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Christ , El Greco, c.1606 Cathedral, Toledo, Spain [ Web Gallery of Art ] Readings   (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Readings   (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa) Gospel   Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23  ( New Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition , Canada)      Now when the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus,   they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with defiled hands, that is, without washing them.   (For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not eat unless they thoroughly wash their hands,   thus observing the tradition of the elders;     and they do not eat anything from the market unless they wash it;   and there are also many other traditions that they observe, the washing of cups, pots, and bronze kettles.)  So the Pharisees and...

This is the day Pope Francis asked Christians worldwide to fast and to pray for our brothers and sisters in Syria. It also is the feast day of Our Lady of Good Health (Vailankanni). Today, I traveled with our younger son and three of my CL friends from New Jersey to a Staten Island parish where we joined hundreds of others in fasting for Syria and feasting for Our Lady of Good Health. Keep Reading...

This video presents the newly-launched campaign by the Archdiocese of Bombay to raise awareness and initiate change in the attitude toward and the treatment of women in India, in the aftermath of a horrific gang-rape of a young woman in December last year. This video and report were  posted by UCANews  on 28 January. A  diya  is an oil lamp, usually made from clay, widely used in India, especially during certain religious festivals. Nature seems to provide 103 - 108 boys to 100 girls at birth. The video gives figures for three locations in India: Delhi: 866 girls / 1,000 boys; Haryana: 877 girls / 1,000 boys; Chanidgarh: 818 girls / 1,000 boys.  It is thought that sex-selection abortion and the killing of newborn girls are factors in skewing the natural proportion between males and females in India and in some other countries. The '37,000,000 Diyas' campaign of the Archdiocese of Bombay - it retains the old name for 'Mumbai' - is for the ex...