Muslims around the world celebrated Tuesday the feast of Eid al-Adha – commonly known as Eid, which marks the end of Hajj. Hajj is the annual pilgrimage to Mecca, the city in Saudi Arabia, regarded as the holiest site in Islam, since the prophet Muhammad proclaimed Islam in that city in the 7th century. Hajj ...read more

[audio:http://saltandlighttv.org/blog/audio/wyd2011_theme.mp3|titles=WYD2011 Theme Song][/audio] The official hymn for World Youth Day 2011 was released on the eve of November 9th, Feast of the Virgin of Almudena, Patroness of Madrid. “Firm in the Faith,” was performed by the Youth Orchestra of the Community of Madrid and the Youth Choir of the Escolanía de El Escorial. Both groups ...read more

The first registrant for World Youth Day Madrid isn’t Spanish, but German. It fact, it’s Pope Benedict XVI. The Holy Father registered after a meeting in Rome with Cardinal Antonio Rouco Varela of Madrid and other organizers of the August 2011 event. The Pope described World Youth Day as “not just a mass gathering but ...read more

As we’ve said many times, the Easter Triduum is the peak of the liturgical calendar.  The Triduum — and Holy Week — also provide some excellent homilies and messages to reflect upon.  You may want to check out the following: Pope Benedict’s Urbi et Orbi Message and Blessing: “The Church is the people of the ...read more

As the Church celebrates Jesus’ victory over death, all of us at Salt + Light Television would like to extend to our readers and viewers our best wishes for a blessed and joyful Easter. As we begin this Easter season, we invite you to read this beautiful Easter homily by the Bishop, Saint Melito of ...read more

There is a reason why this week is called Holy Week. As a kid, these words directly translated to daily, long bouts of sitting in the pews of St. Ambrose Cathedral in a tiny ocean town in southwestern Nova Scotia. I recall looking forward to this time of the year as it was typically marked ...read more

Pope Benedict XVI celebrated Palm Sunday with thousands of faithful in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday.  Palm Sunday is also the weekend that World Youth Day is celebrated at the diocesan level, and this year marked the 25th anniversary of the event established by Venerable John Paul II.  The anniversary was the focus on his ...read more

With the approach of Holy Week, Christians are seeking out ways to more fully enter into the solemn commemoration of Christ’s last days on earth before His death. Many Catholics, out of devotion to the person of Christ, have sought to imitate the sacred Seder Meal (Passover) that Christ celebrated with His disciples on the ...read more

It’s hard to believe but World Youth Day is celebrating its silver anniversary! Twenty-five years ago Venerable John Paul II launched the annual meeting for young people and Pope Benedict XVI reflected on this milestone in his annual World Youth Day message which was released on Monday. Apart from the international World Youth Day gatherings, ...read more

The Christian Churches in the Holy Land are often characterized as intractably, scandalously divided. The impression is not without reason, as evidenced by the embarrassing 2008 skirmishes between Greek Orthodox and Armenian Orthodox monks in Jerusalem’s Holy Sepulchre—the church recognized as the site of Calvary and Jesus’ empty tomb. It would be wrong, however, to ...read more