BLOG: Vatican II
Read the full text of Blessed Pope Paul VI's Closing Messages of Vatican II in honour of his canonization taking place on October 14, 2018. ...read more
Today, Pope Francis released a new papal document - Gaudete et Exsultate: On the Call to Holiness in Today’s World. The Latin title, Rejoice and Be Glad, comes from Matthew 5:12, part of the Sermon on the Mount - Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven. The Sermon on the Mount figures heavily into the document, providing a sort of 'roadmap' to holiness. Here are a few points to keep in mind as you read through the document: ...read more
The final lessons of John XXIII and Benedict XVI G.K. Chesterton once wrote: “It is of the new things that men tire… of fashions and proposals and improvements and change. It is the old things that startle and intoxicate. It is the old things that are young.” This was the paradoxical justification Chesterton gave for ...read more
“What does Christmas mean to you?” This is a common question posed during the Advent season, and one that evokes in many of us fond memories and feelings of gratitude. This week, as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the close of the Second Vatican Council, similar feelings have pervaded me. Many thoughtful and inspiring ...read more
Address of Pope Paul VI During the last general meeting of the Second Vatican Council 7 December 1965  Today we are concluding the Second Vatican Council. We bring it to a close at the fullness of its efficiency: the presence of so many of you here clearly demonstrates it; the well-ordered pattern of this assembly ...read more
This year marks 50 years since the end of the Second Vatican Council and the promulgation of several key documents that shaped the church. There is one document, not part of the official canon of Vatican II documents, that shaped the church just as much yet has been almost forgotten. It is called the Catacombs ...read more