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St. Paul refers in his writings to the fundamental event of his life, which we read about in today’s first reading at Mass. It had remained forever ingrained in his mind. Then on his journey, when he was nearly at Damascus, a light from heaven shone suddenly about him. He fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him: ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?’ ‘Who are You, Lord?’ he asked. And He said, ‘I am Jesus whom you persecute. ’In this first revelation, Jesus shows himself as personally and intimately united to his disciples whom Paul is persecuting. Later on, the doctrine of the Mystical Body of Christ, one of the central topics in his preaching, would show this profound unity among Christians, on account of their being united to their Head, who is Christ.

The recent document from the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) Dignitas Infinita states that death penalty violates the inalienable dignity of every person regardless of circumstances. Catholic philosopher Edward Feser, an expert on the subject of the Church’s teaching and capital punishment says the following: …This simply cannot be reconciled with scripture and the consistent teaching of all popes who have spoken on the matter prior to Pope Francis. That includes Pope St. John Paul II, despite his well-known opposition to capital punishment.

The life of the first Christians and their witness to the world make known to us their quality and their character. Their norm of conduct was not to take the easy way out, or opt for the more comfortable line or the more popular decision but rather did they seek to fulfill completely the will of God. They ignored the danger of death…they forgot how few they were, they never noticed how many were against them or the power or strength or wisdom of their enemies. Their power was greater than all of that: theirs was the power of him who had died on the Cross and risen again. They had their gaze riveted on Christ, who gave his life for all men. They were not seeking their own personal glory, nor the applause of their fellow citizens. They always acted with a right intention, because they had their eyes fixed on the Lord. That is what allows St. Stephen to say at the moment of his martyrdom: Lord do not take their sin into account…

We have heard the passage from the Acts of the Apostles (20:17-38) in which Saint Paul speaks to the presbyters of Ephesus, intentionally recounted by Saint Luke as the testament of the apostle, as a discourse destined not only for the presbyters of Ephesus, but for the presbyters of all time. Saint Paul is speaking not only with those who were present in that place, he is really speaking with us, so let us try to understand a little of what he is saying to us, at this time. [...]

God could give no greater gift to men than to make his Word, through whom he created all things, their head and to join them to him as his members, so that the Word might be both Son of God and son of man, one God with the Father, and one man with all men. The result is that when we speak with God in prayer we do not separate the Son from him, and when the body of the Son prays it does not separate its head from itself: it is the one Savior of his body, our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who prays for us and in us and is himself the object of our prayers.

There is a lot of talk on the streets and in the media about a thing called “corporate greed.” This greed is supposed to reside in entities called corporations that are somehow exploiting people to make a profit by valuing profit over people. The only problem with this construction is that a corporation is a “legal person,” but it is not a real person. And greed, being a sin, can only be committed by real persons; it cannot be committed by corporations. Because they are legal persons, corporations can break the law and be punished by the law, by fines or judgments, but they cannot sin. Sin requires human agency.

Any observer of films/TV programs coming from Hollywood today can see that Christianity and particularly Catholicism is often presented in a negative light. Why is that? Don Feder sought to answer that question in an essay years ago for Front Page Magazine. He asserted that Hollywood hates authentic Christians because the Faith is diametrically opposed to the worldview of a good many of the producers, actors, and directors who control Hollywood. What is that Hollywood worldview?

The omnipotent God does not need to ask for anything because He has the power to effect whatever He wills. Jesus was fully God, so why does He pray? If well understood, the answer to this question will shed light on many of the highest mysteries of the Faith. Understanding the principle that will be discussed in this short article is the key to understanding some of the most obscure doctrines, such as divine providence, predestination, and free will. Here is the principle that must be understood before answering why Christ prayed. (St.)Thomas says: Divine providence disposes not only what effects shall take place, but also from what causes and in what order these effects shall proceed. To put it another way, God determines not only what happens but also how it happens.

Station days were days of fasting in the early Christian Church, associated with a procession to certain prescribed churches in Rome, where the Mass and Vespers would be celebrated to mark important days of the liturgical year. Station days grew out of the early Christian practice of visiting the tombs of the martyrs and celebrating the Eucharist at those sites. By the fourth century, the practice of carrying out an itinerary to various churches of the city began to develop during the days of Lent. In those days it became a tradition for the pope to visit a church in each part of the city and celebrate Mass with the congregation.

…. the radical subversion of normal human life in the name of a paranoid metaphysical delusion. Edward Feser (see below)

You may have read about or seen this on the internet. It was reported worldwide: At a funeral service on February 15 at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City, men dressed as women and women dressed as men turned out to honor Cecilia Gentili.

Gentili is a man who falsely claimed to be a woman. He was an illegal alien, a drug addict, prostitute, trans-activist and atheist .This was the correct depiction of what happened in the Cathedral on the website of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights. https://www.catholicleague.org/trans-activists-defile-st-patricks-cathedral/ Catholic journalist Philip Lawler put it this way: The grotesque “funeral service” for Cecilia Gentilli was a carefully planned ploy to use a renowned Catholic church as the stage for an event glorifying sexual perversity. Sadly, it worked—and the cathedral was desecrated in the process. And because it was successful, we can all be sure that other LGBT activists will try it again. And again and again.

The primary purpose of the devotion is to make reparation for sins against the first three commandments: Denial of God, Blasphemy, and the profanation of Sundays and Holy Days.

Devotion to the Holy Face was revealed by Jesus to Sr. Marie of St. Peter (1816-1848) a Carmelite nun of Tours in France. The devotion to the Holy Face of Jesus, based on the life and writings of Sr. Marie of St. Peter, was eventually approved by Pope Leo XIII in 1885 who established the devotion as an Arch-confraternity for the whole world.

A common tactic of Satan is to imitate or counterfeit the things of God in order to make himself appear to be like God. What is commonly referred to as the “unholy trinity,” is described vividly in Revelation 12 and 13. . The Holy Trinity consists of God the Father, the Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. Their counterfeits in the unholy trinity are Satan, the Antichrist, and the False Prophet. While the Holy Trinity is characterized by infinite truth, love, and goodness, the unholy trinity portrays the diametrically opposite traits of deception, hatred, and unadulterated evil. Satan is the anti-God, the Beast from the sea is the anti-Christ, and the beast from the earth or the False Prophet is the anti-Spirit. This unholy trinity will persecute believers and deceive many others, resulting in their eternal death. But God’s kingdom will prevail. Daniel 7:21–22 states, “I was watching; and the same horn was making war against the saints, and prevailing against them, until the Ancient of Days came, and a judgment was made in favor of the saints of the Most High, and the time came for the saints to possess the kingdom.”

Pre-Lent in the West

Shrovetide, also known as the Pre-Lenten Season, is the Christian period of preparation before the beginning of the liturgical season of Lent. The preparation marks seventy, sixty, and fifty days before Easter. Ash Wednesday begins the forty days of Lent. The word shrove is a form of the English word shrive, which means to give absolution for someone's sins by way of Confession and doing penance. Thus Shrove Tuesday was named after the custom of Christians to be "shriven" before the start of Lent.