Good evening!
“Why did it have to come to this?”
Pope Francis asked this question in his Palm Sunday homily last year, speaking of Jesus’ passion.
He continued: “He did it for us. There is no other answer. For us. Brothers and sisters, today this is not merely a show. Every one of us, hearing of Jesus’ abandonment, can say: for me. This abandonment is the price he paid for me.”
As we find ourselves meeting Palm Sunday again and entering into Holy Week, these words have a sobering resonance: “the price he paid for me.” As we survey world events, it’s often easy to look at the sin “out there” and miss the sin in our own heart. May this Holy Week, and particularly the Triduum, be a time of ever deeper personal conversion and wonder in our God’s love for us.
Have a good weekend and a blessed Holy Week.
Maria Wiering
Senior Writer
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Abortions soar to highest number in over a decade post Dobbs, study finds
Bishop Michael F. Burbidge of Arlington, Virginia, told OSV News that these reported increases in abortion “in recent years, both before and now with the Dobbs decision, highlight the importance of what we in the pro-life cause have always said: that we must not only make abortion illegal, but rather it should be unthinkable.”
England’s halt of routine puberty blockers ‘important news,’ say two U.S. experts
NHS (National Health Service) England announced March 12 it would no longer automatically prescribe puberty suppressing hormones to child patients at its gender identity clinics, joining a growing list of countries that includes Denmark, Finland, France, Norway and Sweden to limit such usage.
Why isn’t the Annunciation celebrated on March 25 this year?
The solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord, celebrated nine months before Christmas, is assigned to March 25 on the church’s General Calendar. But this year the liturgical celebration will be observed on Monday, April 8.
7 Catholic schools dancing in this year’s March Madness
The 2024 Men’s Division I NCAA Tournament began March 19 with the “First Four” play-in games, and seven Catholic schools were picked to play at least once in the single-elimination Big Dance.
There’s something good at Catholic University
Peter Kilpatrick, president of the Catholic University of America, writes on the joy of Catholic community and higher education, and the university’s new brand “Lead with Light.”
Without debate, Brazil’s Aparecida shrine will proceed with Father Rupnik’s project
While church groups in different nations are discussing what to do with Father Marko Rupnik’s works after sex abuse allegations against him came to light, Brazil’s Sanctuary of Our Lady of Aparecida, a major Catholic shrine in the South American country, has apparently decided to continue installation of giant murals produced by Centro Aletti, where Father Rupnik is still listed as director of spiritual art and theology atelier.
5 U.S. priests tapped to share pastoral insights for the Synod on Synodality
The five priests selected from the U.S., who were chosen by synod leaders, have all been involved locally in their synod processes, with some participating as well in the U.S. and continental phases of the synod.
The Year of Mercy was instructive; the Year of Prayer may be immersive
There were plenty of lessons to be learned in the “Year of Mercy;” now we are in a “Year of Prayer” — so designated by Pope Francis in anticipation of the 2025 Jubilee Year.
Texas Catholics plan march, vigil against ‘dehumanizing’ migration laws, policies
Texas Catholic and community groups are holding an event in El Paso called “Do Not Be Afraid: March and Vigil for Human Dignity” the evening of March 21 in the wake of what organizers called “dehumanizing laws and policies” toward migrants in the Lone Star State.
La Crosse, Wis., bishop resigns for health reasons; Detroit auxiliary named successor
Bishop William P. Callahan, 73, headed the west-central Wisconsin diocese for 14 years, but made national headlines three years ago by removing from his pastorate a controversial priest who later revealed himself to be a sedevacantist and openly called for the pope’s death.
US Senate extends, expands bill to compensate victims of US radiation testing
Archbishop John C. Wester of Santa Fe, New Mexico, a vocal proponent of nuclear disarmament, and Anne Avellone, director of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe Office of Social Justice and Respect Life and the archdiocesan Justice, Peace and Life Commission, cited the recent success of the film, “Oppenheimer,” arguing the film “brings to new audiences an awareness of the development of the atomic bomb and its perils.”
