namesake, as he travels to retrieve money left by his father in another town, helping him along the way and arranging for his marriage to Sarah. The biblical account “has in every generation provided insight and consolation to the devout,” Aquilina said. Notably, Raphael deftly uses the natural world to work God’s miracles: “What we would ordinarily call catastrophes — blindness, multiple widowhood, destitution, estrangement — all these become providential channels of grace by the time the threads of the story are all wound up in the end.” “Raphael is patron of many kinds of people,” Aquilina said. “Of course, he’s the patron of singles in search of a mate — and those in search of a friend. He is the patron of pharmacists because he provided the salve of healing. He is a patron for anyone in search of a cure.” He is also the patron saint of blind people, travelers, sick people, and youth. “Raphael’s story,” Aquilina said, “remains a model for those who would enjoy the friendship of the angels.” Prayer to St. Raphael: St. Raphael, of the glorious seven who stand before the throne of him who lives and reigns, angel of health, the Lord has filled your hand with balm from heaven to soothe or cure our pains. Heal or cure the victim of disease. And guide our steps when doubtful of our ways. Amen. Daniel Payne is a senior editor at Catholic News Agency. He previously worked at the College Fix and Just the News. He lives in Virginia with his family.

Charlie Kirk, “this close” to becoming a Catholic - “Mary the Solution"

Kirk acknowledged “speculation” about his possible interest in becoming Catholic, Brennan wrote in Angelus; he subsequently told Bishop Brennan: “I’m this close” to converting. Report: Charlie Kirk was ‘this close’ to becoming Catholic just prior to his death | Catholic News Agency Report: Charlie Kirk was ‘this close’ to becoming Catholic just prior to his death By Daniel Payne CNA Staff, Sep 19, 2025 / 12:02 pm Slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk was reportedly strongly considering becoming Catholic just prior to his assassination, according to a bishop who spoke to him shortly before his killing. Robert Brennan, a Los Angeles-based writer and the brother of Fresno, California, Bishop Joseph Brennan, said in a Sept. 18 column in the Los Angeles archdiocesan newspaper Angelus that Kirk had a “personal exchange” with the California prelate about a week before Kirk’s murder at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10. The writer Brennan, who said Bishop Brennan gave him permission to share the story, wrote that Kirk had spoken to the prelate at a prayer breakfast in Visalia. The conservative activist “told the bishop about his Catholic wife and children and how he attended Mass with them.” Kirk acknowledged “speculation” about his possible interest in becoming Catholic, Brennan wrote in Angelus; he subsequently told Bishop Brennan: “I’m this close” to converting. In his Angelus column Brennan pointed to a recent video Kirk made in which he acknowledged some “big disagreements” with Catholicism but claimed that Protestants “under-value” the Blessed Mother. “We don’t talk about Mary enough. We don’t venerate her enough,” Kirk said, arguing that Mary is “the solution” to “toxic feminism” in the U.S. “[H]ow fitting one of Charlie Kirk’s last videos was about the preeminent mediatrix of all time and space,” Robert Brennan wrote in Angelus. “In his own way he was reaching out to her, and now, I am convinced, she is returning the favor.” Kirk was fatally shot while taking questions from audience members during a stop at Utah Valley University as part of his “American Comeback Tour.” He is survived by his wife, Erika Frantzve, and their 3-year-old daughter and 1-year-old son. Prominent Catholics around the world have joined in the chorus of voices mourning Kirk’s death in the days since he was killed. German Catholic Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller referred to Kirk this week as “a martyr for Jesus Christ” and condemned the “satanic celebration” of his death by some of his detractors. Kristan Hawkins, the president of Students for Life of America and Students for Life Action and a close friend of Kirk’s, said on Sept. 13 that the activist’s death “will be a turning point” for the country. And Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts said Kirk’s activism “restored optimism about the American future for millions of Americans.” Charlie Kirk’s Last Words Shock Christians: Mary Is the Solution! Charlie Kirk has stated that Mary, the Mother of God, is a solution to toxic feminism- emphasizing the need for Protestants to venerate her more.

The Bronze Serpent

‘As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life’. John 3:14-15 Jake Allstaedt has written (2020): https://www.1517.org/articles/jesus-is-our-bronze-serpent Jesus Is Our Bronze Serpent Looking at a bronze serpent on a pole cannot remove deadly venom coursing through your veins. But it can if God says it can. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) is a well-known verse. What isn’t so well-known is the sentence right before it: “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life” (John 3:14-15). That short, seemingly obscure reference is a throwback to an event in the life of God’s people, the Israelites, as they journeyed in the wilderness after having been freed from slavery in Egypt. Understanding that story will enrich our understanding of who Jesus is and what He came to do for us. So, what happened? Throughout the Israelites’ journey in the wilderness God took care of them. He gave them bread from heaven and water to drink. God graciously provided for their every need, yet they turned against Him in the desire for something more than what they had: “And the people spoke against God and against Moses, ‘Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food’” (Numbers 21:5). Oh, there was food and water. God made sure of that. This complaint exposed their selfish discontentment with what they had been given. They were ungrateful, forgetting that they had been rescued from slavery. These gracious provisions weren’t enough; they wanted something more. God gave them something more: fiery serpents. These serpents bit the people and many died. It was because of these serpents that the Israelites realized that they had sinned against God. They asked Moses to pray for them, that God might take away the snakes. Moses did as the people asked and God had mercy on them. He commanded Moses to lift up a bronze serpent on a pole so that everyone who was bitten could look at it and live. Scientifically speaking, that doesn’t even make sense. Looking at a bronze serpent on a pole cannot remove deadly venom coursing through your veins. But it can if God says it can. God spoke. He attached His promise to that bronze serpent and the Israelites looked to it in faith—believing that God would save them through the way He provided. Let’s go back to John 3:14-15: “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.” Jesus came to this world because deadly venom courses through our veins too. It’s called sin. Adam and Eve, our first parents, were “snake-bitten.” Like the Israelites in the wilderness, God graciously provided for their every need, yet they turned against Him in the desire for something more than what they had. The ancient serpent, Satan, tempted them and they gave in, bringing sin into their lives and into creation itself. The venom of sin has passed from generation to generation. You and I have it. Our kids have it. It’s why you’ll never have to teach your children how to be bad. It’s why our hearts are filled with so much hatred, violence, abuse, racism, pride, selfishness, jealousy, adultery—it’s why we journey through the wilderness of this life often craving something more than what God has graciously provided. We have a sin problem. We’ve inherited it and we commit it. This venom is deadly and it is killing us. But God has mercy on us. Immediately after Adam and Eve sinned, God promised a Savior who would crush the head of the serpent, undoing the deadly consequences of sin, while He himself would be bitten. This Savior, Jesus, the Son of God, was lifted up to death on the pole of the cross. When Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, he lifted up that which was killing the people. God, in effect, was declaring, “Look! That which is killing you is now hanging on a pole! I have put away the snake and its venom. I have put away your sin. Look to this serpent in faith and live!” Jesus is our bronze serpent—He became that which was killing us! St. Paul declares in 2 Corinthians 5:21: “For our sake he made him (that is, Jesus) to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” Jesus was “snake-bitten” for us. He became our sin on the cross—the sin we’ve inherited, the sins we have committed, and the sins we will commit—all of it hung on the pole of the cross in the person of Jesus. Look! The sin that is killing you is hanging on the pole of the cross! God has put away your sin. Look to Jesus in faith and live! Let’s read the words of John 3:16 one more time: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” God had mercy on Adam and Eve because He loved them. He had mercy on the Israelites because He loved them. Why does He have mercy on you? Because He loves you. One more time: Because He loves you. He loves us so much that, even though we’ve turned against Him, forgetting His goodness and craving more than He graciously provides, He sent His Son, Jesus, to become our sin and die our death to ensure that you will not perish, but have eternal life. That’s love right there. Anyone—anyone—who looks to Jesus in faith will not perish but have eternal life. 14th September, 2025 Feast of the Triumph of the Holy Cross

Pope Leo XIV to write a document concerning the needs of the poor

FILE PHOTO: Pope Leo XIV blesses people as he holds a general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, September 10, 2025. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane/File Photo© Thomson Reuters By Joshua McElwee VATICAN CITY (Reuters) -Pope Leo is preparing to publish the first high-level document of his four-month papacy, which is expected to signal continuity with his predecessor Pope Francis and focus on the needs of the world's poor, three informed sources told Reuters. Pope Leo writing first document on needs of poor, sources say Story by Joshua McElwee The text, known as an apostolic exhortation, will likely take the name "Dilexit te" (He loved you) and be published in the next few weeks, they said. The title of the new text suggests a strong tie with Francis, who died in April after leading the 1.4-billion-member Catholic Church for 12 years. His last major document, an encyclical, was issued in October 2024 with the name "Dilexit nos" (He loved us). Popes often write a document setting out their priorities in the first months of their tenure, but it is unclear if Leo's text will address several themes or focus on one issue. Francis shunned many of the trappings of the papacy. He often hosted meals with Rome's homeless population and frequently criticised the global market system as not caring for society's most vulnerable people. Leo, the former Cardinal Robert Prevost and the first U.S. pope, was elected to replace Francis by the world's cardinals on May 8. Francis' last encyclical, "Dilexit nos," took a different approach from many of his other writings, largely abstaining from talking about political issues and instead focusing on spiritual themes. In that text, Francis urged the world's Catholics to abandon the "mad pursuit" of money and instead devote themselves to their faith. (Reporting by Joshua McElweeEditing by Gareth Jones) Pope Leo writing first document on needs of poor, sources say

Pope Leo canonises “God’s influencer”, first millennial saint

Saint Carlo's online mission gained praise from Pope Francis, who had previously spoken about the need for technology to be in service of "human dignity". The Italian teenager became a saint on September 7. (Wikimedia Commons: Fair Use) The Catholic world has gained its first millennial saint. Saint Carlo Acutis, an Italian teenager who tragically died in 2006, has been canonised by Pope Leo XIV in a ceremony at the Vatican, giving the next generation of Catholics a relatable role model who used technology to spread the faith and earn the nickname "God's influencer." However, the Pope's death on Easter Monday and the subsequent mourning and conclave periods delayed the proceedings. On June 13, Pope Leo announced that Saint Carlo, along with young Catholic author Pier Giorgio Frassati, would be the first saints named in his pontificate. Saint Carlo, who is known as the "saint in sneakers", has been touted as the patron saint of the internet for his work cataloguing miracles and evangelising online. And with Catholicism on the decline in many countries, including Australia, some are hoping a relatable saint will help galvanise the next generation of Catholic youth. Who was Carlo Acutis? Born in London in 1991 but raised in Milan, Saint Carlo loved gaming, computer programming, soccer, Pokémon, and his dog Billy. While neither of his parents were religious before he was born, he identified as a devout Catholic from an early age and devoted his life to sharing his love of Jesus. "There was an unexpected crowd of people from all over Milan; basically, the poor and the homeless," he says. "It became apparent that Carlo had befriended so many of these people." Saint Carlo's body was moved to Assisi's Sanctuary of the Renunciation a year after his death. In 2013, the Archdiocese of Milan opened a formal request to consider him for canonisation. Pope Francis declared him venerable in 2018 — a significant step towards sainthood — and two years later, the church officially recognised a miracle attributed to Acutis. He is believed to have cured a young Brazilian boy with a serious birth defect in 2014. This led to his beatification, the Catholic Church's proclamation that a deceased person has entered heaven and can be publicly venerated. After the beatification ceremony, Saint Carlo's relics and tomb were opened to the public. The young saint's body was encased in wax to preserve his likeness, and he was laid to rest in jeans, a jacket and Nike sneakers. A live stream of the tomb is available to view online. Saint Carlo is believed to be responsible for another miracle: healing a Costa Rican woman after a life-threatening bicycle accident in 2022. On September 7, he was officially canonised and declared a saint. A relatable saint Where most saints throughout history were theologians, missionaries or members of clergy, Saint Carlo broke the mould. "His life shows that a true faith in God, a true faith in Jesus Christ doesn't mean that you don't get to have a normal life and be a normal teenager," Professor Pierce says. Antonia Pizzey, a lecturer in theology at Australian Catholic University, says Saint Carlo speaks to "younger people today". "People who have grown up with the climate crisis, who have grown up with the internet," she says. "I think young people see him and they feel a sense of connection with him." Saint Carlo's methods of outreach inspired other young Catholics, too. In the past few years, several documentaries have been made about him, including one chronicling his influence on young American Catholics making a pilgrimage to the Vatican. This year, three Irish teenage brothers even created a Lego short film about his life. Father Ranson says the young saint demonstrated that "holiness is not something only reserved for the past". "He's such a wonderful example to young people that even as children or adolescents, it's possible to draw close to God and to have a heart that's open to something transcendent." 'God's influencer' Saint Carlo is not the first patron saint of the internet. Saint Isadore of Seville was also given that title by Pope John Paul II in 1997. Born around 1,400 years before the invention of the computer, Saint Isadore was a scholar, theologian and archbishop who meticulously catalogued human knowledge in a 20-volume encyclopedia. However, Saint Carlo, who gained the moniker "God's influencer", is the first saint to have grown up in the internet age. "He had a message; he had work to do even though he was so young, and he felt that he needed to do that work in the [best] way he knew how," Dr Pizzey says. "The internet became a medium for him where he thought, 'I can get this message out and I can engage with people'." While digital evangelism is not new, Dr Pizzey says Saint Carlo's youth and devotion to his cause were "quite unusual". "With his work through the internet, reaching out to people from all over the world, you could say he was actually one of the most extraordinary pilgrims in [how] far he travelled," she says. "[That's] central to the idea of pilgrimage: to go out and to encounter people." Saint Carlo's online mission gained praise from Pope Francis, who had previously spoken about the need for technology to be in service of "human dignity". Professor Pierce says the late pope appreciated Saint Carlo's message: "that [technology and faith] don't need to be distinct, as long as your heart's in the right place".

A suggestion of concrete built Pyramids enough to give Egyptologists indigestion

"It could be they used less sweat and more smarts," said Linn Hobbs, professor of materials science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. We read at: https://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/23/world/africa/23iht-pyramid.1.12259608.html Did the Great Pyramids' builders use concrete? • April 23, 2008 CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts — It is a theory that gives indigestion to mainstream archaeologists. Namely, that some of the immense blocks of the Great Pyramids of Egypt might have been cast from synthetic material - the world's first concrete - not just carved whole from quarries and lugged into place by armies of toilers. Such an innovation would have saved millions of man-hours of grunting and heaving in construction of the enigmatic edifices on the Giza Plateau. "It could be they used less sweat and more smarts," said Linn Hobbs, professor of materials science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "Maybe the ancient Egyptians didn't just leave us mysterious monuments and mummies. Maybe they invented concrete 2,000 years before the Romans started using it in their structures." That is a notion that would dramatically change engineering history. It has long been believed that the Romans were the first to employ structural concrete in a big way, although the technology may have come from the Greeks. A handful of determined materials scientists are carrying out experiments with crushed limestone and natural binding chemicals - materials that would have been readily available to ancient Egyptians - designed to show that blocks on the upper reaches of the pyramids may have been cast in place from a slurry poured into wooden molds. These researchers at labs in Cambridge, Philadelphia and St. Quentin, France, are trying to demonstrate that Egyptians of about 2,500 B.C. [sic] could have been the true inventors of the poured substance that is humanity's most common building material. At MIT, Hobbs and two colleagues teach a course called Materials in Human Experience. Over the years, undergraduates in the program have recreated from scratch such artifacts as samurai swords, tinkling Meso-American bells and even a swaying 60-foot, or 20-meter, plant-fiber suspension bridge like those built by the Incas. Now a scale-model pyramid is rising in Hobbs's sixth-floor lab, a construction made of quarried limestone as well as concrete-like blocks cast from crushed limestone sludge fortified with dollops of kaolinite clay, silica and natural desert salts - called natron - like those used by ancient Egyptians to mummify corpses. The MIT pyramid will contain only about 280 blocks, compared with 2.3 million in the grandest of the Great Pyramids. And no whips cracked overhead last week as Myat-Noe-Zin Myint, Rachel Martin and three other undergraduates stuffed quivering, just-mixed "Egyptian" concrete into cobblestone-sized wooden molds marked "King Tut Plywood Co." "It feels like Jell-O but will turn rock-hard," Myint said of the sharp-smelling concoction. The aim of the class is to teach engineering innovation, but the project may also prove that ancients, at least in theory, could have cast pyramid blocks from similar materials, which would have been available from dried river beds, desert sands and quarries. Hobbs described himself as "agnostic" on the issue but said he believed mainstream archaeologists had been too contemptuous of work by other scientists suggesting the possibility of concrete. "The degree of hostility aimed at experimentation is disturbing," he said. "Too many big egos and too many published works may be riding on the idea that every pyramid block was carved, not cast." Archaeologists, however, say there is simply no evidence that the pyramids are built of anything other than huge limestone blocks. Any synthetic material showing up in tests - as it has occasionally, even in work not trying to prove a concrete connection - is probably just slop from "modern" repairs done over the centuries, they say. "The blocks were quarried locally and dragged to the site on sleds," said Kathryn Bard, an Egyptologist at Boston University and author of a new book, "An Introduction to the Archaeology of Ancient Egypt." "There is just no evidence for making concrete, and there is no evidence that ancient Egyptians used the stuff," she said. The idea that some pyramid blocks were cast of concrete-like material was aggressively advanced in the 1980s by the French chemical engineer Joseph Davidovits, who argued that the Giza builders had pulverized soft limestone and mixed it with water, hardening the material with natural binders that the Egyptians are known to have used for their famous blue-glaze ornamental statues. Such blocks, Davidovits said, would have been poured in place by workers hustling sacks of wet cement up the pyramids - a decidedly less spectacular image than the ones popularized by Hollywood epics like "The Ten Commandments," with thousands of near-naked toilers straining with ropes and rollers to move mammoth carved stones. "That's the problem, the big archaeologists - and Egypt's tourist industry - want to preserve romantic ideas," said Davidovits, who researches ancient building materials at the Geopolymer Institute in St. Quentin. In 2006, research by Michel Barsoum at Drexel University in Philadelphia found that samples of stone from parts of the Khufu Pyramid were "microstructurally" different from limestone blocks. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFKV26NrZDA Barsoum, a professor of materials engineering, said microscope, X-ray and chemical analysis of scraps of stone from the pyramids "suggest a small but significant percentage of blocks on the higher portions of the pyramids were cast" from concrete. He stressed that he believes that most of the blocks in the Khufu Pyramid were carved in the manner long suggested by archaeologists. "But 10 or 20 percent were probably cast in areas where it would have been highly difficult to position blocks," he said. Barsoum, a native of Egypt, said he was unprepared for the onslaught of angry criticism that greeted peer-reviewed research published two years ago by himself and his fellow scientists, Adrish Ganguly of Drexel and Gilles Hug of the National Center for Scientific Research in France. "You would have thought I claimed the pyramids were carved by lasers," Barsoum said. Ancient drawings and hieroglyphics are cryptic on the subject of pyramid construction. Theories as to how the Egyptians might have built the huge monuments to dead pharaohs depend heavily on conjecture based on remnants of rubble ramps, as well as evidence that nearby limestone quarries contained roughly as much stone as is present in the pyramids. Zahi Hawass, head of the Supreme Council of Antiquities in Egypt, minced no words in assailing the concrete idea. "It's highly stupid," he said via a spokesman. "The pyramids are made from solid blocks of quarried limestone. To suggest otherwise is idiotic and insulting." Hobbs and his students are undismayed by the controversy. "It's fascinating to think that ancient Egyptians may have been great materials scientists, not just great civil engineers," Hobbs said. "None of this lessens the accomplishments of the ancient Egyptians, although I suppose pouring concrete is less mysterious than moving giant blocks. But it really just suggests these people accomplished more than anyone ever imagined." For another terrific article on the subject, see this 2009 one by Guy Demortier : Revisiting the construction of the Egyptian pyramids (7) Revisiting the construction of the Egyptian pyramids

Covenant between God and Abram wonderfully foreshadows the immolation of Jesus Christ

“When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram”. Genesis 15:17-18 Ryan Leasure has brilliantly written (2020): https://ryanleasure.com/the-abrahamic-covenant-and-the-cross-of-christ/ The Abrahamic Covenant and the Cross of Christ …. Take a quick survey of Christians and you’ll discover that most of them don’t read the Old Testament. And who can blame them? One quick glance at Leviticus or Ezekiel, and it’s easy to see how readers get bogged down in all the obscure details. Readers ask themselves, “do we want to read details about Jewish dietary laws or the Sermon on the Mount? Sermon on the Mount please!” I understand the struggle. Reading through endless genealogies, detailed plans of the tabernacle, or the numerous ways to offer a sacrifice can be challenging. But this shouldn’t deter us. After all, the Old Testament was Jesus’ Bible that he quoted dozens of times in the Gospels. It’s also the Scripture Paul referred to when he said “all Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable” (2 Tim. 3:16). You get that? The Old Testament is profitable. Contrary to what some think, the Old Testament is a gold mine. Not only does it tell us a great deal about the character of God, it anticipates his rescue plan. That is, the entire Old Testament points to the coming of the Messiah. Jesus rebukes the Pharisees for missing this very point. He declares, “You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me” (Jn. 5:39). In the remaining space, I want to highlight an Old Testament text that anticipates the coming of Jesus, but, because of its unusual nature, we often gloss over it. My hope is that in looking at this passage, you will see one small example of the immense value of the Old Testament. THE ABRAHAMIC COVENANT The opening portion of the Bible describes God’s creation, human’s rejection of him, and the subsequent curse on the world. As a result, the human population, as a whole, rejected God and pursued their own way of living. Instead of leaving them to their own destruction, God mercifully reached out to a pagan worshipper named Abraham in Genesis 12 and promised to establish his rescue plan through his family line. The only problem was that Abraham and his wife Sarah were childless and already beyond the conventional child-rearing years. If God was going to keep his promise, he would have to perform a miracle. As you read the story of Abraham, you find that his trust in God was a bit of a mixed bag — sometimes he trusted, and sometimes he wavered. In Genesis 15, God reaffirms his commitment to Abraham despite the fact that Abraham and Sarah still remained childless. We can imagine that after several years of infertility, Abraham and Sarah had their doubts and questions about God’s faithfulness surfaced in their minds. So Abraham asks God for another show of good faith. He asks, how is this going to happen since we’re only getting older and we still haven’t had a son? God responds with a vision — an obscure one at that. In Genesis 15 we read: So the LORD said to him, “Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon.” Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other… When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking fire pot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram and said, “To your descendants I give this land.” What is going on here? Cutting up animals? Smoking fire pots floating between the animals? This is bizarre stuff. THE ABRAHAMIC COVENANT AND SMOKING FIRE POT EXPLAINED I must confess, I missed the significance of this vision the first several times I read this text. In my mind, God had given a vision to Abraham, and that was enough to confirm God was going to keep his promises. But I discovered that much more was going on here. What I failed to realize initially was that cutting animals in half and walking between the two parts was a common way ancients performed covenantal ceremonies. And the symbolism is hard to miss too. If either of the contractual partners didn’t hold up their end of the covenant, they would meet the same fate as the animals. We see an example of this type of covenant in Jeremiah 34:18. It states, “Those who have violated my covenant and have not fulfilled the terms of the covenant they made before me, I will treat like the calf they cut in two and then walked between its pieces.” Did you get that? Those who violate the covenant will be treated like those torn-apart animals. THE ABRAHAMIC COVENANT AND THE CROSS OF CHRIST If you know the story, God fulfilled his covenant to Abraham. He gave him a son which ultimately led to the nation of Israel. But while God was faithful to keep up his end of the agreement, Abraham’s descendants weren’t faithful keep up their end. Instead, they rejected God and pursued idols repeatedly. Under normal circumstances, this would result in their death. But the Abrahamic Covenant wasn’t normal. You see, it was customary for both parties to walk through the animals indicating that they both were going to hold up their end of the agreement. In Abraham’s vision, however, only God — in the form of a smoking pot — passed through the animals. It’s as if God was saying, “I will be responsible to make this covenant happen for the both of us. So even if you don’t hold up your end of the agreement, I will suffer the consequences.” I hope you’re beginning to see the significance of the Abrahamic Covenant by now. Even though God remained faithful to Israel, they were unfaithful to him and, therefore, deserved to die. But, since God was the only one to pass through the animals, he would die in their place. In other words, by making this covenant with Abraham, God was pronouncing a death sentence on his Son. What an incredible act of love! THE ABRAHAMIC COVENANT FOR TODAY At first glance, this text is a bit obscure. Apart from cultural understanding of ancient covenants, we might miss its point. But once the point is clear, we see how significant the Abrahamic Covenant is for today. God made a promise that he would rescue the world through the line of Abraham. And ultimately, this is precisely what he did. One of Abraham’s descendants — Jesus of Nazareth — rescued the world from their sin and death while at the same time suffering the consequences for Abraham’s descendants’ unfaithfulness. What a beautiful story. But sadly, if you never read the Old Testament, you’ll miss it and so many more just like it that point to the promised Christ. So the next time you’re tempted to skip over the Old Testament because you think it’s too difficult to read or irrelevant, I hope you’ll be reminded of the smoking fire pot. Because it was that fire pot that ensured that Jesus would die on the cross instead of you.

German archaeologist may have been misrepresenting anthropological data

Top German Archaeologist Accused of Faking Prehistoric Discoveries Axel von Berg was among the world’s most respected archaeologists. Now, his historic findings are being called into question. German Archaeologist Faked Skulls & Fragments As Prehistoric https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbsFMb1tB9k We read at: Top German Archaeologist Accused of Faking Prehistoric Discoveries By Tim Brinkhof December 6, 2024 Axel von Berg, long ranked among the world’s most respected archaeologists, is facing allegations of falsifying some of his most important prehistoric discoveries. Authorities in the German province of Rhineland-Palatinate have launched an investigation into claims that Von Berg misrepresented the age and origins of several artifacts, including a skull he famously identified as Neanderthal in 1997. The controversy began earlier this year, when the Interior Ministry of Rhineland-Palatinate received evidence suggesting a senior employee at the General Directorate for Cultural Heritage had tampered with archaeological findings. A report in the German newspaper Der Spiegel has identified Von Berg as the accused, claiming to have received inside information. According to the publication, an initial investigation by the ministry found that 21 skull fragments had been incorrectly dated, with 18 more potential cases of falsification—involving finds from spearheads to armor buckles—still under review. Von Berg rose to prominence following a 1997 discovery at a volcanic site near the town of Ochtendung, where he claimed to have unearthed Neanderthal skull fragments while the construction workers clearing the site for redevelopment were away for Easter break. “I knew where to look,” he recalled, “but I was also lucky.” After review by prominent archaeologists and paleontologists, the find was celebrated as a breakthrough and covered extensively in scientific journals. In the issue of the journal Berichte zur Archäologie an Mittelrhein und Mosel in which Von Berg detailed his discovery, he described the fragments as coming from a “typical Middle Paleolithic context,” with a French Neanderthal expert concurring with his assessment. Recent investigations, however, have revealed that the skull fragments belong not to a Neanderthal but to a human from the early Middle Ages, making them much less significant. Mackey’s comment: And this may be only the tip of the Axelberg. See also e.g. my articles: Messing with the Neanderthals https://www.academia.edu/82426592/Messing_with_the_Neanderthals Sawing off the jaws of Neanderthals to make them appear more ape-like (6) Sawing off the jaws of Neanderthals to make them appear more ape-like

St. Cardinal John Henry Newman to be made a Doctor of the Church

Lead, Kindly Light by John Henry Newman (1834) Lead, Kindly Light, amid the encircling gloom, Lead Thou me on; The night is dark, and I am far from home, Lead Thou me on. Keep Thou my feet; I do not ask to see the distant scene; one step enough for me. I was not ever thus, nor prayed that Thou shouldst lead me on; I loved to choose and see my path; but now Lead Thou me on. I loved the garish day, and, spite of fears, pride ruled my will; remember not past years. So long Thy power hath blessed me, sure it still Will lead me on. O'er moor and fen, o'er crag and torrent, till The night is gone; And with the morn those angel faces smile, Which I have loved long since, and lost awhile. Fr. Juan Velez has written (2025): https://www.cardinaljohnhenrynewman.com/st-john-henry-newman-to-be-declared-a-doctor-of-the-church/ St. John Henry Newman to be Declared a Doctor of the Church Today, July 31, 2025, the Vatican published the wonderful news that Pope Leo XIV has approved the future declaration of St. John Henry Newman as doctor of the Church. We are delighted with this news and wanted to share with you even if you learned about it earlier today. We have already posted some blog posts on this topic and will soon publish others. Today we wanted to share the news with you and ask to invite friends to give thanks to God for this news and to follow our weekly podcasts. Here is a link to the news from the Vatican webpage and some words by the journalist Alexandro Carolis: “One of the great modern thinkers of Christianity, a key figure in a spiritual and human journey that left a profound mark on the Church and 19th-century ecumenism, and the author of writings that show how living the faith is a daily “heart-to-heart” dialogue with Christ. A life spent with energy and passion for the Gospel—culminating in his canonization in 2019—that will soon lead to the English cardinal John Henry Newman being proclaimed a Doctor of the Church. The news was announced today, July 31, in a statement from the Holy See Press Office, which reported that during an audience granted to Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, Pope Leo XIV has “confirmed the affirmative opinion of the Plenary Session of Cardinals and Bishops, Members of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, regarding the title of Doctor of the Universal Church, which will soon be conferred on Saint John Henry Newman”. The saints give glory to God and teach us how to live as God’s children. We rejoice with the upcoming declaration of Newman as doctor of the Church. …. We read this by Dr. Samuel Gregg, at: https://www.catholicworldreport.com/2025/07/31/john-henry-newmans-long-war-on-liberalism/ John Henry Newman’s long war on liberalism Saint John Henry Newman’s devastating critique of liberal religion remains even more relevant in our own time. Editor’s note: This article was originally posted on July 30, 2017, and is reposted today to mark the news that Newman has been named a Doctor of the Church by Pope Leo XIV. There is truly nothing new under the sun. That’s the pedestrian conclusion at which I arrived after recently re-reading the address given by one of the nineteenth century’s greatest theologians, Saint John Henry Newman, when Pope Leo XIII made him a cardinal on May 12, 1879. Known as the Biglietto Speech (after the formal letter given to cardinals on such occasions), its 1720 words constitute a systematic indictment of what Newman called that “one great mischief” against which he had set his face “from the first.” Today, I suspect, the sheer force of Newman’s critique of what he called “liberalism in religion” would make him persona non grata in most Northern European theology faculties. When reflecting upon Newman’s remarks, it’s hard not to notice how much of the Christian world in the West has drifted in the directions against which he warned. Under the banner of “liberalism in religion,” Newman listed several propositions. These included (1) “the doctrine that there is no positive truth in religion,” (2) “that one creed is as good as another,” (3) that no religion can be recognized as true for “all are matter of opinion,” (4) that “revealed religion is not a truth, but a sentiment and a taste; not an objective faith, not miraculous,” and (5) “it is the right of each individual to make it say just what strikes his fancy.” Can anyone doubt that such ideas are widespread today among some Christians? Exhibit A is the rapidly collapsing liberal Protestant confessions. Another instance is that a fair number of Catholic clergy and laity of a certain age who shy away from the word “truth” and who regard any doctrine that conflicts with the post-1960s Western world’s expectations as far from settled. Yet Newman’s description of liberal religion also accurately summarizes the essentially secular I’m-spiritual-not-religious mindset. At the time, the directness of Newman’s assault on liberal religion surprised people. It wasn’t for idle reasons that the speech was reprinted in full in The London Times on 13 May, and then translated into Italian so that it could appear in the Holy See’s newspaper L’Osservatore Romano on 14 May. Everyone recognized that Newman’s words were of immense significance. The newly minted cardinal had hitherto been seen as someone ill at ease with the Church’s direction during Pius IX’s pontificate. Newman’s apprehensions about the opportuneness of the First Vatican Council formally defining papal infallibility was well known. Not well-understood was that concerns about Catholics being misled into thinking they must assent to a pope’s firm belief that, for example, the optimal upper-tax rate is 25.63 percent, didn’t mean that you regarded religious belief as a type of theological smorgasbord. Those who had followed the trajectory of Newman’s thought over the previous fifty years would have recognized that the Biglietto Speech harkened back to a younger Newman and a consistent record of fierce opposition to liberal religion. In 1848, for instance, Newman had lampooned liberal religion in his novel Loss and Gain (1848). One character in the book, the Dean of Nottingham, is portrayed as someone who believes that “there was no truth or falsehood in received dogmas of theology; that they were modes, neither good nor bad in themselves, but personal, national, or periodic.” Such opinions mirror the views of those today who primarily regard Scripture, the Church, and Christian faith as essentially human historical constructs: a notion that invariably goes hand-in-hand with a barely disguised insistence that the Church always requires wholesale adaptation to whatever happens to be the zeitgeist. The end result is chronic doctrinal instability (and thus incoherence) and the degeneration of churches into mere NGO-ism: precisely the situation which characterizes contemporary Catholicism in the German-speaking world. Another of the novel’s characters is Mr. Batts, the director of the Truth Society. This organization is founded on two principles. First, it is uncertain whether truth exists. Second, it is certain that it cannot be found. Welcome to the world of philosophical skepticism, which, Newman understood, is based on the contradiction of holding that we know the truth that humans really cannot know truth. Newman’s antagonism towards liberal religion, however, also reflected another side of his thought that, I suspect, some today would also prefer to ignore. This concerns Newman’s critical view of liberalism as a social philosophy. Newman was fully aware of the ambiguity surrounding terms like “conservatism” and “liberalism.” In his Apologia Pro Sua Vita (1864), Newman specified that his criticism of liberalism shouldn’t be interpreted as slighting French Catholics such as Charles de Montalembert and the Dominican priest Henri-Dominique Lacordaire—“two men whom I so highly admire”—who embraced the liberal label but in the context of post-Revolutionary France: a world which differed greatly from the Oxford and England of Newman’s time. We get closer to the “liberalism” against which Newman protested when we consider a letter to his mother dated 13 March 1829. Here Newman condemns, among others, “the Utilitarians” and “useful knowledge men” whose ideas were propagated by philosophical Radical periodicals such as the Westminster Review. These beliefs and publications were clearly associated with utilitarian thinkers and political radicals such as Jeremy Bentham (the Westminster Review’s founder), James Mill, and, later, John Stuart Mill. In this sense, liberalism was Newman’s way of describing what we today call doctrinaire secularism. This is borne out by the Biglietto Speech’s portrayal of a society’s fate as it gradually abandons its Christian character, invariably at the behest of those Newman calls “Philosophers and Politicians.” Newman begins by referencing their imposition of “a universal and a thoroughly secular education, calculated to bring home to every individual that to be orderly, industrious, and sober, is his personal interest.” Recognizing, however, that utility, pragmatism, and self-interest aren’t enough to glue society together, liberals promote, according to Newman, an alternative to revealed religion. This, he says, is made up of an amalgam of “broad fundamental ethical truths, of justice, benevolence, veracity, and the like; proved experience; and those natural laws which exist and act spontaneously in society, and in social matters, whether physical or psychological; for instance, in government, trade, finance, sanitary experiments, and the intercourse of nations.” But while liberals uphold this mixture of particular moral principles, matter-of-factness and science, Newman points out that they simultaneously insist that religion is “a private luxury, which a man may have if he will; but which of course he must pay for, and which he must not obtrude upon others, or indulge in to their annoyance.” It’s not, Newman says, that things like “the precepts of justice, truthfulness, sobriety, self-command, benevolence,” etc. are bad in themselves. In fact, Newman adds, “there is much in the liberalistic theory which is good and true.” Nor did Newman adopt an “anti-science” view at a time when some Christians worried about how to reconcile the Scriptures with the tremendous expansion in knowledge of the natural world which marked the nineteenth century. Newman wasn’t, for example, especially troubled by Darwin’s Origin of the Species. As he wrote to the biologist and Catholic convert St George Jackson Mivart in 1871, “you must not suppose I have personally any great dislike or dread of his theory.” What Newman opposed was a problem with which we are all too familiar today. This consists of (1) absolutizing the natural sciences as the only objective form of knowledge and (2) using the empirical method to answer theological and moral questions that the natural sciences cannot answer. In such cases, Newman wrote in his Idea of a University (1852), “they exceed their proper bounds, and intrude where they have no right.” It also fosters a mentality which has seeped into the minds of those Christians who prioritize sociology, psychology, opinion polls, and what they imagine to be the “established scientific position” when discussing what the Catholic position on any subject should be. More generally, Newman argued that it’s precisely because these principles are unobjectionable in themselves that they become dangerous when liberals include them in the “array of principles” they use “to supersede, to block out, religion.” In these circumstances, those who maintain that religion, in the sense of divinely revealed truths about God and man, cannot be relegated to the status of football teams competing in a private league are dismissed as unreasonable, intolerant, lacking benevolence, unscientific, and reflective of (to use the curious words employed in a L’Osservatore Romano opinion piece) a “modest cultural level.” In a word—illiberal. Newman well understood the ultimate stakes involved in the advance of liberal religion and the nihilism it concealed under a veneer of progressive Western European bourgeois morality. It was nothing less, he said, than “the ruin of many souls.” For Newman, there was always the serious possibility that error at the level of belief can contribute to people making the type of free choices that lead to the eternal separation from God we call hell. The good news is that Newman had “no fear at all that [liberal religion] can really do aught of serious harm to the Word of God, to Holy Church.” For Newman, the Church was essentially indestructible. That didn’t mean it would be free of disputation or disruption. Newman himself spent his life immersed in theological controversies. But Newman’s deep knowledge of the Church Fathers made him conscious that orthodoxy had been under assault since Christianity’s earliest centuries. Newman believed, however, in Christ’s promises to his Church. Moreover, Newman ended his Biglietto Speech by stating that “what is commonly a great surprise” is “the particular mode by which . . . Providence rescues and saves his elect inheritance.” Even in times where serious theological and moral error seems rampant, God raises up courageous bishops and priests, clear-thinking popes, new religious orders and movements, lay people who reject liberal Christianity’s mediocrity and soft nihilism, and, above all, great saints and martyrs. Against such things, Newman knew—and we should have confidence—liberal religion doesn’t have a chance.

Vatican Youth Jubilee

“Between the 28th July and the 3rd of August, the Vatican and Rome will host a series of events dedicated to young Catholics from at least 146 countries. 500,000 are expected to take part. It will culminate in a mass on the first Sunday of August at Rome’s Tor Vergata”. https://www.euronews.com/2025/07/30/around-500000-young-pilgrims-expected-to-flock-to-rome-and-vatican-city-for-youth-jubilee Around 500,000 young pilgrims expected to flock to Rome and Vatican City for Youth Jubilee …. By Euronews Published on 30/07/2025 - 9:09 GMT+2 …. More than half a million young Catholics are expected to attend the Youth Jubilee, which kicked off on Tuesday evening with a mass by the Pope in St Peter's Square. Tens of thousands of young Catholics flocked to St Peter's Square on Tuesday to kick off the Youth Jubilee, for which Pope Leo XIV held a welcome mass. Between the 28th July and the 3rd of August, the Vatican and Rome will host a series of events dedicated to young Catholics from at least 146 countries. 500,000 are expected to take part. It will culminate in a mass on the first Sunday of August at Rome's Tor Vergata. The Youth Jubilee will incorporate World Youth Day this year, as announced in 2023 by the late Pope Francis. How the city of Rome prepared for the Youth Jubilee Around a thousand parishes, schools and families will provide accommodation and breakfast for pilgrims in addition to a large hostel capable of hosting about 25,000 people set up at the Fiera di Roma. Other facilities include discounted meal vouchers, shower services at major public transport hubs, almost 3,000 chemical toilets on the streets of Rome and the upgrade of underground and regional trains and buses. Security measures have been put in place. Gates have been set up to prevent dangerous materials and objects into certain areas. Pilgrims have been asked to carry only the bare essentials to facilitate controls. A 400 square metre control room will manage the flow of surveillance cameras in the event areas. Pilgrims will be able to spend the night on the law in front of Tor Vergata as they await the Pope's morning mass on Sunday. Volunteers will distribute water bottles and an app by municipal company Acea will provide a map of the 2,660 free water supply points in Rome. What is the programme of the Youth Jubilee Aside from the Pope's evening mass on Tuesday, Philippine Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle celebrated Mass for Catholic influencers and digital missionaries. Numerous minor events will be held in the city between Wednesday and Thursday. On Friday, the Circus Maximus will host a Day of Penance in which 200 stations will be made available for pilgrims to hear confessions. Saturday will be dedicated to music, with groups taking turn to entertain the crowd on a stage set up at Tor Vergata. The area has 355 tents and gazebos, 2,400 square metres of video screens and 110 generators, 20km of fibre optics and 15km of electric cables.

Megiddo Mosaïc documentary

“The fascinating mosaic presents groundbreaking physical evidence of the practices and beliefs of early Christians, including the first archaeological instance of the phrase ‘God Jesus Christ’.” Dr. Yotam Tepper https://www.museumofthebible.org/newsroom/a-new-documentary-explores-one-of-the-greatest-arc A New Documentary Explores One of the Greatest Archaeological Finds of the 21st Century the Megiddo Mosaic WASHINGTON, D.C., February 28, 2025 — Museum of the Bible announces their partnership with Angel Studios and Evolve Studios for the release of the documentary, “The Mosaic Church,” about the discovery of the 1,800-year-old Megiddo Mosaic in Megiddo, Israel. The documentary tells the story of the Megiddo Mosaic, a decorative floor of the oldest-known Christian worship space in history, dated to AD 230, located within a Roman military camp 15 miles southwest of Nazareth. The mosaic was discovered in an excavation by the Israel Antiquities Authority underneath a maximum-security prison and was conserved by the Israel Antiquities Authority in 2005. The mosaic made its world debut at Museum of the Bible in September 2024 and is currently on display in partnership with the Israel Antiquities Authority. “We are thrilled to make this film available for the public and continue to tell the remarkable story of one of the most important archeological discoveries of the 21st century,” said Bobby Duke, chief curatorial officer at Museum of the Bible. “This mosaic is critical for encountering and understanding early Christians at a time when they might have suffered persecution by the Roman Empire. It is a story that must be told.” According to Dr. Yotam Tepper, director of the excavation on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority, “The fascinating mosaic presents groundbreaking physical evidence of the practices and beliefs of early Christians, including the first archaeological instance of the phrase ‘God Jesus Christ.’ Also featured on the mosaic are one of the earliest examples of a fish being used as a Christian symbol and the names of several of the Christian prayer hall’s patrons — a Roman centurion, an artist, and five women.” “The Mosaic Church” is produced by Emmy Award-winning Evolve Studios in association with The Natural Studios and Alafim Productions and is streaming exclusively at Angel.com/MOTB and on the Angel App. The documentary is narrated by Bear Grylls, star of the Emmy Award-nominated “Man vs. Wild” TV series and host of the Emmy Award-winning interactive Netflix show “You Vs Wild.” "Uncovering the Megiddo Mosaic has been a powerful journey into the early Christian spirit of resilience and faith. I am honored to narrate this story, bringing to life the legacy of the world's oldest-known church for audiences worldwide,” shared Bear Grylls. The documentary weaves together expert insights, historical analysis, and firsthand accounts from those who worked on discovering and conserving the Megiddo Mosaic. It also reveals deep insights into the life of early Christians from just a few generations after the accounts of the New Testament. Watch the trailer HERE. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfN0o9h_4Xg The Megiddo Mosaic is on display at Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C., until July 6, 2025. ….

“The greatest destroyer of peace today is the cry of the innocent unborn child”

“To me the nations who have legalized abortion, they are the poorest nations. They are afraid of the little one, they are afraid of the unborn child, and the child must die because they don’t want to feed one more child, to educate one more child, the child must die”. Mother Teresa Nobel Peace Prize 1979 Mother Teresa Acceptance speech Mother Teresa’s Acceptance speech, held on 10 December 1979 in the Aula of the University of Oslo, Norway. Let us all together thank God for this beautiful occasion where we can all together proclaim the joy of spreading peace, the joy of loving one another and the joy acknowledging that the poorest of the poor are our brothers and sisters. As we have gathered here to thank God for this gift of peace, I have given you all the prayer for peace that St Francis of Assisi prayed many years ago, and I wonder he must have felt the need what we feel today to pray for. I think you have all got that paper? We’ll say it together. Lord, make me a channel of your peace, that where there is hatred, I may bring love; that where there is wrong, I may bring the spirit of forgiveness; that where there is discord, I may bring harmony; that where there is error, I may bring truth; that where there is doubt, I may bring faith; that where there is despair, I may bring hope; that where there are shadows, I may bring light; that where there is sadness, I may bring joy. Lord, grant that I may seek rather to comfort than to be comforted; to understand, than to be understood; to love, than to be loved. For it is by forgetting self, that one finds. It is by forgiving that one is forgiven. It is by dying, that one awakens to eternal life. Amen. God loved the world so much that he gave his son and he gave him to a virgin, the blessed virgin Mary, and she, the moment he came in her life, went in haste to give him to others. And what did she do then? She did the work of the handmaid, just so. Just spread that joy of loving to service. And Jesus Christ loved you and loved me and he gave his life for us, and as if that was not enough for him, he kept on saying: Love as I have loved you, as I love you now, and how do we have to love, to love in the giving. For he gave his life for us. And he keeps on giving, and he keeps on giving right here everywhere in our own lives and in the lives of others. It was not enough for him to die for us, he wanted that we loved one another, that we see him in each other, that’s why he said: Blessed are the clean of heart, for they shall see God. And to make sure that we understand what he means, he said that at the hour of death we are going to be judged on what we have been to the poor, to the hungry, naked, the homeless, and he makes himself that hungry one, that naked one, that homeless one, not only hungry for bread, but hungry for love, not only naked for a piece of cloth, but naked of that human dignity, not only homeless for a room to live, but homeless for that being forgotten, been unloved, uncared, being nobody to nobody, having forgotten what is human love, what is human touch, what is to be loved by somebody, and he says: Whatever you did to the least of these my brethren, you did it to me. It is so beautiful for us to become holy to this love, for holiness is not a luxury of the few, it is a simple duty for each one of us, and through this love we can become holy. To this love for one another and today when I have received this reward, I personally am most unworthy, and I having avowed poverty to be able to understand the poor, I choose the poverty of our people. But I am grateful and I am very happy to receive it in the name of the hungry, of the naked, of the homeless, of the crippled, of the blind, of the leprous, of all those people who feel unwanted, unloved, uncared, thrown away of the society, people who have become a burden to the society, and are shunned by everybody. In their name I accept the award. And I am sure this award is going to bring an understanding love between the rich and the poor. And this is what Jesus has insisted so much, that is why Jesus came to earth, to proclaim the good news to the poor. And through this award and through all of us gathered here together, we are wanting to proclaim the good news to the poor that God loves them, that we love them, that they are somebody to us, that they too have been created by the same loving hand of God, to love and to be loved. Our poor people are great people, are very lovable people, they don’t need our pity and sympathy, they need our understanding love. They need our respect; they need that we treat them with dignity. And I think this is the greatest poverty that we experience, that we have in front of them who may be dying for a piece of bread, but they die to such dignity. I never forget when I brought a man from the street. He was covered with maggots; his face was the only place that was clean. And yet that man, when we brought him to our home for the dying, he said just one sentence: I have lived like an animal in the street, but I am going to die like an angel, love and care, and he died beautifully. He went home to God, for dead is nothing but going home to God. And he having enjoyed that love, that being wanted, that being loved, that being somebody to somebody at the last moment, brought that joy in his life. And I feel one thing I want to share with you all, the greatest destroyer of peace today is the cry of the innocent unborn child. For if a mother can murder her own child in her own womb, what is left for you and for me to kill each other? Even in the scripture it is written: Even if mother could forget her child – I will not forget you – I have carved you in the palm of my hand. Even if mother could forget, but today millions of unborn children are being killed. And we say nothing. In the newspapers you read numbers of this one and that one being killed, this being destroyed, but nobody speaks of the millions of little ones who have been conceived to the same life as you and I, to the life of God, and we say nothing, we allow it. To me the nations who have legalized abortion, they are the poorest nations. They are afraid of the little one, they are afraid of the unborn child, and the child must die because they don’t want to feed one more child, to educate one more child, the child must die. And here I ask you, in the name of these little ones, for it was that unborn child that recognized the presence of Jesus when Mary came to visit Elizabeth, her cousin. As we read in the gospel, the moment Mary came into the house, the little one in the womb of his mother, leapt with joy, recognized the Prince of Peace. And so today, let us here make a strong resolution, we are going to save every little child, every unborn child, give them a chance to be born. And what we are doing, we are fighting abortion by adoption, and the good God has blessed the work so beautifully that we have saved thousands of children, and thousands of children have found a home where they are loved, they are wanted, they are cared. We have brought so much joy in the homes that there was not a child, and so today, I ask His Majesties here before you all who come from different countries, let us all pray that we have the courage to stand by the unborn child, and give the child an opportunity to love and to be loved, and I think with God’s grace we will be able to bring peace in the world. We have an opportunity here in Norway, you are with God’s blessing, you are well to do. But I am sure in the families and many of our homes, maybe we are not hungry for a piece of bread, but maybe there is somebody there in the family who is unwanted, unloved, uncared, forgotten, there isn’t love. Love begins at home. And love to be true has to hurt. I never forget a little child who taught me a very beautiful lesson. They heard in Calcutta, the children, that Mother Teresa had no sugar for her children, and this little one, Hindu boy four years old, he went home and he told his parents: I will not eat sugar for three days, I will give my sugar to Mother Teresa. How much a little child can give. After three days they brought into our house, and there was this little one who could scarcely pronounce my name, he loved with great love, he loved until it hurt. And this is what I bring before you, to love one another until it hurts, but don’t forget that there are many children, many children, many men and women who haven’t got what you have. And remember to love them until it hurts. Sometime ago, this to you will sound very strange, but I brought a girl child from the street, and I could see in the face of the child that the child was hungry. God knows how many days that she had not eaten. So I give her a piece of bread. And then the little one started eating the bread crumb by crumb. And I said to the child, eat the bread, eat the bread. And she looked at me and said: I am afraid to eat the bread because I’m afraid when it is finished I will be hungry again. This is a reality, and yet there is a greatness of the poor. One evening a gentleman came to our house and said, there is a Hindu family and the eight children have not eaten for a long time. Do something for them. And I took rice and I went immediately, and there was this mother, those little ones’ faces, shining eyes from sheer hunger. She took the rice from my hand, she divided into two and she went out. When she came back, I asked her, where did you go? What did you do? And one answer she gave me: They are hungry also. She knew that the next door neighbor, a Muslim family, was hungry. What surprised me most, not that she gave the rice, but what surprised me most, that in her suffering, in her hunger, she knew that somebody else was hungry, and she had the courage to share, share the love. And this is what I mean, I want you to love the poor, and never turn your back to the poor, for in turning your back to the poor, you are turning it to Christ. For he had made himself the hungry one, the naked one, the homeless one, so that you and I have an opportunity to love him, because where is God? How can we love God? It is not enough to say to my God I love you, but my God, I love you here. I can enjoy this, but I give up. I could eat that sugar, but I give that sugar. If I stay here the whole day and the whole night, you would be surprised of the beautiful things that people do, to share the joy of giving. And so, my prayer for you is that truth will bring prayer in our homes, and the fruit of prayer will be that we believe that in the poor, it is Christ. And if we really believe, we will begin to love. And if we love, naturally, we will try to do something. First in our own home, our next door neighbor, in the country we live, in the whole world. And let us all join in that one prayer, God give us courage to protect the unborn child, for the child is the greatest gift of God to a family, to a nation and to the whole world. God bless you!

Megiddo Mosaïc called the “greatest discovery since the Dead Sea Scrolls”

“This discovery rewrites our understanding of early Christian worship and the theological convictions of its followers”. Alegre Savariego We read at: https://aleteia.org/2024/11/27/megiddo-mosaic-earliest-evidence-of-jesus-proclaimed-as-god/ Megiddo Mosaic: Earliest evidence of Jesus proclaimed as God Daniel Esparza - published on 11/27/24 The Greek inscription reads, “The god-loving Akeptous has offered the table to God Jesus Christ as a memorial.” An 1,800-year-old inscription, described as the “greatest discovery since the Dead Sea Scrolls,” is captivating historians and believers alike. The Megiddo Mosaic, unearthed beneath an Israeli prison floor, is now on display at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C., drawing global attention as the earliest physical proclamation of Jesus Christ’s divinity. A window into early Christianity Dating to 230, the mosaic once adorned a private chapel in what is considered the earliest known Christian house of prayer. Its Greek inscription reads, “The god-loving Akeptous has offered the table to God Jesus Christ as a memorial.” This phrase is remarkable for its clear declaration of Jesus as God, predating the official recognition of Christianity as the Roman Empire’s state religion by nearly a century. “This discovery rewrites our understanding of early Christian worship and the theological convictions of its followers,” states Alegre Savariego, director of the mosaic’s exhibition. The mosaic’s location near a Roman military camp, coupled with the name of Gaianus, a Roman officer credited with commissioning the artwork, suggests surprising levels of coexistence between Romans and early Christians. The legacy of Akeptous and early Christian women The Times of India notes that another striking feature is the inclusion of Akeptous, a woman who donated the table mentioned in the inscription. Her contribution highlights the significant role of women in the nascent Church. “This mosaic reminds us that early Christianity was a community effort, where both men and women played integral roles in the faith’s survival and growth,” says Carlos Campo, CEO of the Museum of the Bible. Symbols of faith and hope Covering 581 square feet, the mosaic is a masterpiece of early Christian art. Alongside the inscription are other traditional early Christian symbols. most prominently, the fish. In Greek, this symbol is known as the Ichthys, the word that simply means “fish.” But the Greek letters — ΙΧΘΥΣ — can also be an acronym, as they are the initials of the words in the Greek phrase that translates “Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior.” The presence of the fish symbol offers a glimpse into the lived faith of early Christians and their methods of covert expression during times of persecution. A revolutionary discovery Excavated over four years by the Israel Antiquities Authority, the Megiddo Mosaic bridges historical and theological gaps. Its exhibition in Washington has allowed countless visitors to connect with the roots of their faith. “It is truly the greatest discovery since the Dead Sea Scrolls,” Campo affirms. After its U.S. exhibit concludes in 2025, the mosaic will return to Israel, where it will be displayed at its original site. There, it will continue to inspire pilgrims, scholars, and all who seek to understand early Christian practices. This extraordinary find enriches our historical understanding and reminds us of the enduring faith of early Christians, whose belief in Christ’s divinity laid the foundation for centuries of spiritual tradition.

Peace is much more than simply the absence of war

“As [Jesus] approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, ‘If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace— but now it is hidden from your eyes. The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you’.” Luke 19:41-44 “Every member of the international community has a moral responsibility: to stop the tragedy of war before it becomes an irreparable abyss”. Pope Leo XIV Alison Sampson given to Sanctuary on 10 April 2022: https://sanctuarybaptist.org/2022/04/10/the-things-that-make-for-peace/ Luke | The things that make for peace …. Disciples praise his deeds of power and sing of peace; yet Jesus weeps. … Once upon a time, a baby was born. Angels announced it, and a heavenly host sang, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace to God’s people on earth!” (Luke 2:13). The little one grew in wisdom and stature, and soon enough taught the ways of peace: good news for the poor; release for the captives; recovery of sight for the blind; freedom for the oppressed; and cancellation of all debt (Luke 4:18). People listened, and followed, and noticed his deeds of power. And in the place where the prophet Zechariah had foreseen a humble king riding on a donkey, a king who would rout all their enemies and send them packing, his disciples gathered with him and walked towards the debt-ridden, cross-encircled, oppressed and occupied city of Jerusalem, a city which longed for deliverance, a city which groaned for peace; and mirroring the words of the angels, a crowd of people sang, “Blessed is the king who comes in the Name of the Lord! Peace in heaven! And glory in highest heaven!” (Luke 19:38). The angels sang of peace on earth; the people sang of peace in heaven: and all to the glory of highest heaven: the very throne room of God. This was a song of mutual hope and blessing so powerful, so viral, that all creation sang! For if they were silent, said Jesus, even the stones would shout! They sang of a glorious peace: God’s peace. Not the bland peace of conflict-avoidance. Not the violently enforced Roman Peace. Instead, they sang of shalom: right relationship between God and people and land. Shalom: the integration of all things: a cosmic harmony. For in Jesus’ storyworld, everything is connected: God and people; heaven and earth; economic justice and the health of the land; and through Jesus, shalom flows from God through the whole cosmos: from the highest reaches of heaven down, down through the skies right down into sheep and shepherds and earth and stones; and so angels and people and even boulders sing. All creation hums with this promise of right relationship between heaven and earth, a promise fulfilled by the one who comes in God’s blessed Name. So surely Jesus is singing and dancing, swept up in this cosmic celebration of love, healing and redemption: but instead, we are told that he stops. While his disciples are praising his deeds of power and raising their voices in song, he looks over the suffering city, and his heart cracks wide open: he weeps. And with tears in his eyes, he turns to his disciples and says, “If you, even you, had only recognized the things that make for peace!” Wait a minute! They’re right there, aren’t they, praising his deeds of power, singing of peace, and joining in the cosmic parade? Haven’t they recognized the things which make for peace? On the surface, it’s all very puzzling; so let’s zoom out. In Luke chapter 9, we are told that Jesus set his face towards Jerusalem; then for the next ten chapters, he taught. He told parables about the kingdom. He preached. He commissioned; he debriefed; he explained; he exhorted; he encouraged; and he told many, many stories. In everything, he taught. Through all this teaching, he revealed the promise at his birth: the way of peace. He showed that it’s all about trusting him, and only him: not our right theologies, not our moral behaviour, not our own efforts, and not our bank accounts. He called on his little flock to free themselves of their possessions and all false reliances, and he promised that in God’s kingdom they would have enough. He taught that the faithful can be rejected, and suffer, and die; and he located his own body among the marginalized poor. In stories such as the neighbourly Samaritan, he raised up hated enemies as righteous; and he repeatedly shared meals with all the wrong people, breaking bread, drinking wine, and revealing a culture in which everyone is welcome at the table and the greatest are those who serve. Through these and similar teachings, he showed his disciples how to live. But as they are walking towards Jerusalem, his disciples seem to forget his teaching. Instead, they seek the destruction of a Samaritan village. They argue and jostle among themselves for high status in the kingdom of God. Outside Jericho, they try to block a blind man from receiving sight. And once they are in Jerusalem, rather like many observers of a certain mega-church today, they praise the awe-inspiring Temple, while the impoverished widows who gave everything for its construction and maintenance are completely invisible to them. And as they walk and sing, his disciples are praising not his teaching, but his deeds of power: for perhaps they long for this power to crush their enemies and save them. The sort of power promised by Zechariah, whose humble king would lead an army to devour their enemies and “drink their blood like wine” (Zechariah 9:15-16). Perhaps now, even now, they still long for a triumphant military peace. A routing of the Romans. A renewed autonomy. Blood running through the streets. And so Jesus weeps, because even his disciples have not internalized his teaching, and he sees where this will lead: Betrayal. Denial. Humiliation. Crucifixion. And some years later, the brutal destruction of the city and all of its inhabitants. So he weeps, and he says to those who are walking with him, “If you, even you, had only recognized the things that make for peace!” You want deeds of power: but not my teaching. You want financial security: but not kingdom economics. You want love: but not for your enemies. You want forgiveness: but not to forgive. You want good news: but not for others. You want shalom: but you will reject the fulfilment of God’s peace: indeed, you will reject me. And so disaster is coming, “because you did not recognize the time of your visitation from God.” (Luke 19:44) As people who lift their voices with the cosmic choir in the company of our weeping Saviour, I wonder: What blocks us from living by his teaching? Do we, too, want God’s peace, but not the uncomfortable person of Jesus? What are the many ways we betray and deny him, and undermine and avoid his teaching? And on the other side of denial and disaster, will we accept the sting of forgiveness, and his renewed words of peace, and commission, and blessing? …. Pope Leo XIV led a peace plea at St. Peter’s Square amid Donald Trump-approved U.S. strikes on Iran. Mega© OK Magazine (AU) Pope Leo XIV issued a stark warning of an "irreparable abyss" as U.S. forces conducted airstrikes on Iran following President Donald Trump's go-signal to target the nation’s critical nuclear sites. The Pope used his Sunday Angelus prayer at St. Peter's Square to emphasize the need for peace and global diplomacy amid escalating tensions in the Middle East. On June 21, Trump approved the strikes in coordination with an Israeli offensive, marking a larger hostility as Iran pledged to protect its territory. "Every member of the international community has a moral responsibility: to stop the tragedy of war before it becomes an irreparable abyss," the Pope declared during his weekly address in Piazza San Pietro. He urged for "rational attention" to peace negotiations and noted that "now, more than ever, humanity calls out for peace, a plea that requires rational attention and should not be silenced." Pope Leo continued, "No armed victory can compensate for the pain of mothers, the fear of children, the stolen future. Let diplomacy silence the weapons, let nations chart their future with peace efforts, not with violence and bloody conflict." The pontiff did not shy away from addressing the ongoing strife between Israel and Palestine, highlighting the suffering of civilians in Gaza and other areas. He pointed out that humanitarian needs are becoming increasingly urgent amid the dramatic circumstances. …. In Iran, anxiety mounts over the potential for a deeper, more chaotic conflict as tensions rise, particularly following a week marked by conflict with Israel. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi condemned the U.S. military actions on Sunday, calling it a "dangerous military operation" and warned of "everlasting consequences." During a rapid press briefing the evening before, Trump praised the armed forces and expressed gratitude to God for their success in the operations. …. Former Pope Francis, who served for 12 years, previously criticized Trump's mass deportation plans and the president's approach to immigration, asserting that "a person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian."