The Catholic Church was unprepared for COVID-19. Nothing particularly new there, countries have been caught unprepared; the transmission speed of this COVID-19 virus around the world has been unstoppable. The Decree released by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments from Rome on 25th March 2020, was unusually brief and not Read more
As countries continue to reel from the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic, Pope Francis offered prayers for the men and women who have been unable to work. “In these days, many people have lost their jobs, were not rehired or work off the books. Let us pray for these brothers and sisters of ours Read more
“All Masses Cancelled.” That sign went up today outside my local church. Who could have imagined it just a couple of weeks ago? Most Catholics recognise it’s a sensible decision: large gatherings are just what we do not want at the moment. The loving thing right now is to keep our distance, lest we transmit Read more
New Zealand is in “Lock Down”. Life as we have known it is completely changed as the nation, along with the rest of the world, wages war against an invisible but deadly enemy, Coronavirus, or COVID-19. You may have already been “self-isolating”; the “Lock Down” extends that directive to nearly everyone. Only essential services remain Read more
Setting: Make a prayer space in your room. Whatever else you place there, put a crucifix, a bowl of water and a lit candle. Begin your prayer with the Sign of the Cross, then – Give thanks for this new day: God of life and light, I thank you for another new beginning. For the Read more
“Instead of watching Mass on the computer, why don’t we read from the Bible together?” That’s how our eight-year old daughter reacted last Sunday when we gathered to watch the celebration of Mass at home, where we’ve been self-quarantined since last week. From the mouths of babes… Our daughter is used to seeing me as Read more
The New Zealand National Centre for Religious Studies (NCRS), Wednesday, announced the launch of a prayer app, NZpray2day. NZpray2day is available for Android devices. NCRS Director, Colin MacLeod, says NZpray2day is designed to support young and old in Catholic schools and parishes to enter simply into the richness of the ancient Christian cycle of seasons, Read more
Popes don’t suddenly become perfect, sinless human beings after they’re elected to papal office. Pope Francis says what being elected does do, is make a pope’s responsibilities greater and his prayer list longer. As far as sin’s concerned though, Francis says he’s basically the same person he was before he was elected in 2013. “The Read more
I recently heard of a senior U.S. bishop who regularly prays that his civic leader, his president may suffer a mild heart-attack. Not so severe as to threaten his life or his capacity for conversion, but severe enough to require his permanent retirement from office. I wonder how many similar prayers are offered, from the Read more
In 2018 Pew estimated that 50 million Catholic adults live in the United States. That’s a lot of Catholics—and we don’t all practice our faith the same way. From daily Mass to meditation and yoga, there are many ways to pray. U.S. Catholic surveyed readers to find out how they connect with God. Of the Read more