I just got back from a five-day retreat with my community of the Schoenstatt Movement.

It was wonderful.

It is a very uncertain world we are living in. We do not know what is right and what is wrong. We stand at the crossroads of life not knowing which way to take. This uncertainty is very unnerving for the modern man whose one concern is to make life more secure. In the midst of this uncertainty Jesus declares "I am the Way."

This year on June 23, the Catholic Church celebrated the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. But where did that tradition originate?

Devotion to the wounded heart of Jesus has its origins in the eleventh century, when pious Christians meditated on the Five Wounds of Christ. There grew up among the faithful prayers to the Sacred Heart, prayers to the Shoulder Wound of Christ—private devotions which helped Christians to focus on the passion and death of Christ, and thus to grow in love for our Savior who had suffered and died for us.

Ordinarily the Church observes the day of a saint's death as his feast, because that day marks his entrance into heaven. To this rule there are two notable exceptions, the birthdays of the Blessed Virgin and of Saint John the Baptist.

On June 21, 2017 Pope Francis appointed German Joachim von Braun, 66, President of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences. Expert in food security, he is Professor of Economics and Technological Innovation and Director of the Research Center for Development, of the University of Bonn, Germany.

“Fear no one,” says Jesus in today’s Gospel.

He doesn’t want us to be secret Christians, hiding our faith from the world, embarrassed that we still believe. He says, “Everyone who acknowledges me before others I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father, and whoever denies me before others I will deny before my heavenly Father.”

He wants us to “proclaim on the housetops” what he has revealed. But we fail at this so often that it can be a little discouraging.

Francis to ROACO: “If Eastern faithful are forced to emigrate,” they must be able to continue to live “according to their own ecclesial tradition”.

The Vatican Secretary of State points out that while conflicts diminish, civilian casualties increase. Too many hegemonic designs hinder peace. Parolin to Russia in August.

“The relationship between individuals or communities and the environment ultimately stems from their relationship with God.” —Pope Benedict XVI
Benjamin Wiker

A less provocative title might have been, “Why Catholics Need to Be at the Forefront of the Environmental Movement,” but that probably wouldn’t have caught your eye. So, now that I’ve got your attention, let’s make the case for a Catholic Ecology.

“Violence serves the cause of terrorists.” Nichols, “I’m horrified”. The Muslim Council denounces a rise in islamophobia. The Jewish community condemns the Finsbury Park attack.