August 10, 2026 – United Yam

unitedyam August 10, 2026August 11, 2026

Most of the upgrades will remain at the shrine for the long-term benefit of pilgrims, so any donations are viewed as an investment in Lourdes’ future.

unitedyam August 10, 2026August 10, 2026

A reading from the Book of Ezekiel
2:8-3:4

The Lord GOD said to me:
As for you, son of man, obey me when I speak to you:
be not rebellious like this house of rebellion,
but open your mouth and eat what I shall give you.

It was then I saw a hand stretched out to me,
in which was a written scroll which he unrolled before me.
It was covered with writing front and back,
and written on it was:
Lamentation and wailing and woe!

He said to me: Son of man, eat what is before you;
eat this scroll, then go, speak to the house of Israel.
So I opened my mouth and he gave me the scroll to eat.
Son of man, he then said to me,
feed your belly and fill your stomach
with this scroll I am giving you.
I ate it, and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth.
He said: Son of man, go now to the house of Israel,
and speak my words to them.

From the Gospel according to Matthew
18:1-5, 10, 12-14

The disciples approached Jesus and said,
?Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven??
He called a child over, placed it in their midst, and said,
?Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children,
you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven.
Whoever becomes humble like this child
is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.
And whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me.

?See that you do not despise one of these little ones,
for I say to you that their angels in heaven
always look upon the face of my heavenly Father.
What is your opinion?
If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray,
will he not leave the ninety-nine in the hills
and go in search of the stray?
And if he finds it, amen, I say to you, he rejoices more over it
than over the ninety-nine that did not stray.
In just the same way, it is not the will of your heavenly Father
that one of these little ones be lost."

?See that you do not despise one of these little ones: for I tell you that in heaven their angels always behold the face of my Father who is in heaven? (Mt 18:10).

Thus, children are in and of themselves a treasure for humanity and also for the Church, for they constantly evoke that necessary condition for entering the Kingdom of God: that of not considering ourselves self-sufficient, but in need of help, of love, of forgiveness. We all are in need of help, of love and of forgiveness! Children remind us of another beautiful thing: they remind us that we are always sons and daughters. Even if one becomes an adult, or an elderly person, even if one becomes a parent, if one occupies a position of responsibility, underneath all of this is still the identity of a child. We are all sons and daughters. And this always brings us back to the fact that we did not give ourselves life but that we received it. The great gift of life is the first gift that we received. Sometimes in life we risk forgetting about this, as if we were the masters of our existence, and instead we are fundamentally dependent. In reality, it is a motive of great joy to feel at every stage of life, in every situation, in every social condition, that we are and we remain sons and daughters. This is the main message that children give us, by their very presence: simply by their presence they remind us that each and every one of us is a son or daughter. (Pope Francis, General Audience, 18 March 2015)

Spanish bishop calls for a vigil for peace, justice, and stability in Ceuta after immigration crisis – #Catholic – The apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Cádiz and Ceuta in Spain, Bishop Ramón Valdivia, called for a vigil for peace, justice, and stability in Ceuta, the Spanish city located in northern Africa and the site of a recent immigration crisis.In a letter addressed to the priests, religious, and faithful of Ceuta, where the recent arrival of thousands of illegal migrants led to an overwhelming breach of the city’s maritime border, Valdivia invited the faithful to pray on the eve of the solemnity of the Assumption of Mary, celebrated on Aug. 15, following a suggestion made by Pope Leo XIV.“As a proposal for ecclesial action in response to this humanitarian and confidence crisis, I believe it is necessary to turn our gaze toward God,” Valdivia wrote, expressing his desire that this prayer take place “with the intention not only of seeking protection for the city of Ceuta but also so that we may become aware of the importance of maturing in the faith we have received and ask for the necessary light so that, united, we may experience these moments as a new cultural beginning and not simply as a crisis, which one hopes will prove temporary.”“These events seem to me to reveal the depth of the cultural change that is taking place. For this reason, now more than ever, we need to lift our eyes and pray together the Our Father, saying: ‘Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven!’” he insisted.In the letter, Valdivia, who is also the auxiliary bishop of Seville, acknowledged that he needed time “to reflect on and understand the scope of what we have suffered and, at the same time, to try to understand, with the light available to me, the repercussions that go beyond what the media have been showing.”The bishop pointed to “the humanitarian disaster generated by ambition and corruption” in which “young people without a future threw themselves into the unknown, driven only by political slogans or ill-intentioned promises” while adults “took advantage of the lack of government control to flee the criminal responsibilities of their own country, perhaps aided by a premeditated pardon arranged for this occasion.”He also wrote of minors who, “abandoned by their families, become easy prey for predators” and, referring to the residents of Ceuta, “people who have felt their own space violated.”‘Our Lady of Africa has been our stronghold’In his reflection, Valdivia shared that what arose in his heart was “gratitude born of faith,” emphasizing that “from the very first moment, Our Lady of Africa has been the stronghold in which we can find refuge.”“I have been able to perceive how the mother and patroness of Ceuta has once again, throughout history, become the lighthouse guiding us as we navigate stormy seas,” he added.The auxiliary bishop of Seville also highlighted the way Catholics have faced the challenge of the arrival of a group nearly as large as Ceuta’s own population: “It is only right that we all send a message of gratitude to this small Christian community, so that they may receive strong encouragement from the rest of the diocese and continue to keep alive the witness of faith.”“I want to believe that both the floral offering and the celebration and procession with the image of Our Lady of Africa were not merely a passing sigh but rather a catalyst for breaking the inertia generated by fear, the spark that awakens awareness of what faith contributes to the rebuilding of the city, the greatest challenge facing society and the Church in this time that the Lord has given us,” Valdivia said.This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

unitedyam August 10, 2026August 10, 2026

In a letter addressed to the priests, religious, and faithful of Ceuta, Bishop Ramón Valdivia invited the faithful to pray on the eve of the solemnity of the Assumption of Mary.

Massachusetts becomes 11th state with no abortion limits as Gov. Healey signs bill – #Catholic – Democratic Gov. Maura Healey signed a bill allowing abortion at any point in pregnancy in the state of Massachusetts, making it the 11th state to impose no limits on abortion.The legislation signed Aug. 10 removes all of the state’s restrictions on abortion after 24 weeks. An elective late-term abortion may be done based upon “the professional judgment of the physician” performing it, under the law.“It should shock the conscience that tens of thousands of unborn Americans are barbarically dismembered limb by limb and torn apart every single year. Sadly, that number will only increase with Gov. Healey’s approval of the Abortion Up Until Birth Bill,” Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of SBA Pro-Life America, said in a statement.The state Senate sent the legislation to Healey’s desk on July 31 for her signature.Under the previous statute, state law allowed abortion during the first 24 weeks of pregnancy if a physician says it is necessary to preserve the life, physical or mental health of the woman, because of a lethal fetal anomaly or diagnosis, or because the fetus wouldn’t likely survive outside the uterus.“Today, mothers and fathers and families who experience these devastating diagnoses — and they are devastating, heartbreaking — now theyʼll be able to make their own choices,” Healey said at a press conference on Aug. 10.Healey and supporters of the measure said the change in the law was needed because Massachusetts hospitals were increasingly refusing to provide abortions for women who already qualified for post‑24‑week abortions under existing law and that doctors needed clearer authority to reaffirm that medical judgment governs late‑term abortion decisions.Healey, who is an outspoken supporter of abortion access, has served as the state’s governor since 2023. Responding to the enacted legislation, Dannenfelser urged that the GOP “must abandon the ‘leave it to the states’ position — a stance that permits egregious late-term abortion laws like this one — and advance national protections for unborn children.”SBA Pro-Life America highlighted that abortions done during the second and third trimesters are generally done by dismemberment of the baby or labor, noting that inducing labor may result in a live birth.“Without a minimum national standard, the United States remains 1 of only 8 countries worldwide that allows abortion at any point in pregnancy,” Dannenfelser said.According to a 2024 study from the Charlotte Lozier Institute, 46 of 50 countries in Europe limit abortion after 15 weeks –– a point by which the baby feels pain. The institute also found that over 60,000 abortions occur after 15 weeks each year.“We must do all we can to turn the page on America’s ugly chapter of late-term abortion,” Dannenfelser said.

unitedyam August 10, 2026August 10, 2026

Enacted legislation removes all of Massachusetts’ restrictions on abortion after 24 weeks and allows elective abortion through all nine months based on the “judgment of the physician.”

unitedyam August 10, 2026August 10, 2026

Some 1.3 billion years ago, when multicellular organisms were just emerging on Earth and life was still confined to the ocean, two behemoth black holes smashed together in a far-flung galaxy. The collision was so powerful that it jolted the universe, creating a ripple in the fabric of space-time that traveled across the cosmos atContinue reading “How gravitational waves transformed our universe”

The post How gravitational waves transformed our universe appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

Earthquake in Colombia causes at least 20 deaths, partial collapse of neo-Gothic cathedral – #Catholic – A powerful 7.4-magnitude earthquake shook several regions of western Colombia on Monday, Aug. 10, killing at least 20 people and causing severe damage to many buildings, including the Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary, also known as the Manizales Cathedral, in the department of Caldas.The earthquake occurred at 7:34 a.m. local time, and its epicenter was the municipality of San José del Palmar in the department of Chocó, located on the Pacific coast.On its social media, the Archdiocese of Manizales shared a video showing cracks in the facade and the partial collapse of one of the side towers of the 390-foot-high neo-Gothic church, the tallest cathedral in Colombia and the tallest neo-Gothic church in the Americas.Instagram postThe death toll remains unknown as local and national authorities continue to gather information in order to get a complete picture of the number of victims and the structural damage caused by the earthquake, considered the strongest in the last decade.Colombia’s newly elected president, Abelardo De La Espriella, said on social media he has “personally taken charge of the emergency response in San José del Palmar” and has ordered the “establishment of a Unified Command Post to coordinate the response to the damage and assist those affected.”“You are not alone,” wrote De La Espriella, who is Catholic. “The state is present and acting.”The Archdiocese of Manizales called on the population to pray “for all the people and families who may have been affected, for those who today feel fear and uncertainty, and, especially, for those who need help.”“May God protect Manizales and Colombia, strengthen our hearts, and grant us serenity, solidarity, and hope. Lord, we place Colombia in your hands,” the archdiocese said in its post.The governor of Chocó, Nubia Córdoba, stated on her social media account that “in the capital, Quibdó, there are injuries and serious damage to buildings.” In its first report, the Civil Aeronautics Authority of Colombia reported that the earthquake affected the facilities of “the airports of Pereira, Manizales, Quibdó, Armenia, Cartago, and Buenaventura.”“For safety reasons, air operations at these terminals remain suspended until structural damage to the infrastructure is assessed,” the group stated.This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

unitedyam August 10, 2026August 10, 2026

The death toll remains unknown as authorities assess the damage, which affected several cities in the western part of the country.