Father, for the strength you have given me I thank you.
For the health you have blessed me with, I thank you.
For the women who are going through breast cancer and their families
I ask you to strengthen and to heal as you see fit.
Lord we know you want us to be in good health and to prosper.
Lord use us to do the work you have for us to do.
For we know time is getting short on this earth.
Lord be with every woman who is sick
and encourage them as only you can.
I know …

46 Spirit-filled youth confirmed at Hawthorne parish – St. Anthony Parish in Hawthorne, N.J., on Sept. 19 welcomed Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney, who celebrated Mass. During the liturgy, he administered the sacrament of Confirmation to 46 parish youths. Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Father Stephen Prisk, pastor of St. Anthony’s and vice chancellor of the Paterson Diocese in New Jersey; Father Brendon Harfmann, parochial vicar of the parish; Msgr. Raymond Kupke, a retired diocesan priest, pastor emeritus of St. Anthony’s, and the diocesan archivist, and Father Frank Lennie, chaplain at DePaul Catholic High School in Wayne, N.J., and a former parochial vicar at St. Anthony’s,
A reading from the Book of Ezra
6:7-8, 12b, 14-20
King Darius issued an order to the officials
of West-of-Euphrates:
"Let the governor and the elders of the Jews
continue the work on that house of God;
they are to rebuild it on its former site.
I also issue this decree
concerning your dealing with these elders of the Jews
in the rebuilding of that house of God:
From the royal revenue, the taxes of West-of-Euphrates,
let these men be repaid for their expenses, in full and without delay.
I, Darius, have issued this decree;
let it be carefully executed."
The elders of the Jews continued to make progress in the building,
supported by the message of the prophets,
Haggai and Zechariah, son of Iddo.
They finished the building according to the command
of the God of Israel
and the decrees of Cyrus and Darius
and of Artaxerxes, king of Persia.
They completed this house on the third day of the month Adar,
in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius.
The children of Israel–priests, Levites,
and the other returned exiles–
celebrated the dedication of this house of God with joy.
For the dedication of this house of God,
they offered one hundred bulls,
two hundred rams, and four hundred lambs,
together with twelve he-goats as a sin-offering for all Israel,
in keeping with the number of the tribes of Israel.
Finally, they set up the priests in their classes
and the Levites in their divisions
for the service of God in Jerusalem,
as is prescribed in the book of Moses.
The exiles kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month.
The Levites, every one of whom had purified himself for the occasion,
sacrificed the Passover for the rest of the exiles,
for their brethren the priests, and for themselves.
From the Gospel according to Luke
8:19-21
The mother of Jesus and his brothers came to him
but were unable to join him because of the crowd.
He was told, "Your mother and your brothers are standing outside
and they wish to see you."
He said to them in reply, "My mother and my brothers
are those who hear the word of God and act on it."
“To listen to the Word of God and practise it” are the only two “conditions” established by Jesus for those who want to follow him. To listen to the Word of God” and “put it into practise”. This, is the Christian life: nothing more. Simple, simple. Perhaps we have made it a bit difficult, with so many explanations that no one understands, but Christian life is like this: listening to the Word of God and practising it. Every time we open the Gospel and read a passage and ask ourselves: ‘Is God speaking to me with this, is he saying something to me’?”. This means “to listen to the Word of God, to listen with the ears and listen with the heart, to open the heart to God’s Word”. On the other hand, “Jesus’ enemies listened to Jesus’ words but they were close by in order to try and find a mistake, to make him slip up” and make him lose “authority. But they never asked themselves: ‘What is God telling me with these words’?”.
Moreover, “God does not speak only to all but he speaks to each one of us. The Gospel was written for each one of us. And when I pick up the Bible, when I pick up the Gospel and read it, I must ask myself what the Lord is saying to me”. This, then, “is what Jesus says that true relatives do, his true brethren: they ‘listen to the Word of God with the heart’. And then, he says ‘they put it into practise’”. (Santa Marta, 23 September 2014)
Read More

Police gather at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis on Aug. 27, 2025, following a mass shooting that killed two children and injured 17 others, 14 of them children. / Credit: Chad Davis, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
CNA Staff, Sep 22, 2025 / 17:17 pm (CNA).
At a town hall meeting in Plymouth, Minnesota, over the weekend, three mothers whose children survived the school shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church in August advocated for stricter gun laws.
Two children were killed and 21 people were injured after Robin Westman, 23, a man who identified as a woman, shot through the stained-glass windows of the church during a school Mass on Aug. 27.
Fletcher Merkel, 8, and Harper Moyski, 10, were killed in the attack.
Carla Maldonado, who has two children at Annunciation Catholic School, said “taking action” by tightening gun laws would honor the deaths of the two children and “all lives taken by gun violence.”
“We cannot accept a world where civilians have access to weapons designed for battlefields,” she said, referring to assault weapons and calling for their prohibition.
Another mother, Malia Kimbrell, who also supports an assault weapons ban, asked: “If the next mass shooting happens at your child’s school, what type of weapon are you comfortable with the shooter being armed with?”
Kimbrell, whose daughter Vivian, 9, is recovering after she was shot multiple times, advocated for “more mental health resources and safer gun storage and better background checks and detecting potential threats online and improved security measures.”
Stephanie Moscetti said her son “was an honorary pallbearer at his friend’s [Merkel’s] funeral; how is this our reality?”
“Our kids deserve safe schools, they deserve safe childhoods where they can play and learn,” she said.
Rep. Kelly Morrison, a Democrat who represents Minnesota’s 3rd Congressional District, organized the town hall meeting, which focused on the prevention of gun violence.
Several of the mothers at the town hall also testified last week before a working group of state lawmakers who deliberated over proposed reforms dealing with gun violence.
At the hearing, Rob Doar, senior vice president of the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus, asked lawmakers to strengthen the law surrounding mental health resources access, pointing out that none of the proposals put forward would have prevented the shooting because Westman legally purchased the weapons.
Westman used three firearms during the August attack: a rifle, a shotgun, and a pistol, all of which were purchased legally under existing state law. The rifle was likely an AR-15-style semiautomatic rifle, which is considered an assault weapon.
Laws limiting those with mental health disorders from gun possession
Though Westman struggled with his gender identity, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) removed “gender identity disorder” from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) and replaced it with “gender dysphoria” in the revised version, known as the DSM-5, published in 2013.
This change marked a significant shift in how struggles with a person’s sexual identity are classified, with health care professionals no longer calling it a mental illness.
The new classification of gender dysphoria, though it is still in the APA’s manual of mental disorders, addresses the symptoms, or the distress, associated with gender incongruence and not the incongruence itself.
Minnesota, along with 29 other states, bars people with mental health issues who have been involuntarily committed or found to be a danger to self or others from possessing a gun.
This law did not come into play in the August shooting, however.
Gov. Tim Walz in early September called for a special session, which has yet to take place, that will focus on gun safety. He proposed banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazine clips as well as more safety regulations concerning storage and a stronger red flag law.
Minnesota’s current red flag law allows family or local and state officials to ask for an extreme risk protection order, or ERPO, which allows them to petition the court to have an at-risk person’s guns removed or to temporarily prohibit that person from buying a gun.
“We passed a red flag law. It was passed in 2023 and it was supposed to deal with a situation like this,” Minnesota House Republican leader Harry Niska said in early September after Walz proposed the special session. “So I hope everyone is asking serious questions about why — why did this incident not trigger either a background check flag or a red flag?”
Walz will need the support of Republican lawmakers in the special session, and they have different proposals. They want to make private school security eligible for state funding, something the Minnesota Catholic Conference, the public policy arm of Minnesota’s six Catholic dioceses, has asked for multiple times.
Republicans also want to allow doctors more discretion concerning transgender medical procedures, more funds for mental health facilities, and harsher penalties for certain gun crimes.
Ten states ban assault weapons, but the proposal in Minnesota failed to come up for a vote in 2023. Just over half of rural residents opposed an assault weapons ban in a 2022 MinnPost poll, while 69% of urban dwellers supported it. Overall, the poll found that nearly 54% supported it.
Minnesota already has one of the nation’s stronger gun regulation frameworks, according to Everytown Research, which ranks the state 14th in the country for gun safety policies.
The state requires universal background checks for all firearm sales, including private transfers, and domestic violence protections prohibit access for those under restraining orders or with misdemeanor convictions, among many other regulations.
Read More
President Trump has announced a sweeping overhaul of the U.S.
The post H-1B Visa Loophole Ending – Tech Jobs Should be Opening Up and Salaries Rising appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
Read More
A heated debate in the New Jersey Gubernatorial race turned into a one-sided affair after the Democrat’s corruption was fully exposed by her Republican opponent in front of the whole state.
The post WATCH: Trump-Endorsed NJ Gubernatorial Candidate Jack Ciattarelli Flips the Tables on His Democrat Foe With a Brutal Revelation About Her During Heated Debate appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
Read More
The park has snow-capped peaks, deep valleys, and lush forests, all accessible without special hiking equipment or expertise.
Read More
Click here to watch: The Memorial for Charlie Kirk on Sunday was absolutely beautiful.
The post Patriot TV: Charlie Kirk’s Legacy Is More Than Revival — It’s an Awakening appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
Read MoreIn this episode, Astronomy magazine Editor Emeritus Dave Eicher invites you to head out in the evening and point a telescope at one of the sky’s finest planetary nebulae. This one’s number 27 on Charles Messier’s famous list, but it’s usually called the Dumbbell Nebula because of it characteristic shape. Use a star chart to locate theContinue reading “This Week in Astronomy with Dave Eicher: The Dumbbell Nebula”
The post This Week in Astronomy with Dave Eicher: The Dumbbell Nebula appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.
Read More

Erika Kirk embraces U.S. President Donald Trump at the conclusion of the memorial service held for Charlie Kirk in Glendale, Arizona, on Sept. 21, 2025. / Credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Sep 22, 2025 / 09:35 am (CNA).
President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Erika Kirk, and more than a dozen others gave speeches to honor the late Charlie Kirk at Sunday’s memorial service, highlighting his efforts to promote conservative values to young people and promote the Gospel on campus.
Some 90,000 people gathered for the memorial service at State Farm Stadium and an adjacent venue in Glendale, Arizona, on Sept. 21. Bishop Robert Barron, who had scheduled Kirk to come on his show, was among those in attendance.
Kirk, an evangelical Christian, was assassinated on Sept. 10 during an event at Utah Valley University while debating students on campus. At the time, Kirk was conversing with a young ideological opponent about transgenderism and gun violence. Prior to the question, he had been discussing his Christian faith with another questioner, something he often included in his conservative campus activism.
“What was even more important to Charlie than politics and service was the choice he made in the fifth grade — which he called the most important decision of his life — to become a Christian and a follower of his Savior Jesus Christ,” Trump, a self-identified nondenominational Christian, said during his speech.
Trump praised Kirk’s legacy of evangelizing the message of Christ and his activism to promote conservative values on campus, saying Kirk was “inspired by faith and his love of freedom” to establish the conservative campus organization Turning Point USA when he was just 18 years old.
“Charlie Kirk started with an idea only to change minds on college campuses and instead he ended up with a far greater achievement: changing history,” the president said. “… Today Charlie Kirk rests in heaven for all eternity. He has gone from speaking on campuses in Wisconsin to kneeling at the throne of God.”
Vance, a Catholic who often discussed theology with Kirk, spoke about Kirk’s devotion to honest debate in his campus activism, saying his “unshakable belief in the Gospel led him to see differences in opinion, not as battlefields to conquer but as waystations in the pursuit of truth.”
“He knew it was right to love others, your neighbor, your interlocutor, your enemy,” Vance said.
“But he also understood his duty to say what is right and what is wrong, to distinguish what is false from what is true.”

The vice president noted that even after death, Kirk’s message to defend life, to get married and start a family, and to follow Christ, continue to reach people. Vance said his own public appearances have been particularly influenced by Kirk after the assassination.
“I was telling somebody backstage that I always felt a little uncomfortable talking about my faith in public, as much as I love the Lord, as much as it was an important part of my life,” Vance told the crowd. “I’ve talked more about Jesus Christ in the past two weeks than I have my entire time in public life. And that is the undeniable legacy of the great Charlie Kirk. You know, he loved God and because he wanted to understand God’s creation and the men and women made in his image.”
Kirk’s widow forgives assassin
Kirk’s wife, Erika, said her husband’s devotion to Christ has influenced many Americans in the aftermath of the assassination.
“This past week, we saw people open a Bible for the first time in a decade, we saw people pray for the first time since they were children, we saw people go to a church service for the first time in their entire lives,” Erika Kirk said.
“Pray again, read the Bible again, go to Church next Sunday and the Sunday after that, and break free from the temptations and shackles of this world,” she urged the audience.
“Being a follower of Christ is not easy,” she continued. “It’s not supposed to be easy. Jesus said ‘if anyone would come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me.’ He said he would be persecuted, he said we would be persecuted, and Charlie knew that and happily carried his cross all the way to the end.”
Erika Kirk said he had gone onto Utah Valley University’s campus to show people, especially young men, “a better path and a better life that was right there for the taking.” She added: “He wanted to save young men, just like the one who took his life.”
Appealing to the Gospel message, Erika Kirk also extended forgiveness to the man who shot her husband.
“On the cross, our Savior said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do,’” she said. “That man, that young man, I forgive him. I forgive him because it was what Christ did and is what Charlie would do. The answer to hate is not hate. The answer, we know from the Gospel, is love and always love. Love for our enemies and love for those who persecute us.”
‘I want to be remembered for courage for my faith’
Other speakers also highlighted Kirk’s emphasis on Christ in his campus activism.
Donald Trump Jr. reminded the crowd that Kirk said just months before his death that if he were to die, “I want to be remembered for my courage for my faith.”
“Those were not empty words,” Trump Jr. said. “Last week, Charlie joined a long line of courageous men and women who were martyred for what they believe.”
The country’s Health and Human Services secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a Catholic, said Kirk’s devotion to God modeled St. Francis of Assisi’s instruction to try to live one’s life in imitation of Christ.
“Charlie understood the great paradox: That it’s only by surrender to God that God’s power can flow into our lives and make us effective human beings,” Kennedy said. “Christ died at 33 years old, but he changed the trajectory of history. Charlie died at 31 years old, but because he had surrendered, he also now has changed the trajectory of history.”
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth similarly noted that Kirk “was a true believer,” one who understood that “Only Christ is King, our Lord and Savior.”
“Our sins are washed away by the blood of Jesus,” Hegseth said. “Fear God and fear no man. That was Charlie Kirk.”
Political commentator Tucker Carlson said Kirk was essentially “a Christian evangelist” who “was bringing the Gospel to the country.”
“He also knew that politics wasn’t the final answer,” Carlson said. “It can’t answer the deepest questions, actually. That the only real solution is Jesus.”
Read More

Pope Leo XIV meets with representatives of several women’s religious orders in the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace on Sept. 22, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media
Vatican City, Sep 22, 2025 / 09:05 am (CNA).
Pope Leo XIV on Monday praised women religious throughout history, saying they “did not hesitate to take risks and confront problems in order to embrace [God’s] plans and respond ‘yes’ to his call.”
The pope met Sept. 22 with Discalced Carmelite nuns from the Holy Land along with participants in the general chapters of three women’s congregations: the Sisters of St. Catherine VM, the Salesian Missionaries of Mary Immaculate, and the Sisters of St. Paul of Chartres.
Taking his inspiration from the Book of Proverbs — “A strong woman who can find? She is far more precious than jewels” — the Holy Father said: “I believe your histories offer an answer to that question; in them, God found not one but many strong and courageous women.”
During the gathering in the Consistory Hall of the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace, Pope Leo XIV recalled the witness of Regina Protmann, foundress of the Sisters of St. Catherine VM; Maria Gertrude of the Precious Blood, foundress of the Salesian Missionaries of Mary Immaculate; Marie-Anne de Tilly, co-foundress with Father Louis Chauvet of the Sisters of St. Paul of Chartres; and St. Teresa of Ávila, reformer of Carmel and doctor of the Church.
“They were committed to planting and strengthening in the hearts of their brothers and sisters that same kingdom of Christ they firstly experienced within themselves and to spreading it throughout the world,” he said.
Witnesses even to martyrdom
The pope stressed that these women “paved the way for many others who, like you, have followed Christ in his poverty, chastity, and obedience, carrying on his work, sometimes even to the point of martyrdom.”
He continued: “We are speaking of extraordinary women who went forth as missionaries in difficult times. They stooped down to care for those suffering moral and material misery, reaching the most neglected areas of society. To remain close to those in need, they accepted the risk of losing their lives, even to the point of dying as victims of brutal violence in times of war.”
Quoting the Liturgy of the Hours, the pope recalled: “With fasts her body she subdued, but filled her soul with prayer’s sweet food: in other worlds she tastes the bliss.”

He said: “The strength to remain faithful in both areas comes from the same source: Christ. The Church’s experience over millennia teaches that the means by which we draw on the richness of his grace include asceticism, prayer, the sacraments, intimacy with God, his Word, and the things of heaven.”
“Perhaps some people in our overly immanentist world might dismiss this as a type of ‘spiritualism,’ but such a view is easily refuted by the testimony of what your congregations have accomplished over the centuries and continue to do today. Indeed, it is only through the strength that comes from God that all this has been possible. After all, we experience this truth every day: Our work is in the Lord’s hands, and we are only small and inadequate instruments, or ‘unworthy servants,’ as the Gospel says. Yet, if we entrust ourselves to him and remain united with him, great things can happen, precisely through our poverty.”
‘Even today there is a need for generous women’
The pope urged the sisters to remain faithful to this legacy. “Dear sisters, this is the legacy you have received, and it is what makes your presence here so meaningful. Even today, in fact, there is a need for generous women.”
He offered a special greeting to the Discalced Carmelite Sisters of the Holy Land, calling their mission “important, through your vigilant and silent presence in places sadly torn apart by hatred and violence, through your witness of trusting abandonment to God, and through your constant entreaties for peace.”
“We all accompany you with our prayers and, through you, draw close to those who suffer,” he added.
Finally, Pope Leo thanked all women religious around the world: “Thank you to all of you, Sisters, for the good you do in so many countries and diverse contexts around the world. I bless you from my heart and remember you in my prayers to the Lord.”
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
Read More
Bold works of charity led to sainthood – On Sept. 27, we celebrate the Feast of Saint Vincent de Paul (1581–1660), who said, “Extend mercy toward others, so that there is no one in need whom we meet without helping. For what hope is there for us if God should withdraw his mercy from us?” Today, Saint Vincent is known as the patron of all Catholic works of charity. However, charity was not the initial focus of his priesthood. In fact, it is said that he pursued the priesthood to achieve an easy life. Vincent’s parents were peasant farmers in France, and he grew up working as a


The pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) recently announced the 20th edition of its One Million Children Praying the Rosary campaign, set to take place Oct. 7, 2025. / Credit: Courtesy of Aid to the Church in Need
ACI Prensa Staff, Sep 22, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).
The pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) announced the 20th edition of its One Million Children Praying the Rosary campaign, whose purpose this year is to pray “for peace and unity in a world wounded by division, conflict, and suffering.”
On Oct. 18, 2005, a group of laypeople organized children and young people to pray the rosary in the city squares of Caracas, the capital of Venezuela. At one point, it seemed like glitter appeared on the children’s hands while they were praying, which the laypeople said was a sign from heaven asking them to spread their apostolate.
Following the event, they presented their idea to Venezuela’s National Conference of Laity, where “the campaign was given a format and organized so that it would reach all the country’s schools and parishes, through ecclesiastical bodies,” according to Ayeila Bello, general coordinator of the program.
Since then, she added, the initiative seeks to “evangelize children and young people through Christian values and the devotions of the Catholic Church.”
With the support of ACN, the campaign has since spread worldwide. Father Anton Lässer, ecclesiastical assistant for the pontifical foundation, called on the faithful around the world to join in prayer during the first week of October, especially on Tuesday, Oct. 7, the feast day of Our Lady of the Rosary.
The priest called for unleashing “a tide of prayer throughout the world, springing from the hearts of children and praying with childlike trust.”
“Children’s prayer has a special power before God, a power that can break down walls, heal wounds, and bring light to darkness,” Lässer said.
For his part, Cardinal Mauro Piacenza, international president of ACN, underscored the importance of the campaign, pointing out that the world’s desire for peace and unity is increasingly urgent.
“In a time when the silence of prayer is too often drowned out by the noise of the world, the rosary offers an oasis of contemplation. It is not a dry or repetitive practice but a gentle and powerful path that leads us to the heart of the Gospel,” the president said.
“Let us pray together that the bonds of ecclesial communion, both affective and effective, may be strengthened and that the Holy Spirit may awaken in the hearts of young people a sincere desire for holiness,” he added.
Participants can register on the campaign website. ACN encouraged groups to complete the registration process so they can “get an idea of how many children are officially participating in the event.” Additionally, several useful resources in different languages can be downloaded from the site.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
Read More

The Eucharist is displayed in a monstrance in St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City before a Eucharistic procession on Oct. 15, 2024. / Credit: Jeffrey Bruno
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Sep 22, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).
A recent study found that traditional liturgical experiences, including receiving the Eucharist by tongue, indicate a stronger belief among Catholics in the Real Presence.
Last year, Natalie A. Lindemann published a journal article on Catholics’ belief in the real presence of Jesus Christ’s body and blood in the Eucharist. Lindemann, a professor in the department of psychology at William Paterson University, recently published a follow-up peer-reviewed article that uses a larger sample size and examines additional information.
Belief in the real presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist is central to the Catholic faith, but only about 57% of U.S. Catholics believe with certainty the Eucharist is Jesus’ body, according to Lindemann’s report.
The new study, published in the Catholic Social Science Review, found receiving the Eucharist on the tongue, attending a parish that rings consecration bells, and attending a parish that offers the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) have an effect on one’s belief in the Real Presence.
The research is from a survey of 860 U.S. Catholic English-speaking adults. The group closely reflects the ratio of men to women in the U.S. adult Catholic population. The ethnicity demographic was biased toward the overrepresentation of some ethnic groups, so a corrective weight was applied.
Participants’ Eucharistic beliefs varied with 31% reporting they are certain of the Real Presence, 23.6% being certain that the Eucharist is a symbol without Jesus being present, 10.5% said Jesus is probably present, 19.2% were not sure, and 15.8% said the Eucharist is probably a symbol.
How ‘bodily and related social liturgical practices’ predict beliefs
The survey asked participants to answer questions on a scale of 1 to 5. One represented the belief that “bread and wine are symbols of Jesus; I am certain that Jesus is not really present.” Five indicated that person is “certain that Jesus is really present in the bread and wine of the Eucharist.” Belief in the Real Presence on the five-point rating scale was found to have an average mean (M) of 3.10.
Participants who have received the Eucharist on the tongue at some point (M=3.27) believe more in the Real Presence than those who have never received the Eucharist by tongue (M=2.79). People who often receive on the tongue, and often see others receive on the tongue, also reported a stronger belief in the Real Presence.
Those who always receive on the tongue (M=3.69) showed a moderately higher belief in the Real Presence than those who always receive in the hand (M=3). The report noted that since most participants consistently receive the Eucharist via one method, treating the reception method as a scale variable is questionable.
Catholics who said people should receive the Eucharist on the tongue had a significantly stronger belief in the Real Presence (M=4.32) than those who said one should receive in the hand (M=2.62). Those who reported they value personal choice regarding how one receives fell in between (M=3.37).
The report noted that 33 participants mentioned that the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have an effect by prompting more reception in the hand.
Factoring in the Traditional Latin Mass
“The TLM liturgy prescribes Eucharistic-reverent behavior … therefore, [Lindemann] expected that Catholics who attend the TLM would on average have stronger Real Presence beliefs.” The study found this to be true as participants whose parishes offer a TLM (M=3.63), whether or not the participant has ever attended it, showed a slightly stronger belief in the Real Presence than those whose parishes do not offer one (M=3.04).
The effect of the Latin Mass was slightly higher among those who both attend a parish that celebrates TLM and have attended it before (M=3.83), compared with Catholics with no exposure to a Latin Mass (M=3.07).
There was also a trend toward stronger Real Presence belief among people who have a positive perception of TLM (M=3.74) than those with a negative perception (M=2.44). Those with neutral feelings toward TLM were found to have a mean of 3.60.
“Since consecration bells signal the importance of the consecration,” Lindemann said she “predicted that participants whose parishes more often ring consecration bells would report a stronger belief in the Real Presence.” This prediction was found to be true. Specifically, there was a substantially higher belief among Catholics who have always heard consecration bells at Mass (M=3.43) than those who have never heard them before (M=2.53).
Other factors that tended to result in a higher belief in the presence of Jesus in the Eucharist included more frequent Mass attendance and politically conservative viewpoints.
The participants were also asked about the location of the tabernacle at the altar, but the study found there was no relationship between where it is placed and Eucharistic belief. Sex, age, and ethnicity were also found to have no effect.
Read More
U.S. — Surveying the hundreds of thousands gathered for Charlie Kirk’s memorial service, along with the millions watching across the globe, a despondent Satan declared that he had "made a huge mistake."
Read More
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has come out on the decidedly losing end of a debate against a cardboard cutout of Charlie Kirk.
Read More
Picture of the day |
---|
![]() |
View across Lake Siskiyou in Northern California to Mount Shasta. At 4317 m, the stratovolcano is the second highest peak in the Cascade Range.
|