BLOG: Fr. Raphael Ma, CR
By Sebastian Gomes, Special to CNN In hindsight we see how calculated Benedict’s thinking was, and not only about his resignation. He called an unexpected consistory to be held on November 24 in which he created six new cardinals, none of them coming from Europe. That came nine months after the previous consistory, meaning that ...read more
Here are 5 Ways to Improve Your Prayer Life by Emilie Callan. ...read more
A reflection for the 6th Sunday, Ordinary Time, B. The readings are Leviticus 13:1-2, 44-46, Psalm 32; Corinthians 10:31 – 11:1 and Mark 1:40-45. “If you want, you can make me clean” says the man. “I do want” Jesus says to the man. “I do want.” This year I have noticed in particular, how in the ...read more
Lent is just around the corner! The annual desert journey calls Christians back to their most intimate and essential selves as children of God. It is a time to pray, fast and give alms, insofar as these traditional practices open within us a humble honesty about the current trajectory of our life’s journey, and serve ...read more
Fish is Meat: Should we not eat it on Fridays? Read Jay Turchansky's reflection on why Catholic's eat fish every Friday during the Lenten Season. ...read more
Pope Benedict XVI delivered his final public homily on February 13, 2013 during Ash Wednesday Mass, just days after announcing his resignation. Here is the full homily. ...read more
2018 Migrants and Refugees Message The Church has celebrated the World Day of Migrants and Refugees each year since 1914. This is an occasion for the Church and people of faith to reflect upon the role migration has played in our tradition, express concern for migrants, refugees, and people on the move, and build awareness ...read more
2018 Lenten Message of His Holiness Pope Francis “Because of the increase of iniquity, the love of many will grow cold” (Mt 24:12) Dear Brothers and Sisters, Once again, the Pasch of the Lord draws near! In our preparation for Easter, God in his providence offers us each year the season of Lent as a ...read more
Mass of Thanksgiving for Pilgrimage of the Relic of St. Francis Xavier to Canada Church of the Gesù, Rome Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Year “B”) – February 4, 2018 Last night – Feb 4th – Archbishop Terrence Prendergast presided over a Mass of thanksgiving at the Church of the Gesù in Rome for the intentions ...read more
Last time we concluded that Baptism welcomes us into the family of God and after Baptism we belong to God. Now let’s look at the baptism ritual. All Sacrament ritual includes three moments: anamnesis (remembering), epiclesis (coming of the Holy Spirit), doxology (praise). In Baptism we remember the healing waters, we remember Christ’s death and ...read more