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From   The Gospel of John   (2003) directed by Philip Saville John 20:19-31 Today is now known also as 'Sunday of Divine Mercy' and in some English-speaking countries as 'Low Sunday'. Readings   (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Readings   (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa) Gospel   John 20:19 - 31 ( New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised Catholic Edition) When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’  After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.  Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’  When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them...

Sheaves of Wheat, Van Gogh [ Web Gallery of Art ] Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit (John 12:24). Readings (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Readings (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa) Gospel John 12:20-33 (NRSV, Anglicised Catholic Edition) Now among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, ‘Sir, we wish to see Jesus.’ Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. Jesus answered them, ‘The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will ke...

Prayer before a Meal, Adriaen Jansz van Ostade[ Web Galle ry For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them (Matthew 18:20). Readings (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Readings (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa) Gospel Matthew 18:15-20 ( NRSV, CatholicEdition ) Jesus said to his disciples: ‘If another member of the church sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If the member listens to you, you have regained that one. But if you are not listened to, take one or two others along with you, so that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If the member refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if the offender refuses to listen even to the church, let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax-collector. Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever ...

Sermon on the Mountain, Károly Ferenczy Readings (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Readings (Jerusalem Bible Gospel Matthew 4:12-23 [or 12-17] ( NRSV,Catholic Ed ) When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying: ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. ‘Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted ‘Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. ‘Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled ‘Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. ‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. ‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. ‘Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. ‘Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on ...

Nave of the Archbasilica of St John Lateran Gospel   Luke 21:5-19  When some were speaking about the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God, Jesus said,     ‘As for these things that you see, the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down.’ They asked him, ‘Teacher, when will this be, and what will be the sign that this is about to take place?’   And he said, ‘Beware that you are not led astray; for many will come in my name and say, “I am he!”   and, “The time is near!”   Do not go after them. ‘When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified; for these things must take place first, but the end will not follow immediately.’   Then he said to them, ‘Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom;   there will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and plagues; and there will be dreadful portents and great signs fr...

I am hosting this pray along of a novena of novenas for the protection of our priests and deacons, as well as the conversion of our enemies--not only for our sake, but the sake of their souls. Please pray along with me and share this with your friends and family, our clergy needs our prayers and petitions more than they ever have! Please visit Veils and Vocations for more information and the novena prayers. God bless.

They are dead and we rejoice in that shred of hope that at least they can commit no more atrocities against humanity.  However, part of me always wonders, what were their last thoughts?  Did they have children, a wife, siblings, friends?  Even in a radical, militarist society, their mothers must weep knowing they are gone.  Surely, even with a mission from Allah, they will be missed.  Even if they aren't, they were all infused with immortal souls at conception, they were blessed by the LORD and their lives were planned before eternity began.  Yes, they have turned against God.  Yes, they have sinned against their fellow man, taking innocent lives and creating fear in a cloud of evil and destruction.  But, do we not all sin?  Does it not grieve the Father when we speak harshly to our brother or child, when we react selfishly and refuse to focus on the other?  Are we any more deserving of mercy because our sins have not become internat...

I have hosted a Novena of Novenas before.  I think it is time we do so again.  The conditions for Christians in the Middle East are beyond horrendous! When the photos were released of the Holocaust, the world vowed, never again!  Yet, photos are flooding out of the largest and most vicious genocide ever, and our world is waiting and watching in silence. Syrian Christians are on the cusp of mass slaughter, already displaced and starving, they now face certain death at the hands of ISIS. Am I being over dramatic?  I think not. I think that there are no real words to explain to horror.  We have been inundated by such horror of late, we are paralyzed, overwhelmed by the onslaught of endless evil and darkness. Continued on Veils and Vocations.

Flock of Sheep in the Campagna , Claude Lorrain Akademie der bildenden Künste, Vienna [ Web Gallery of Art ] Gospel   Mark 6:30-34  ( NRV,Version, Catholic Edition , Canada)    The apostles gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught.   He said to them, “Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat.   And they went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves.   Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they hurried there on foot from all the towns and arrived ahead of them.   As he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.   Fr Ragheed Aziz Ganni  (20 January 1972 - 3 June 2007) I will raise up shepherds over them who will shepherd them, and they shall not fear any longer, o...

On Facebook, the other day, there was a meme that stated, "If we offered a minute of silence for every victim of the Holocaust, we would be silent for eleven and a half years.  It got me wondering, if we offered a minute of silence for every victim of persecution and ethnic cleansing, would we ever speak again? In college, I had the opportunity to spend six months in Austria to study political science and history.  As one of our study tours, we visited a small concentration camp. It is the only part of my three semesters abroad for which I have no photographs.  It seemed like too hallowed of ground to photograph. Also, I knew I would never forget being there-- twenty years later I can still feel the immense weight of sorrow that presses in on you and smell the stench of heinous deaths.  What struck me most, though, was the small strip of green grass that separated this place of horrors from a beautiful town.  Yards away people were eating and drinking...

The plight of the persecuted has never been more dire, yet most of the world has remained silent---a deafening silence!  My heart has been heavy with wanting to help those who are suffering the unimaginable.  They are constantly on my mind and in my prayers.  While I have tried hard to shield myself from the graphic photographs, just reading about the atrocities has flooded my mind with images that I can't forget. Many nights thoughts and fears have consumed me. Perhaps fear is not the correct word. I do not fear, I know that the gates of Hell shall not prevail. I know that my God has already won. I know that Christ is risen, and in Him I shall never die. God always prevails and provides. However, the feeling of evil closing in around us has greatly saddened my heart. Read more on Veils and Vocations .

The Gospel of John   (2003) dir. by Philip Saville-  John 20:19-31   Today is now known also as 'Sunday of Divine Mercy' and in some English-speaking countries as 'Low Sunday'. Gospel   John 20:19-31   When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.”   After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.     Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”   When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.     If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came.   So the other di...

The Repentant Peter , El Greco, c.1600 Phillips Collection, Washington [ 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   Matthew 18:15-20  ( New Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition : Canada)  Jesus said to his disciples: “If another member of the church   sins against you,   go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If the member listens to you, you have regained that one.     But if you are not listened to, take one or two others along with you, so that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses.     If the member refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if the offender refuses to listen even to the church, let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.     Trul...

So, I had planned on posting a new {p,h,f,r} with Auntie Leila , since it has been a whole month since I have. Where does time go?  However, it seems God has other plans, since I cannot get my pictures to load and something has just come through my news feed that I must share!  So here is an unconventional, but important {p,h,f,r} post. Pretty   On September 20th at the beautiful Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, there will be a "kick-off" event for the International Week of Prayer and Fasting.  All Catholics are asked to pray, fast, give, adore, repent, and attend Mass during this week for the conversion and defeat of ISIS.  Please join in.  The Basilica's website has information as well as the official IWOPF website and this article from Zenit .   Please read more at Veils and Vocations .

Te Martyrum candidatus laudat exercitus .~ from the Te Deum When I wrote to Dr. Moss requesting her latest work The Myth of Persecution , I received a prompt and gracious reply assuring me of a copy. Dr. Moss hoped that I would not see the book as an attack upon the Church. I responded that I did not see the book as an attack on the Church and even if it was, the Church has been through worse. We have nothing to fear from the truth of history. After reading the book my reply is not altered. It is a well-written book with clear explanations indicative of a skilled teacher. However, I recommend Myth to others with reservations, since in spite of the genuine scholarship which Dr. Moss shares with us, there is a contemporary political slant given to the narrative which clouds the objectivity of how the historical evidence is presented. For instance, my cognitive processes are strained to envision St. Justin Martyr (pp. 109-112) and Glenn Beck (p. 250) as conf...