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View of Buiba Valley in Ergaki Range. Metamorphic schists and granites of ancient glaciation in mountain tundra. Western Sayan Mountains, Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia.
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The Diocese of Chiclayo noted that Pope Leo XIV’s return to Peru will represent a moment of great significance for the people.
![OAS council may seek emergency foreign‑ministers session over Nicaragua crackdown - #Catholic - The Permanent Council of the Organization of American States (OAS) may summon hemispheric foreign ministers for an emergency session on Nicaragua after President Daniel Ortega’s vow to end elections and deepening concerns over crackdowns against the Catholic Church.At a special meeting on Aug. 5, the formal U.S. representation at the OAS presented the draft resolution, titled “Convocation of a Meeting of Consultation of Ministers of Foreign Affairs to Consider the Situation in Nicaragua.” The Permanent Mission of the United States’ resolution was cosponsored by the Permanent Missions of Argentina, Panama, Paraguay, and Uruguay.The Permanent Mission of the United States called for the meeting to take place before Sept. 1, when the Ortega regime is set to codify its latest policy reforms. The move would invoke one of the OAS’ highest‑level diplomatic tools, signaling that member states view Nicaragua’s political rupture as a regional concern with direct human rights implications. Ortega’s announcement, paired with constitutional changes aimed at blocking opposition figures from power, prompted the United States and Paraguay to request the extraordinary meeting.Commissioner Rosa María Payá, rapporteur for Nicaragua at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, expressed concern at the OAS Permanent Council meeting over ongoing human rights abuses against Nicaraguans, including arbitrary detentions and forced disappearances.She noted that about 838,363 Nicaraguans have fled the country since 2018 and that many face transnational repression. Representatives for several member states said during the meeting that the forced migration of Nicaraguans constitutes a migration crisis and a threat to national security.Payá, a Catholic of Cuban descent, also highlighted persecution of the Catholic Church in Nicaragua, citing the disappearance of Bishop Emeritus Juan Abelardo Mata Guevara of Estelí, Nicaragua. Mata was detained by police on two occasions in late June after praying for the persecuted Church in Nicaragua during a Mass he celebrated on Sunday, June 28.
Bishop Abelardo Mata. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Nicaraguan Bishops’ Conference
“We are very concerned about the situation of the persecution of the Catholic Church in Nicaragua and the persecution of the faith in general, and the practice and the exercise of the faith,” Payá told EWTN News. “We have been very vocal about our concerns and alarm about the disappearance of Monsignor Abelardo Mata Guevara.”In October 2023, the Permanent Council unanimously approved the resolution “Rejection of the Repressive Measures of the Government of Nicaragua Against Educational Institutions and the Catholic Church in Nicaragua.” Nicaragua withdrew from the OAS in November 2023.“When we talk about the Nicaraguan regime, we actually see a systematic continued behavior in the direction of violating freedom of religion, from the situation that took place with Monsignor [Rolando] Alvarez years ago — heʼs now forced to live in exile — to the situation of Monsignor Mata and many other priests and members of the Catholic communities that are afraid to practice their faith,” she said.Payá said the Ortega regime’s suspension of elections has prompted a “collapse of democracy,” which she said “creates an environment of fear that impacts people of faith.”
Commissioner Rosa María Payá, rapporteur for Nicaragua at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, on Aug. 5, 2026, converses at a meeting of the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States in Washington, D.C. | Credit: Madalaine Elhabbal/EWTN News
“Iʼm Catholic myself and I also come from a society that has suffered the violation of human rights,” she said. “So I deeply understand what it is to to be afraid to speak your mind, what it is to be afraid of practicing and voicing your faith, which is a very primary human exercise.”Payá is the daughter of Oswaldo Payá Sardiñas, a Catholic dissident who founded the Christian Liberation Movement (CLM), a peaceful democratic movement inspired by Catholic social teaching in 1988. He was killed during the Cuban Spring in 2012.“All of my solidarity is with the Nicaraguan people,” Payá said. “And I believe that also all the solidarity of the commission is too, and we will keep following the issue and we will keep engaging in the political dialogue with the member states.”](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/oas-council-may-seek-emergency-foreign-ministers-session-over-nicaragua-crackdown-catholic-the-permanent-council-of-the-organization-of-american-states-oas-may-summon-hemispheric-foreig.jpg)
The move would invoke one of the highest‑level diplomatic tools by the hemisphere’s principal political body, a 35-nation consortium coordinating regional action on democracy and human rights.
![Pope Leo XIV’s face featured on new set of Vatican coins - #Catholic - Pope Leo XIV’s image features for the first time in a new set of commemorative euro coins for Vatican City.As announced by the Vatican City State Governorate on July 30, these coins are part of a new Vatican euro collector coin set honoring the new pontificate. This also marks the first time since 2014 that the papal image has appeared on the coins, following Pope Francis’ personal request that his face not be used.Except for the 5-euro coin, the Vatican coins can be used to buy things in the 21 European Union member states that have adopted the euro as their common currency.A unique design in the history of Vatican coin-makingAlthough these new coins with Leo are not the first to feature the pope’s face, they are part of an entirely unique design.Leo’s coat of arms appears on the 1-cent, 2-cent, and 5-cent euro coins, while his face appears on the larger denominations.The pope’s image has appeared on minted coins since the Middle Ages, when pontiffs held temporal power over the Papal States. Shortly after the establishment of Vatican City in 1929, the sovereign state issued lira coins (the Italian currency before the euro) bearing the papal image. The Vatican stopped making lira coins after it adopted the euro in 2001.
A Vatican collector coin set to honor the new pontificate of Leo XIV. | Credit: Governatorato SCV
According to the European Central Bank, the first Vatican coins for the euro were issued in 2002 with the face of St. John Paul II. From 2006–2013, another set of coins was issued with the face of Pope Benedict XVI. The coins featuring Francis in 2014 were the last until Leo to feature the pope’s face.Francis’ refusal to be depicted on Vatican coinsFor the 2017 issue of Vatican coins, Francis personally requested that his face not be used. Instead, they featured his coat of arms.In a 2017 interview for Radio Vaticana, Mauro Olivieri, the then-director of the Philatelic and Numismatic Office for Vatican City State, explained the difficulties in accommodating his request.“[Francis] asked that he no longer appear on coins, medals in general — and especially on those issued by his state — and we did everything we could to accommodate him,” Olivieri said. “We succeeded, despite some difficulties with the EU authorities, which were later resolved, and so the 2017 coinage features the popeʼs coat of arms.”The newest Vatican coins can be purchased for 59 euros through the Vatican’s Philatelic and Numismatic Office, responsible for its coins and stamps.](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/pope-leo-xivs-face-featured-on-new-set-of-vatican-coins-catholic-pope-leo-xivs-image-features-for-the-first-time-in-a-new-set-of-commemorative-euro-coins-for-vatican-city-as-ann.jpg)
NASA launched its Mars rover Curiosity inside the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) on Nov. 26, 2011. Complete with 10 science instruments and 17 cameras, the robot can analyze mineral types, search for signs of microbial life, and take color panoramas of the Red Planet’s surface. Curiosity’s landing on Mars was a new process, nicknamed theContinue reading “Aug. 6, 2012: Curiosity lands on Mars”
The post Aug. 6, 2012: Curiosity lands on Mars appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.
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Engineers connect the Orion crew and service modules for the Artemis III mission inside the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Read MoreA reading from the Book of Daniel
7:9-10, 13-14
As I watched:
Thrones were set up
and the Ancient One took his throne.
His clothing was bright as snow,
and the hair on his head as white as wool;
his throne was flames of fire,
with wheels of burning fire.
A surging stream of fire
flowed out from where he sat;
Thousands upon thousands were ministering to him,
and myriads upon myriads attended him.
The court was convened and the books were opened.
As the visions during the night continued, I saw:
One like a Son of man coming,
on the clouds of heaven;
When he reached the Ancient One
and was presented before him,
The one like a Son of man received dominion, glory, and kingship;
all peoples, nations, and languages serve him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion
that shall not be taken away,
his kingship shall not be destroyed.
A reading from the Second Letter of St. Peter
1:16-19
Beloved:
We did not follow cleverly devised myths
when we made known to you
the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ,
but we had been eyewitnesses of his majesty.
For he received honor and glory from God the Father
when that unique declaration came to him from the majestic glory,
?This is my Son, my beloved, with whom I am well pleased.?
We ourselves heard this voice come from heaven
while we were with him on the holy mountain.
Moreover, we possess the prophetic message that is altogether reliable.
You will do well to be attentive to it,
as to a lamp shining in a dark place,
until day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.
From the Gospel according to Matthew
17:1-9
Jesus took Peter, James, and his brother, John,
and led them up a high mountain by themselves.
And he was transfigured before them;
his face shone like the sun
and his clothes became white as light.
And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them,
conversing with him.
Then Peter said to Jesus in reply,
?Lord, it is good that we are here.
If you wish, I will make three tents here,
one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.?
While he was still speaking, behold,
a bright cloud cast a shadow over them,
then from the cloud came a voice that said,
?This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased;
listen to him.?
When the disciples heard this, they fell prostrate
and were very much afraid.
But Jesus came and touched them, saying,
?Rise, and do not be afraid.?
And when the disciples raised their eyes,
they saw no one else but Jesus alone.
As they were coming down from the mountain,
Jesus charged them,
?Do not tell the vision to anyone
until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.?
Just as on the day of his baptism in the Jordan, so too today on the mountain we hear the voice of the Father proclaiming, ?This is my beloved Son,? while the Holy Spirit envelops Jesus in a ?bright cloud? (Mt 17:5). The Gospel uses this unique expression to describe how God reveals himself. When he manifests himself, the Lord makes his abundance visible to our gaze: standing before Jesus, whose face shines ?like the sun? and whose clothes become ?as white as light? (cf. v. 2), the disciples behold the human splendor of God. Peter, James and John contemplate a humble glory, which is not displayed as a spectacle for the crowds to see, but in solemn intimacy. (?)
The Father?s reply to the despair of atheism is the gift of his Son, the Savior; the Holy Spirit redeems us from the loneliness of agnosticism by offering us an everlasting communion of life and grace; and in response to our weak faith, the promise of the future resurrection is announced. This is what the disciples saw in Christ?s splendor, but it took time for them to understand (cf. Mt 17:9), time in silence to listen to the word, time for conversion in order to enjoy the Lord?s company. (Pope Leo XIV, Angelus, 1st March 2026)
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Bishop Daniel E. Garcia said the Voting Rights Act was born from the sacrifice of those who fought to secure equal access to the ballot, especially for communities of color long denied that right.
Faithful around US craft World Mission Rosaries for Archbishop Sheen’s beatification #Catholic – 
JEFFERSONTOWN, Ky. (OSV News) — A parish-based rosary-making ministry in Kentucky is on a mission to create 1,000 World Mission Rosaries for the beatification of Venerable Fulton J. Sheen.
The apostolate, called the Brothers and Sisters of St. Edward, is among many U.S. groups whose rosaries will be donated to people attending the Sept. 24 beatification of Archbishop Sheen in St. Louis.
The Pontifical Mission Societies issued a call for rosaries on May 1, asking individuals and groups to donate 1,000 or more rosaries to the cause as a collective effort. The society’s goal is to have more than 70,000 rosaries by Sept. 15 so they can be distributed to all those present on the day of the beatification.
“The challenge is real. More than 75,000 rosaries are needed. There is no supply at that scale, and even limited inventory quickly becomes cost prohibitive,” according to the society’s website. “Whether you make 100 or 1,000, every rosary becomes part of something larger. Each one will be blessed before the Beatification. Each one will continue to be prayed long after that day is over.”
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The World Mission Rosary was designed by Archbishop Sheen, who served as national director of the Pontifical Mission Societies. The renowned communicator announced during his “Catholic Hour” radio broadcast on Feb. 11, 1951, “Peace will come only when the hearts of the world have changed. To do this, we must pray, and not for ourselves, but for the world!” according to materials provided in the World Mission Rosary kits.
The idea to put a call out for tens of thousands of rosaries began with Sister Jude Andrew Link, a member of the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist who lives in Peoria, Illinois — the city where Archbishop Sheen was ordained a priest and where a chapel in the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception houses his tomb. Sister Jude Andrew proposed the idea to Msgr. Roger Landry, Pontifical Mission Societies’ national director since January 2025, who brought the idea to fruition.
In response, rosary-making groups across the United States — from members of Divine Mercy Parish in Kenner, Louisiana, to the Franciscan Sisters of Dillingen in Hankinson, North Dakota — have invited local Catholics to make rosaries for the beatification. In Royal Oak, Michigan, the National Shrine of the Little Flower Basilica will offer its second two-hour rosary-making workshop Aug. 13 to help the Pontifical Mission Societies meet its goal. In Lufkin, Texas, the the Cloistered Dominican Nuns Monastery of the Infant Jesus completed 1,000 rosaries.
In the Louisville suburb of Jeffersontown, 14 St. Edward rosary makers gathered for a crafting session the morning of July 6 at St. Edward Church to work toward their 1,000-rosary goal.
As they gathered, Debbie Grisanti, a member of St. Edward Church, explained the significance of the World Mission Rosary. Archbishop Sheen asked his radio listeners to “make a tour of the world on your World Mission Rosary.”
“Each of the decades is a different color,” she said, noting that each color represents a different continent. The first decade is green, which represents the grasslands of Africa. Blue represents the oceans of the Pacific Islands. The third decade is white and represents Europe and the seat of the Holy Father. Red recalls the fire of faith that brought missionaries to the Americas. Finally, yellow represents Asia’s morning light of the East.
Dotty Pate brought the idea to a group of fellow parishioners who were already crafting rosaries through Our Lady of the Rosary Makers, a nonprofit organization in Louisville.
During the July session, Rita McCubbin sat beside Pate, who taught her — and other first-timers — the proper way to make corded rosaries. McCubbin plans to attend the beatification this fall.
A similar gathering of rosary makers is taking place 750 miles northwest of Jeffersontown in Watertown, Minnesota, where volunteers meet every Thursday in the basement of the local parish church, Immaculate Conception, to progress in their goal of producing 10,000 World Mission rosaries by September.
They are organized under Spike Ministries, an industrious and committed nonprofit organization that hopes to share its enthusiasm for the rosary with an ambitious goal of involving as many people and parish groups as possible in making and distributing rosaries to missions around the globe.
Since the group began making five rosaries a week in a member’s basement about 12 years ago, the Watertown group has reached an ongoing tally of over 225,000 rosaries, according to organizer and Spike Ministries founder Mike Miller.
Across the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, the St. Mary of the Lake Rosary Makers group has also been meeting regularly to create rosaries and share in the social and spiritual camaraderie of friends united in a cause. Their cause now is creating 2,000 World Mission rosaries by September.
In Clyde, Missouri, the Benedictine Sisters of Perpetual Adoration have committed to contributing 500 rosaries to the cause.
“Having learned of the project only in May, time has been tight,” said Benedictine Sister Lynn Marie D’Souza, according to a story posted July 24 on the community’s website,” but several of us have been steadily working on the effort ever since.”
Mary-Catherine Kinslow is a staff reporter for The Record, news outlet of the Archdiocese of Louisville. This story also drew from a report by Tim Montgomery for The Catholic Spirit, news outlet for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. OSV News contributed to this story. Reporting included in this article was separately published by The Record and The Catholic Spirit and distributed in partnership with OSV News.
– JEFFERSONTOWN, Ky. (OSV News) — A parish-based rosary-making ministry in Kentucky is on a mission to create 1,000 World Mission Rosaries for the beatification of Venerable Fulton J. Sheen. The apostolate, called the Brothers and Sisters of St. Edward, is among many U.S. groups whose rosaries will be donated to people attending the Sept. 24 beatification of Archbishop Sheen in St. Louis. The Pontifical Mission Societies issued a call for rosaries on May 1, asking individuals and groups to donate 1,000 or more rosaries to the cause as a collective effort. The society’s goal is to have more than 70,000
Florida AG’s threat to Catholic schools ‘clear violation’ of the First Amendment, law scholar says #Catholic – 
(OSV News) — Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier sent a letter to the Catholic bishops of Florida demanding that Catholic schools in the Sunshine State adopt religious exemptions to vaccine requirements or risk their ability to participate in the state’s school voucher program.
But Rick Garnett, a professor of law at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, told OSV News that the letter “reflects a misunderstanding of Americans’ fundamental right to religious freedom and is a glaring and dangerous government overreach.”
In the letter, dated July 31, Uthmeier argued that Florida law “requires public and private schools to exempt students from the vaccination requirements” if “a parent has a religious objection,” demanding that Catholic schools “comply with Florida law and grant religious exemptions to school vaccine policies.”
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Identifying himself as a Catholic, Uthmeier argued that while Florida law permits a religious school “to claim an exemption from the requirement to grant religious exemptions if granting such an exemption would violate the religious tenets of the school,” Catholic schools have no “legitimate religious reason to refuse.”
“Failure to comply could jeopardize eligibility for state educational scholarship programs,” he wrote. “If the Conference nevertheless refuses to comply with Florida law, then please state clearly the religious grounds on which Catholic schools may force persons to take vaccines derived from abortions against their deeply held moral and religious objections.”
But Garnett said, “the attorney general presumes, ‘as a Catholic,’ to second-guess the orthodoxy of the Catholic bishops’ determination regarding policies for Catholic schools and the morality of certain childhood vaccines.”
“However, it is not remotely the role of a government official, even a Catholic one, to tell the bishops what to teach or how to run the Church’s apostolates,” Garnett said. “It is certainly not up to him to decide whether the Catholic bishops’ reasons are ‘legitimate.’”
Garnett said Uthmeier “should withdraw the letter and apologize publicly for creating confusion on such important matters.”
“For a government official to threaten official punishments — and to jeopardize the ability of parents in Florida to choose Catholic schools for their children — on the basis of his own — in this case, mistaken — interpretation of Catholic teaching is a clear violation of the First Amendment and other legal religious-freedom protections,” Garnett said.
“If a parent objects to these vaccines, which the Church teaches are morally permissible and which clearly serve the common good of the community, they may move their children to state-run schools,” Garnett continued. “No one has a ‘right,’ however, to require a Catholic school to conform with his or her own private judgments.”
Uthmeier’s letter to the bishops was addressed to Michael Sheedy, executive director of The Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops. A spokesperson for FCCB told OSV News that the conference was reviewing Uthmeier’s letter and planned to respond by Aug. 7, the date he requested.
Uthmeier referenced a diocesan document on National Catholic Bioethics Center letterhead stating that Catholic schools cannot grant a religious exception since the Church does not view these vaccines as intrinsically evil.
However, that 2011 document also suggested that parents who objected to a vaccine requirement could consider seeking to “obtain a conscience exemption rather than a religious one.”
That document states that “school superintendents and other officials must also act in accord with their consciences.”
“If they rely on the judgment of local public health authorities that non-immunized children pose a threat in the schools to other children or to teachers and parents, then the school officials must follow their consciences and insist that the children be immunized. And parents would have to respect their consciences!” it said.
NCBC states on its own website the Church’s position that Catholics may undergo vaccination despite a remote connection to those cell lines originating in fetal tissue obtained decades ago via abortion, where no alternatives exist. However, they argue Catholics should do so “under protest,” and encourage the development of ethical cell lines.
OSV News asked a spokesperson for the National Catholic Bioethics Center for comment, but had not yet received comment as of publication.
During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021, shortly before vaccines first became available to the general American public, the Holy See’s Congregation (now Dicastery) for the Doctrine of the Faith, Catholic bishops and theologians including NCBC all released statements that the COVID-19 vaccines were morally permissible for Catholics to receive.
Those statements varied only slightly, as the U.S. bishops encouraged Catholics, where they had such a choice, to seek some brands of vaccines over others due to the varying degrees of remote connection to such cell lines.
Neither the Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 vaccines used those cell lines for producing their mRNA vaccines; however, they did involve testing using the HEK-293 cell line, which is believed to have been derived from aborted fetal cells in the 1970s. However, that line has been commonly used in testing a vast array of modern drugs, such as Advil and Tums. Novavax did not use fetal cell lines in either the production or testing of its protein-based COVID-19 vaccine.
Kate Scanlon is a national reporter for OSV News covering Washington. Follow her on X @kgscanlon.
– (OSV News) — Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier sent a letter to the Catholic bishops of Florida demanding that Catholic schools in the Sunshine State adopt religious exemptions to vaccine requirements or risk their ability to participate in the state’s school voucher program. But Rick Garnett, a professor of law at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, told OSV News that the letter “reflects a misunderstanding of Americans’ fundamental right to religious freedom and is a glaring and dangerous government overreach.” In the letter, dated July 31, Uthmeier argued that Florida law “requires public and private schools to exempt
The pope’s message was delivered by the apostolic nuncio in Rwanda during the opening ceremony of the first-ever SIGNIS World Congress to be held in Africa, taking place in Rwanda this week.
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Haigerloch, Germany: view of Haigerloch Castle and the castle church with the surrounding valley.
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“While it is true that, thank God, there were no serious injuries, let alone any loss of life, the lack of security on the highways of our country is deeply concerning,” Bishop Luis Lerma lamented.
A wealthy Catholic investor near Munich is paying 500 euros for every baptism, and the Diocese of Augsburg is not entirely comfortable with it.
More than 4 in 10 respondents agreed with the statement “I am inclined to think that I am a failure,” according to the Institute for Family Studies.
Neil Alden Armstrong was born on Aug. 5, 1930, in Ohio. A naval pilot from 1949 to 1952, Armstrong flew 78 missions in Korea. After leaving active duty, he enrolled at Purdue University and earned a bachelor’s degree in aeronautical engineering in 1955, and then joined the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA). During hisContinue reading “Aug 5, 1930: The birth of Neil Armstrong”
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Technicians inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center complete installation of a commemorative plaque on the agency’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, as photographed on Tuesday, July 28, 2026.
Read MoreO almighty and most merciful God, I give You thanks with all the powers of my soul for this and all other mercies, graces, and blessings bestowed on me, and prostrating myself at Your sacred feet, I offer myself to be henceforth forever Yours. Let nothing in life or death ever separate me from You! I renounce with my whole soul all my treasons against You, and all the abominations and sins of my past life. I renew my promises made in Baptism, and from this moment I dedicate myself eternally to …
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A reading from the Book of Jeremiah
31:1-7
At that time, says the LORD,
I will be the God of all the tribes of Israel,
and they shall be my people.
Thus says the LORD:
The people that escaped the sword
have found favor in the desert.
As Israel comes forward to be given his rest,
the LORD appears to him from afar:
With age-old love I have loved you;
so I have kept my mercy toward you.
Again I will restore you, and you shall be rebuilt,
O virgin Israel;
Carrying your festive tambourines,
you shall go forth dancing with the merrymakers.
Again you shall plant vineyards
on the mountains of Samaria;
those who plant them shall enjoy the fruits.
Yes, a day will come when the watchmen
will call out on Mount Ephraim:
“Rise up, let us go to Zion,
to the LORD, our God.”
For thus says the LORD:
Shout with joy for Jacob,
exult at the head of the nations;
proclaim your praise and say:
The LORD has delivered his people,
the remnant of Israel.
From the Gospel according to Matthew
15:21-28
At that time Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon.
And behold, a Canaanite woman of that district came and called out,
“Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David!
My daughter is tormented by a demon.”
But he did not say a word in answer to her.
His disciples came and asked him,
“Send her away, for she keeps calling out after us.”
He said in reply,
“I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
But the woman came and did him homage, saying, “Lord, help me.”
He said in reply,
“It is not right to take the food of the children
and throw it to the dogs.”
She said, “Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps
that fall from the table of their masters.”
Then Jesus said to her in reply,
“O woman, great is your faith!
Let it be done for you as you wish.”
And her daughter was healed from that hour.
Now let us look at the woman’s faith, which the Lord praises, saying that it is “great” (v. 28). According to the disciples, the only thing that seemed “great” was her insistence; but Jesus sees her faith. If we think about it, that foreign woman had probably little or no awareness of the laws and religious precepts of Israel. What does her faith consist of then? She does not have a wealth of concepts but of deeds — the Canaanite woman draws near, prostrates herself, insists, takes part in a close dialogue with Jesus, overcomes every obstacle just to speak with him. This is the concreteness of faith, which is not a religious label but is a personal relationship with the Lord. How many times we fall into the temptation to confuse faith with a label! This woman’s faith is not fraught with theological gallantry, but with insistence — she knocks at the door, knocks, knocks. Her faith is not made up of words, but of prayer. And God does not resist when he is prayed to. This is why he said, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you”. (Pope Francis, Angelus, 20 August 2023)
Read More![Faithful pray rosary for end to abortion in Morristown #Catholic - On Aug. 1, Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney led a group of faithful from the Paterson Diocese, N.J., and beyond in publicly proclaiming the sanctity of human life at all its stages during his Monthly Mass and Procession for Life at St. Margaret of Scotland Parish in Morristown, N.J.
Bishop Sweeney celebrated the Mass, which was concelebrated by Father Duberney Villamizar, pastor of St. Margaret’s and diocesan vicar for Hispanic Affairs.
After the Mass, Bishop Sweeney led a rosary procession with the faithful down Speedwell Avenue to Planned Parenthood. They prayed in front of the facility for an end to abortion. The marchers then returned to St. Margaret’s to pray before the Blessed Sacrament.
Everyone is welcome to join the Mass and Procession for Life with Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney, which takes place on the first Saturday of each month at 8 a.m. at St. Margaret’s.
BEACON PHOTOS | MATTHEW GIGLI
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Faithful pray rosary for end to abortion in Morristown #Catholic – 
On Aug. 1, Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney led a group of faithful from the Paterson Diocese, N.J., and beyond in publicly proclaiming the sanctity of human life at all its stages during his Monthly Mass and Procession for Life at St. Margaret of Scotland Parish in Morristown, N.J.
Bishop Sweeney celebrated the Mass, which was concelebrated by Father Duberney Villamizar, pastor of St. Margaret’s and diocesan vicar for Hispanic Affairs.
After the Mass, Bishop Sweeney led a rosary procession with the faithful down Speedwell Avenue to Planned Parenthood. They prayed in front of the facility for an end to abortion. The marchers then returned to St. Margaret’s to pray before the Blessed Sacrament.
Everyone is welcome to join the Mass and Procession for Life with Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney, which takes place on the first Saturday of each month at 8 a.m. at St. Margaret’s.
BEACON PHOTOS | MATTHEW GIGLI
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– On Aug. 1, Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney led a group of faithful from the Paterson Diocese, N.J., and beyond in publicly proclaiming the sanctity of human life at all its stages during his Monthly Mass and Procession for Life at St. Margaret of Scotland Parish in Morristown, N.J. Bishop Sweeney celebrated the Mass, which was concelebrated by Father Duberney Villamizar, pastor of St. Margaret’s and diocesan vicar for Hispanic Affairs. After the Mass, Bishop Sweeney led a rosary procession with the faithful down Speedwell Avenue to Planned Parenthood. They prayed in front of the facility for an end to abortion.
“I write to comfort the afflicted, to ignite the comfortable, and to confront injustice with the full conviction of the Gospel,” San Antonio Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller wrote.
![Paterson ministry event inspires Spanish faith servants, leaders #Catholic - On Aug. 1, the Spanish Catholic Charismatic Renewal of the Paterson Diocese, N.J., concluded its First Annual Diocesan Catholic Charismatic Servants Encounter (ECCADS) with a Spanish Mass celebrated by Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney. The event was held in the gym of St. Gerrard Majella School in Paterson, N.J.
Organized by diocesan Spanish Catholic Charismatic Renewal, ECCADS was designed for ministry servants and leaders, offering a day of formation, prayer, and spiritual renewal. The theme was “Servants Healed by Love, Formed to Serve, and Sent to Lead.”
The program included a series of talks focused on inner healing, the spirituality of Christian service, and developing the qualities needed to become effective leaders within their parish communities. Participants also took part in praise and worship, teaching, and Mass.
Bishop Sweeney served as the main celebrant and homilist of the Mass. Father Duberney Villamizar, diocesan vicar for Hispanic Affairs and pastor of St. Margaret of Scotland Parish in Morristown, N.J., concelebrated the Mass.
Among the participants of ECCADS were Teresa Amparo, general coordinator of Spanish Catholic Charismatic Renewal, and Marvin Nuñez, a singer-songwriter of faith-based music from the Dominican Republic.
Yessenia Castillo is the executive assistant to Father Duberney Villamizar, diocesan vicar for Hispanic Affairs and pastor of St. Margaret of Scotland Parish in Morristown, N.J.
BEACON PHOTOS | JOE GIGLI
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Paterson ministry event inspires Spanish faith servants, leaders #Catholic – 
On Aug. 1, the Spanish Catholic Charismatic Renewal of the Paterson Diocese, N.J., concluded its First Annual Diocesan Catholic Charismatic Servants Encounter (ECCADS) with a Spanish Mass celebrated by Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney. The event was held in the gym of St. Gerrard Majella School in Paterson, N.J.
Organized by diocesan Spanish Catholic Charismatic Renewal, ECCADS was designed for ministry servants and leaders, offering a day of formation, prayer, and spiritual renewal. The theme was “Servants Healed by Love, Formed to Serve, and Sent to Lead.”
The program included a series of talks focused on inner healing, the spirituality of Christian service, and developing the qualities needed to become effective leaders within their parish communities. Participants also took part in praise and worship, teaching, and Mass.
Bishop Sweeney served as the main celebrant and homilist of the Mass. Father Duberney Villamizar, diocesan vicar for Hispanic Affairs and pastor of St. Margaret of Scotland Parish in Morristown, N.J., concelebrated the Mass.
Among the participants of ECCADS were Teresa Amparo, general coordinator of Spanish Catholic Charismatic Renewal, and Marvin Nuñez, a singer-songwriter of faith-based music from the Dominican Republic.
Yessenia Castillo is the executive assistant to Father Duberney Villamizar, diocesan vicar for Hispanic Affairs and pastor of St. Margaret of Scotland Parish in Morristown, N.J.
BEACON PHOTOS | JOE GIGLI
Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
– On Aug. 1, the Spanish Catholic Charismatic Renewal of the Paterson Diocese, N.J., concluded its First Annual Diocesan Catholic Charismatic Servants Encounter (ECCADS) with a Spanish Mass celebrated by Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney. The event was held in the gym of St. Gerrard Majella School in Paterson, N.J. Organized by diocesan Spanish Catholic Charismatic Renewal, ECCADS was designed for ministry servants and leaders, offering a day of formation, prayer, and spiritual renewal. The theme was “Servants Healed by Love, Formed to Serve, and Sent to Lead.” The program included a series of talks focused on inner healing, the spirituality of
![Father Wade Menezes teaches men to ‘stand firm, be strong’ in new EWTN daily podcast - #Catholic - A new podcast called “Stand Firm and Be Strong” with Father of Mercy Wade Menezes launched Aug. 3 on EWTN+. The new podcast is aimed at, and intended for, men. Menezes is especially inviting them to learn how to live and strengthen their Catholic faith, one day at a time. Menezes is already familiar to EWTN audiences from his many appearances on various shows across the network. The numerous televised and online series he has produced and hosted include “The Gospel of Life vs. the Culture of Death” and “The Ten Commandments of Catholic Family Life.”He is also familiar to EWTN audiences as a guest on various episodes of EWTN’s “Mother Angelica Live” and “Life on the Rock,” during which he discussed such topics as the sanctification of marriage and family life, vocations, and the sacred liturgy. He is the current host of EWTN Global Catholic Radio’s “Open Line Tuesday.”Menezes has also served as the chaplain-in-residence at the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament of Our Lady of the Angels Monastery in Hanceville, Alabama.On the print side, he is the author of four books, including: “Stand Firm, Be Strong: A Men’s Catholic Daily Devotional of Scripture and Saints” — the inspiration for the new podcast.Prior to the launch, and while inviting listeners, Menezes spoke about the podcast with the National Catholic Register, the sister partner of EWTN News.Register: Father Menezes, please tell us how your “Stand Firm, Be Strong” audio podcast came to be.Menezes: This 200-day audio-only podcast grew out of the popularity of my men’s daily devotional book of the same title that was published in 2024. The book is a six-month spiritual manual for men. Each day has a different spiritual or temporal (secular) topic that is followed by three components: a Scripture quote, a saint quote, and a short meditation written by me. Both the book and podcast titles are based on 1 Corinthians 16:13, wherein we read: “Be watchful, stand firm in your faith, be courageous, be strong.”Will the podcast follow the same daily devotional format?The “Stand Firm, Be Strong” daily audio podcast is related closely to the book’s own format. For example, each of the 200 days’ prerecorded short audio podcasts correspond directly — and in proper order — with each of the book’s own 200 days’ topics. But whereas the book is designed to be a five- to 10-minute exercise each morning for men as they begin their day, each podcast episode is itself under five minutes in length and highlights the most pertinent points of the book’s topic for that same day.
What does it mean to be a man of God? | Credit: EWTN Studios
Why did you decide on a daily podcast?EWTN pitched the idea to me to do a “Stand Firm, Be Strong” daily audio podcast precisely because the book has done so well with male readers. The book has proven to hold men’s attention as a committed daily exercise to strengthen their spiritual and temporal lives. I hope that a podcast will likewise strike at the male heart and spark the male intellect to help men live their vocations more fully and committedly — whether single, married, widowed, or as a consecrated brother, deacon, priest, or bishop.Please share a highlight or two that listeners will hear about in opening episodes.The timely wisdom offered by the “Stand Firm, Be Strong” podcast will help prepare men to put on the armor of God for their daily struggles and help them withstand trials at home and at work. It will also help them to kindle their prayer life, better utilize their talents, and order their priorities in daily life. It will also help guide men in imitating Christ in guarding their senses and responding to temptation — all important factors when navigating life in this third millennium.Please share or give a hint of what will be a few topics or themes you will be dealing with that are certainly relevant.During the course of the first 20 [days] … for example, episodes will cover the following topics [titled]: “The Committed Man of God,” “Strength and Fortitude,” “Having No Duplicity or Guile,” “Shunning Sin and Vice,” “Fraternity and Brotherhood,” “The Demands of Virtue and Aiming Toward Salvation,” “The Virtue of Diligence,” “The Truth,” “The Need for Humility Amid Trials and Successes,” “Accountability,” “Confidence,” and “The Athlete of God.” Other podcast episodes include such topics as the “Importance of Eucharistic Adoration,” “Sanctifying Grace,” “Filial Fear of God vs. Servile Fear of God,” and the “Importance of Fostering Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Joseph.”Why are these topics essential for today?Navigating third-millennium society and culture can be challenging. These various topics are essential today because we live in a day and age that tragically downplays authentic masculinity and what that means. Whether it’s the prevalence of television commercials that frequently make the husband or man look like a buffoon to the misguided direction being offered by various movements within the so-called “manosphere,” what it means to “be a man” in the authentic Christian sense is greatly attacked today.But as Dr. Tim Gray of the Augustine Institute reminds us: “The virtues give us a blueprint for being a man. Indeed, the very term ‘virtue’ comes from the Latin word for man, ‘vir.’ For the ancients, to be manly was to be virtuous. The term ‘virtue’ in Latin (‘virtus’) signifies power, strength, and ability. Thus, the virtues are habits that give us the power to act in a manly way, with strength sufficient to do what is right. Without virtues we will neither be godly nor real men. Virtues are the building blocks of character, and without them our moral lives will eventually collapse under the pressures of the world.”Will your podcast appeal to, and be relevant to, men of any age?Just like the book, the podcast is designed to appeal to any male that is 14 years of age and older. In other words, if a guy is a high school freshman or older and is serious about living his faith authentically and well in the midst of the modern world, he will benefit from hearing this podcast. This fact, in turn, will hopefully inspire him to “go deeper” with the “Stand Firm, Be Strong” book as a daily devotional that he commits himself to for a six-month period.Will men learn to live a balanced life through your podcast?Yes, listeners of the “Stand Firm, Be Strong” podcast (as well as those readers of the book) will learn to live a balanced life — both spiritually and temporally. For example, a main theme peppered throughout the podcast and book is “faithfulness to daily duty” and what this means and why it is a main ingredient needed when a man strives for sanctification and advancement in the spiritual life according to his particular vocation and state in life. In short, a man is called to fulfill his duties with diligence and balance — all the while serving God and others.What is the ultimate goal and hope for this podcast?To help men of all vocations and states in life realize that they are called to become saints “right where they are.”Both the podcast and book are designed to help jump-start and strengthen a man’s spiritual life over the course of six months. The podcast’s daily topics and accompanying meditations are power-packed, offering achievable resolutions and prudent advice to help a man attain his spiritual and temporal goals in everyday living.Will it improve their families, too, in any way?Yes. Just as there is crisis in today’s culture regarding authentic masculinity and what that means, the same can be said regarding the sanctification of marriages and family life. The “Stand Firm, Be Strong” podcast can help a married man become a better husband and father. For single men, it can help them to become a better brother, brother-in-law, co-worker, etc. This same goes for married men and those men in the consecrated religious state, of course. Themes in the podcast call upon all men to provide, protect, and lead — again, according to each one’s particular vocation and state in life.Based on the popularity of your book, do you think the podcast will have a similar appeal?I believe the podcast will appeal to listeners because it will help the individual man to grow in knowledge of his faith and gain strength for the spiritual battle. These, in turn, will help the individual male listener to become more fully the man he was created and meant to be in God’s plan for him.Is there anything else you would like to say or add about the podcast?The “Stand Firm, Be Strong” podcast launched Aug. 3 and is posting a new episode daily over the course of 200 days. It is available from EWTN+, a free, ad-free digital streaming platform by the Eternal Word Television Network that offers on-demand Catholic podcasts, movies, live TV and radio, and original series. Also, for those listeners of the “Stand Firm, Be Strong” podcast and/or readers of the book who are so interested, there are three additional “Stand Firm, Be Strong” merchandise items available from EWTN Religious Catalogue (EWTNRC.com). These include a “Stand Firm, Be Strong” T-shirt, travel mug, and 12-in-1 pocket knife. Along with the podcast and book, these items make great gifts for men who are striving to increase their faith and grow in holiness.I would encourage all women — such women could include, of course, a wife, mother, sister, sister-in-law, friend, or girlfriend — who may stumble across the podcast, book, or three items of merchandise to think about sharing these with the men in their lives so as to encourage them to “stand firm [and] be strong.”This story was first published by the National Catholic Register, the sister partner of EWTN News, and has been adapted by EWTN News.](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/father-wade-menezes-teaches-men-to-stand-firm-be-strong-in-new-ewtn-daily-podcast-catholic-a-new-podcast-called-stand-firm-and-be-strong-with-father-of-mercy.webp)
The new podcast “Stand Firm and Be Strong” with Father of Mercy Wade Menezes has launched on EWTN+.
![U.S. bishops ask for ‘intense prayers’ for Hamas-Israel peace amid Gaza’s ‘disastrous’ conditions – #Catholic – In response to President Donald Trump’s announcement last week of a deal between the U.S.-led Board of Peace, Israel, and Hamas, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) called for “intense prayers” for the deal’s success as Gaza faces a worsening humanitarian crisis.In an Aug. 3 statement, Bishop A. Elias Zaidan, chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on International Justice and Peace, said he is “heartened by news of an agreement which aims at the disarmament of Hamas and Israel’s military withdrawal from the [Gaza] Strip,” calling for “intense prayers for the success of these negotiations.”“As I previously articulated, as ‘people of faith who deeply care for all our brothers and sisters who live in the land of Christ’s life, death, and glorious resurrection, we cannot lose this opportunity for peace,’” Zaidan continued, calling on the U.S., Israel, and the international community “to facilitate greater amounts of humanitarian and development assistance to the Strip.”U.S. President Donald Trump announced on July 30 that his Board of Peace had reached a deal for Hamas to fully disarm after nearly three years of war. “The agreement will be carried out in carefully structured phases,” Trump indicated. “As disarmament is completed, Israeli forces will withdraw, and the International Stabilization Force will work with a new Palestinian police force to take responsibility for Gaza being safe for its residents and its neighbors.”Though a Hamas official confirmed the disarmament pact the next day, according to the Associated Press, significant hurdles remain, leaving the deal’s implementation uncertain despite U.S. optimism. Israel has not publicly endorsed the agreement and has continued airstrikes, killing at least 17 people, including children, in Gaza Sunday night.‘People are living with nothing’“Alleviating the suffering of the Gazan people is not only a vital moral imperative but is also necessary for the consolidation of peace in the Holy Land and the entire region,” Zaidan declared. “This should include restoring educational opportunities for children and youths, jobs, and clean water.”In an interview last week with Vatican Media, Father Gabriel Romanelli, pastor of Holy Family Church in Gaza, begged for humanitarian aid for the region, emphasizing that “when people say the situation here is disastrous, believe me: It really is disastrous — if anything, it calls for an even stronger word.”“People are living with nothing,” Romanelli said. “Reconstruction is certainly essential, but so too are all the basic necessities of everyday life.”Former U.S. ambassador and EWTN contributor on Middle East issues Alberto Fernandez told EWTN News that while the deal is “extraordinarily shaky from both sides,” he is hopeful because “the situation of the civilian public in Gaza is so dire,” Fernandez said. “Gaza is destroyed, people are traumatized, there’s no economy.”‘Deeply conflicting agendas’ “The agreement on paper is a positive, concrete step in the right direction,” Fernández said, pointing out that the issue of which side will act first “is a small part of a bigger problem. There is no trust between the two sides, and deeply conflicting agendas.”In Zaidan’s statement, the bishop wrote that the “agreement’s successful implementation, as its principles statement says, has the potential of finally providing the Palestinian people with a ‘credible political path that achieves self-determination and Statehood.’ This would be a major milestone.”Hamas said Friday that it would give up its heavy weapons, including rockets, contingent on Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza and the creation of a Palestinian state, the latter condition one Netanyahu’s government strongly rejects.“The two-state solution among the Israeli public is moribund,” the ambassador continued. “We’re not there at all in a situation where they will compromise. They’ve become more intransigent. That’s a reality.”“It’s not time for celebration, but time to recognize there is small progress being made, and huge obstacles remain,” Fernandez said.‘Serious security concerns’Doron Spielman, a spokesperson for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, told the AP on Aug. 2 that Israel has “serious security concerns” surrounding the deal. Spielman said Israel believes Hamas is still committed to building up its military, not demilitarizing, and said Israel would not withdraw from the Gaza Strip, where it controls more than half the territory, before Hamas disarms.“Disarming means physically giving up the weapons. Nothing less,” he said.“Our assessment is that if we redeploy before Hamas is truly disarmed, it will quickly expand its presence throughout Gaza, rebuild its terrorist infrastructure, once again threaten Israeli communities, and seek to carry out another Oct. 7-style attack,” Spielman told the AP.Zaidan concluded his statement acknowledging the “extreme challenges inherent in this ongoing peace process” but called on all to “entrust the hearts and minds of the negotiators to the maternal care of Our Lady of Wisdom, that she may illumine and enliven their efforts to finally achieve peace in those sacred lands.”](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/u-s-bishops-ask-for-intense-prayers-for-hamas-israel-peace-amid-gazas-disastrous-conditions-catholic-in-response-to-president-donald-trumps.jpg "U.S. bishops ask for ‘intense prayers’ for Hamas-Israel peace amid Gaza’s ‘disastrous’ conditions – #Catholic – In response to President Donald Trump’s announcement last week of a deal between the U.S.-led Board of Peace, Israel, and Hamas, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) called for “intense prayers” for the deal’s success as Gaza faces a worsening humanitarian crisis.In an Aug. 3 statement, Bishop A. Elias Zaidan, chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on International Justice and Peace, said he is “heartened by news of an agreement which aims at the disarmament of Hamas and Israel’s military withdrawal from the [Gaza] Strip,” calling for “intense prayers for the success of these negotiations.”“As I previously articulated, as ‘people of faith who deeply care for all our brothers and sisters who live in the land of Christ’s life, death, and glorious resurrection, we cannot lose this opportunity for peace,’” Zaidan continued, calling on the U.S., Israel, and the international community “to facilitate greater amounts of humanitarian and development assistance to the Strip.”U.S. President Donald Trump announced on July 30 that his Board of Peace had reached a deal for Hamas to fully disarm after nearly three years of war. “The agreement will be carried out in carefully structured phases,” Trump indicated. “As disarmament is completed, Israeli forces will withdraw, and the International Stabilization Force will work with a new Palestinian police force to take responsibility for Gaza being safe for its residents and its neighbors.”Though a Hamas official confirmed the disarmament pact the next day, according to the Associated Press, significant hurdles remain, leaving the deal’s implementation uncertain despite U.S. optimism. Israel has not publicly endorsed the agreement and has continued airstrikes, killing at least 17 people, including children, in Gaza Sunday night.‘People are living with nothing’“Alleviating the suffering of the Gazan people is not only a vital moral imperative but is also necessary for the consolidation of peace in the Holy Land and the entire region,” Zaidan declared. “This should include restoring educational opportunities for children and youths, jobs, and clean water.”In an interview last week with Vatican Media, Father Gabriel Romanelli, pastor of Holy Family Church in Gaza, begged for humanitarian aid for the region, emphasizing that “when people say the situation here is disastrous, believe me: It really is disastrous — if anything, it calls for an even stronger word.”“People are living with nothing,” Romanelli said. “Reconstruction is certainly essential, but so too are all the basic necessities of everyday life.”Former U.S. ambassador and EWTN contributor on Middle East issues Alberto Fernandez told EWTN News that while the deal is “extraordinarily shaky from both sides,” he is hopeful because “the situation of the civilian public in Gaza is so dire,” Fernandez said. “Gaza is destroyed, people are traumatized, there’s no economy.”‘Deeply conflicting agendas’ “The agreement on paper is a positive, concrete step in the right direction,” Fernández said, pointing out that the issue of which side will act first “is a small part of a bigger problem. There is no trust between the two sides, and deeply conflicting agendas.”In Zaidan’s statement, the bishop wrote that the “agreement’s successful implementation, as its principles statement says, has the potential of finally providing the Palestinian people with a ‘credible political path that achieves self-determination and Statehood.’ This would be a major milestone.”Hamas said Friday that it would give up its heavy weapons, including rockets, contingent on Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza and the creation of a Palestinian state, the latter condition one Netanyahu’s government strongly rejects.“The two-state solution among the Israeli public is moribund,” the ambassador continued. “We’re not there at all in a situation where they will compromise. They’ve become more intransigent. That’s a reality.”“It’s not time for celebration, but time to recognize there is small progress being made, and huge obstacles remain,” Fernandez said.‘Serious security concerns’Doron Spielman, a spokesperson for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, told the AP on Aug. 2 that Israel has “serious security concerns” surrounding the deal. Spielman said Israel believes Hamas is still committed to building up its military, not demilitarizing, and said Israel would not withdraw from the Gaza Strip, where it controls more than half the territory, before Hamas disarms.“Disarming means physically giving up the weapons. Nothing less,” he said.“Our assessment is that if we redeploy before Hamas is truly disarmed, it will quickly expand its presence throughout Gaza, rebuild its terrorist infrastructure, once again threaten Israeli communities, and seek to carry out another Oct. 7-style attack,” Spielman told the AP.Zaidan concluded his statement acknowledging the “extreme challenges inherent in this ongoing peace process” but called on all to “entrust the hearts and minds of the negotiators to the maternal care of Our Lady of Wisdom, that she may illumine and enliven their efforts to finally achieve peace in those sacred lands.”")
Israel has not publicly endorsed the agreement and has continued airstrikes, killing at least 17 people, including children, in Gaza Sunday night.
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Magnus Cort in the French Alps on Tour de France 2024. Tour de France will finish today on the Champs-Élysées in Paris.
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Abelardo de la Espriella reaffirmed his conviction that “to build a great nation, one must place God at the center of every decision.”
Looking for a sky event this week? Check out our full Sky This Week column. August 3: A solar system trio Rising around sunset and standing highest around midnight, asteroid 324 Bamberga is visible in a small scope this evening, moving against the background stars of Capricornus. Look for it in the south around local midnight, aboutContinue reading “The Sky Today on Tuesday, August 4: Asteroid Bamberga on the move”
The post The Sky Today on Tuesday, August 4: Asteroid Bamberga on the move appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.
Read More
Relatively low tidal waters expose sandflats and mudflats in the Bijagós Archipelago of Guinea-Bissau in this image acquired on November 28, 2025, with the OLI (Operational Land Imager) on Landsat 8. These coastal landforms support an array of invertebrates, making the archipelago a popular stopover for migratory shorebirds.
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A Catholic Charities affiliate sued Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and other state officials after the governor signed into law a ban on “conversion therapy.”
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Bishop Sweeney announces relocation of Diocese of Paterson Chancery #Catholic – 
For nearly 50 years, 777 Valley Road has served the Diocese of Paterson well as the location of our Diocesan Center and chancery offices. Time and constant use, however, have taken their toll. The aging infrastructure of the building, along with our needs to reexamine our resources for the future, make it impractical as our continuing home. In the Spring of 2025, we entered into a long-term lease agreement with the Clifton Board of Education for 775 Valley Road, the former home of Paul VI High School and Pope John Paul II Academy. In the lease agreement, there was an understanding that, eventually, the building at 777 would be included, which will now become effective as of Aug. 31, 2026.
Entrusted with the mission to be prudent stewards of the generosity of God’s people, careful planning for the present and future is required. After much prayer and consultation, I believe this is the best time for a change of our chancery’s location. In making this change, we will ensure that our temporal resources advance our spiritual mission of evangelization, pastoral ministry, and service to our parishes, enabling us to proclaim the Gospel more effectively for generations to come.
Therefore, many of our diocesan offices will now be housed at our Evangelization Center, St. Paul Inside the Walls in Madison. The Bishop’s Office, the Offices of the Vicar General, Chancellor and Vice Chancellor, the Diocesan Tribunal, and some other offices will now be located at 321 Hamburg Turnpike, Wayne. Hopefully, both moves will be completed by the end of September 2026.
The new mailing address of the Diocese of Paterson, effective Aug. 24, 2026, is 205 Madison Avenue, Madison, New Jersey 07940. Our diocesan telephone numbers will remain the same. Email addresses, of course, are unchanged as well. Please know that I will continue to provide you with information and that our diocesan departments will function as they always have, with attention to whatever helps you to carry out your ministry with confidence and joy.
Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
– For nearly 50 years, 777 Valley Road has served the Diocese of Paterson well as the location of our Diocesan Center and chancery offices. Time and constant use, however, have taken their toll. The aging infrastructure of the building, along with our needs to reexamine our resources for the future, make it impractical as our continuing home. In the Spring of 2025, we entered into a long-term lease agreement with the Clifton Board of Education for 775 Valley Road, the former home of Paul VI High School and Pope John Paul II Academy. In the lease agreement, there was an
A new book tells the stories of Catholics who survived persecution during the Spanish Civil War.
Cardinal Cristóbal López Romero has stepped back from public ministry while the Church investigates allegations of sexual abuse and inappropriate conduct involving adult women, which he denies.
The Vatican published a video message from the pontiff on Aug. 2 for Ecuador’s seventh National Youth Day.
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Soviet FD20 steam locomotive exposed at Zuyevka railway station, Kirov Oblast, Russia
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Damian Peach from Hampshire, U.K. Favorable libration briefly tilts the Moon’s southwestern limb into view in this image, exposing three heavily foreshortened craters: Bailly (center left) at roughly 180 miles (300 kilometers) across; the well-preserved Hausen (upper left); and 149-kilometer Drygalski (upper right), so close to the limb it is normally hidden entirely, and liesContinue reading “The Moon’s hidden southwest corner”
The post The Moon’s hidden southwest corner appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.
Read MoreA reading from the Book of Jeremiah
28:1-17
In the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah,
in the fifth month of the fourth year,
the prophet Hananiah, son of Azzur, from Gibeon,
said to me in the house of the LORD
in the presence of the priests and all the people:
“Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel:
‘I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.
Within two years I will restore to this place
all the vessels of the temple of the LORD which Nebuchadnezzar,
king of Babylon, took away from this place to Babylon.
And I will bring back to this place Jeconiah,
son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah,
and all the exiles of Judah who went to Babylon,’ says the LORD,
‘for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.’”
The prophet Jeremiah answered the prophet Hananiah
in the presence of the priests and all the people assembled
in the house of the LORD, and said:
Amen! thus may the LORD do!
May he fulfill the things you have prophesied
by bringing the vessels of the house of the LORD
and all the exiles back from Babylon to this place!
But now, listen to what I am about to state in your hearing
and the hearing of all the people.
From of old, the prophets who were before you and me prophesied
war, woe, and pestilence against many lands and mighty kingdoms.
But the prophet who prophesies peace
is recognized as truly sent by the LORD
only when his prophetic prediction is fulfilled.
Thereupon the prophet Hananiah took the yoke
from the neck of the prophet Jeremiah and broke it,
and said in the presence of all the people:
“Thus says the LORD: ‘Even so, within two years
I will break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon,
from off the neck of all the nations.’” At that, the prophet Jeremiah went away.
Some time after the prophet Hananiah had broken the yoke
from off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah,
The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah:
Go tell Hananiah this:
Thus says the LORD:
By breaking a wooden yoke, you forge an iron yoke!
For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel:
A yoke of iron I will place on the necks
of all these nations serving Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon,
and they shall serve him; even the beasts of the field I give him.
To the prophet Hananiah the prophet Jeremiah said:
Hear this, Hananiah!
The LORD has not sent you,
and you have raised false confidence in this people.
For this, says the LORD, I will dispatch you from the face of the earth;
this very year you shall die,
because you have preached rebellion against the LORD.
That same year, in the seventh month, Hananiah the prophet died.
From the Gospel according to Matthew
14:22-36
Jesus made the disciples get into a boat
and precede him to the other side of the sea,
while he dismissed the crowds.
After doing so, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray.
When it was evening he was there alone.
Meanwhile the boat, already a few miles offshore,
was being tossed about by the waves, for the wind was against it.
During the fourth watch of the night,
he came toward them, walking on the sea.
When the disciples saw him walking on the sea they were terrified.
“It is a ghost,” they said, and they cried out in fear.
At once Jesus spoke to them, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.”
Peter said to him in reply,
“Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.”
He said, “Come.”
Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus.
But when he saw how strong the wind was he became frightened;
and, beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!”
Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught him,
and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”
After they got into the boat, the wind died down.
Those who were in the boat did him homage, saying,
“Truly, you are the Son of God.”
After making the crossing, they came to land at Gennesaret.
When the men of that place recognized him,
they sent word to all the surrounding country.
People brought to him all those who were sick
and begged him that they might touch only the tassel on his cloak,
and as many as touched it were healed.
St Augustine, imagining that he was addressing the Apostle, commented: the Lord “leaned down and took you by the hand. With your strength alone you cannot rise. Hold tight to the hand of the One who reaches down to you” (En. in Ps. 95, 7: PL 36, 1233), and he did not say this to Peter alone but also to us.
Peter walks on the water, not by his own effort but rather through divine grace in which he believes. And when he was smitten by doubt, when he no longer fixed his gaze on Jesus but was frightened by the gale, when he failed to put full trust in the Teacher’s words, it means that he was interiorly distancing himself from the Teacher and so risked sinking in the sea of life.
So it is also for us: if we look only at ourselves we become dependent on the winds and can no longer pass through storms on the waters of life. The great thinker Romano Guardini wrote that the Lord “is always close, being at the root of our being. Yet we must experience our relationship with God between the poles of distance and closeness. By closeness we are strengthened, by distance we are put to the test” (Accettare se stessi, Brescia 1992, 71). (Pope Benedict XVI, Angelus, 7 August 2011)
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The family of Father Arsanios Wadid, who was murdered in April 2022, confirmed that the man found guilty of the crime has been put to death.
From Alaska to Florida, these spots are perfect for popping the question or spending quality time together.
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The first and ongoing requisite for being a good godparent or sponsor is to be a good example oneself by faithfully living the Christian life.
As war in the region continues, Bishop Aldo Berardi reminded the faithful that “faith Is stronger than fear.”
The pope also prayed for victims of war, recalled the Pardon of Assisi and urged Catholics to witness to the Eucharist by blessing meals and sharing with those in need.
Sister Allison Regina Gliot, a Daughter of St. Paul, speaks on God’s mercy and creativity as she concludes her Catholic young adult vampire trilogy.
Looking for a sky event this week? Check out our full Sky This Week column. August 1: Open cluster NGC 6709 Mercury reaches its greatest western elongation at 4 A.M. EDT, standing 19° from the Sun. The tiny planet reaches an altitude of almost 5° above the eastern horizon an hour before sunrise, glowing at magnitude 0.2.Continue reading “The Sky Today on Sunday, August 2: Mercury at greatest western elongation”
The post The Sky Today on Sunday, August 2: Mercury at greatest western elongation appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.
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Photograph of Machu Picchu taken in 1912 by Hiram Bingham during the Yale Peruvian Expedition. The site, an important Inca citadel in the Andes of Peru, had been visited earlier by local people such as Agustín Lizárraga in 1902, and was later brought to international attention through Bingham’s expeditions of 1911 and 1912. Today marks the anniversary of Bingham’s 1911 visit, which contributed to its worldwide recognition.
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MIAMI, FL — After a bit of reflection, local man Dave Christensen decided that perhaps it would be best to pass on this year’s Islamic car show.
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