In addition to a September 16th to 19th Papal trip to the United Kingdom which Pope Benedict has asked prayers for, September brings us the following papal intentions: General Intention: The Word of God as Incentive for Social Development That the proclamation of the Word of God may renew people’s hearts, encouraging them to work ...read more

For those of you devoted to Cardinal John Henry Newman, you may want to circle it on your calendar. October 9th. That was the day of the Cardinal’s conversion to Catholicism in 1845. And Pope Benedict XVI is set to announce it as his feast day when he officially declares the English scholar beatified on ...read more

Some call it David versus Goliath. But Father Luke Strand dismisses that description. The priest from the Archdiocese of Milwaukee has been asked by Best Buy to remove a God Squad logo from his black Volkswagen Beetle. The electronic retailer says the logo is a copyright infringement on its logo for the Geek Squad, the ...read more

It looks like there will be a touch of Tolkien when Pope Benedict XVI visits Birmingham, England next month. No, we’re confident the Holy Father will not be quoting portions of Lord of the Rings in any homilies or addresses. However, the legendary author’s great nephew, Tim Tolkien, will be sculpting a life-size statue of ...read more

Thirty one thousand decades of the Rosary and one hundred and thirty days of Eucharistic adoration. That’s the amount of prayer that benefactors of the charity Aid to the Church in Need have pledged to Pope Benedict XVI. For those of you keeping count, that prayer total works out to more than six months of ...read more

Castel Gandolfo was busy yesterday as Pope Benedict XVI marked the solemnity of the Assumption. First there was the celebration of Mass at the Church of St. Thomas, located just across from the summer Papal residence.  Later in the day, the Holy Father welcomed the faithful to Castel Gandolfo for his Angelus address. Of course, ...read more

Cardinal Marc Ouellet has asked the faithful to pray that the Lord may give him “wisdom and discernment” as he heads to Rome. That’s where, as of August 24th, he’ll take up his new role as the prefect of the Congregation for Bishops. He asked for the prayers yesterday at the St. Anne de Beaupre ...read more

A little boy once came across a sparrow laying on his back with his feet sticking up to the sky.  The boy looked at him and asked “Sparrow, why are you lying on his back on your back with your feet pointing up to the sky?”  The sparrow replied, because if the sky falls, I ...read more

As we have discussed over the last three days the theme of the Knights of Columbus’ 128th Supreme Convention has been I Am My Brother’s Keeper. On the third and final day of the Convention, the Knights remembered their deceased brothers and family with Mass, on the memorial of the dedication of the Basilica of ...read more

Pope John Paul II described them as the “strong right arm of the Church,” and many a priest would consider them backbone to parish activities. More than just an “arm” or a “backbone” the Knights of Columbus are the largest organized “body,” so to speak, of lay Catholic men.  In fact, they’ve just cracked over ...read more