Franciscan Father Francesco Patton wrote the meditations for tonight's Stations of the Cross at the Colosseum in Rome with Pope Leo XIV. Fr Patton served as Custos of the Holy Land from 2016 to 2025. On April 1, he told VaticanNews.va that the inspiration comes from "current reality" and that the meditations are meant to inspire political "change". The Vatican press office published the text today. Traditionally a penitential and contemplative devotion, the Via Crucis is repurposed here as a vehicle for contemporary socio-political reflection. The text shifts from the Passion of Christ to war, refugees, human trafficking, surveillance, deportation, the media, the economy, prisons, hostages, and crackdowns on protests. Notably absent, however, are abortion, euthanasia, and gender ideology. One acclamation reads: "For migrants, the displaced, and refugees: Comfort us, O Mother." In the first station, the meditation talks about political and economic power "to start or end a war… the power …'Besdal
Watch till the end. ( 8:42 seconds or less)l. A Christian civilian. Killed by a foreign strike near his home. Buried by his Muslim neighbors. This is the Iran they don't show you. In a country the world calls divided by religion, Muslims carried their Christian brother to his final rest. Not because of politics. Not because of propaganda. Because that is who they are. We filmed his memorial service—the grief, the unity, the shared humanity. This video is not about war. It is about what survives war: faith, dignity, and the bonds that no bomb can break. Watch. Share. Remember his name: *"Avanes"* IRAN War: When Muslims Wept for a Christian
In Mailand setzen sich vier zeitgenössische Künstler mit der Kreuzigung von Hans Memling auseinander Vom 19. Februar bis zum 17. Mai 2026 findet im Museo Diocesano Carlo Maria Martini in Mailand eine Veranstaltung statt, die die Renaissance und die Gegenwart in einen Dialog bringt. Der Schwerpunkt der Ausstellung ist HANS MEMLING. Die Kreuzigung. Vier zeitgenössische Künstler um ein Meisterwerk: das berühmte Tafelbild von Hans Memling (Seligenstadt, ca. 1435/1440 - Brügge, 1494), datiert zwischen 1467 und 1470, aus dem Museo Civico di Palazzo Chiericati in Vicenza. Die von Valeria Cafà, Giuseppe Frangi und Nadia Righi kuratierte Ausstellung bietet einen Vergleich zwischen der visuellen und spirituellen Kraft des flämischen Werks und den Werken von Stefano Arienti, Matteo Fato, Julia Krahn und Danilo Sciorilli, die eigens für diesen Anlass in Zusammenarbeit mit der Casa Testori geschaffen wurden. Die Ausstellung steht unter der Schirmherrschaft der Stadt Mailand, mit PwC …'Besdal
World Christian Community Jeremiah James Strange Trumpet Sounds Heard Around the World… No One Has an Answer.... People from multiple countries have recorded these eerie sounds coming from the sky. Scientists struggle to explain it… yet many say it sounds exactly like something described in Scripture. What do YOU think is happening? Have you ever heard anything like this before? …
On Holy Thursday, Leo XIV washed and kissed the feet of 12 priests in the Lateran Basilica. In his homily, he remembered his predecessor: "As Pope Francis once remarked: 'This is a duty that comes from the heart. I love it. I love it and I love doing it, because that is what the Lord has taught me to do.' He was not speaking of an abstract imperative or a formal, empty command, but rather expressing his heartfelt obedience to the charity of Christ, the source and model of our own charity."
Il Giovedì Santo, Papa Leone XIV lava i piedi a 12 sacerdoti.
I am glad Pope Leo XIV has carried out the washing of the feet in a traditional, more dignified and proper way. But, I just don't get this "kissing the feet" thing. The Gospel of St. John tells us Jesus washed the feet of His Apostles, it says nothing about kissing them. I have seen this kissing before and I find it cringey! It comes across - to me - as one-upping Our Lord Jesus, a kind of false humility (like the Francis) or virtue-signaling! Personally, I have never kissed feet during the washing of the feet. In the past it was done (or had the possibility of been done) at a separate ceremony. Now days in many places the whole thing is abused and a bit of a circus. The only feet I'd kiss are the crucified feet of our Lord Jesus Christ. Laudetur Iesus Christus!
The Basilica of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem The Basilica of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem or Basilica di Santa Croce in Gerusalemme (Latin: Basilica Sanctae Crucis in Hierusalem) is a Catholicminor basilica and titular church in the rione of Esquilino, Rome, Italy. It is one of the Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome. According to Christian tradition, the basilica was consecrated circa 325 to house the relics of the Passion of Jesus Christ brought to Rome from the Holy Land by Empress Helena, mother of Roman Emperor Constantine I. The basilica's floor was supposed to be covered with a handful of soil from Jerusalem, thus acquiring the title in Hierusalem; it is not dedicated to the Holy Cross of Jerusalem, but is considered in a sense to be in Jerusalem (much in the way that an embassy is considered extraterritorial). Between 1561 and 2011 it was the conventual church of an adjacent and now dissolved abbey of Cistercian monks whose aesthetic simplicity greatly influenced …'Besdal
HOLY TUESDAY - Faith and Hope: A Holy Week Pilgrimage and Meditation aleteia
[Saint Albert the Great – Albertus Magnus – XIII Century AD; Duchy of Bavaria/Cologne, Holy Roman Empire; (Aged ca 80); German Dominican friar, philosopher, scientist, and bishop; one of the greatest medieval philosophers and thinkers; Doctor of the Church] “Chapter 7 ~ How the heart should be gathered within itself What is more, as is said in the book On the Spirit and the Soul (of St. Augustine), to ascend to God means to enter into oneself. He who entering within and penetrating his inmost nature, goes beyond himself, he is truly ascending to God. So let us withdraw our hearts from the distractions of this world, and recall them to the inner joys, so that we can establish them to some degree in the light of divine contemplation. For this is the life and peace of our hearts - to be established by intent in the love of God and to be sweetly remade by his comforting. But the reason why we are in so many ways hindered in the practical enjoyment of this matter and are unable to get into …'Besdal
"It is therefore right and necessary for the mind to raise itself above itself and everything created by the abandonment of everything, with humble reverence and great trust, and to say within itself, He whom I seek, love, thirst for and desire from everything and more than anything is not a thing of the senses or the imagination, but is above everything that can be experienced by the senses and the intellect. He cannot be experienced by any of the senses, but is completely desirable to my will. He is moreover not discernable, but is perfectly desirable to my inner affections. He cannot be comprehended, but can be loved in his fullness with a pure heart, for he is above all lovable and desirable, and of infinite goodness and perfection."
At the start of the Good Friday liturgy commemorating the Passion of the Lord, the Pope prostrates himself before the altar as all kneel in silence. He then prays: "Remember your mercies, O Lord, and with your eternal protection sanctify your servants, for whom Christ, your Son, by the shedding of his Blood, established the Paschal Mystery, Who lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen."
This morning, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa of Jerusalem celebrated the Lord's Supper in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. He washed the feet of twelve friars. In his homily, he said: "There is a tension we cannot ignore: outside, the doors of the church of Holy Sepulchre are closed. War has turned this place into a refuge, an 'inside' cut off from an 'outside' weighed down by fear and strain. We are here, as within a womb of peace, while the world around us is being torn apart, and we wish we could change all of this."
Cardinal Pizzaballa today in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre: “We are in the place where a stone once sealed death. And yet today we are here to celebrate life. There is a tension we cannot ignore: outside, the doors of the Holy Sepulchre are closed. War has turned this place into a refuge, an “inside” cut off from an “outside” weighed down by fear and strain. We are here as within a womb of peace, while the world around us is being torn apart, and we wish we could change all of this. And yet, here and now, the Word of God places before us a gesture that overturns all our human ways of thinking."
The Jews conspire against Christ. He is anointed by Mary. The treason of Judas. The last supper. The prayer in the garden. The apprehension of our Lord. His treatment in the house of Caiphas. Douay-Rheims Bible, Matthew Chapter 26
Day by Day Saint Richard of Chechester is widely remembered today for the popular prayer ascribed to him: Thanks be to Thee, my Lord Jesus Christ For all the benefits Thou hast given me, For all the pains and insults Thou hast borne for me. O most merciful Redeemer, friend and brother, May I know Thee more clearly, Love Thee more dearly, Follow Thee more nearly.
Concerned Citizen - Live caller asks NASA executives how they could live stream the 1969 ... Live caller asks NASA executives how they could live stream the 1969 landing but not the 2024. Of course they have no legitimate answer for obvious reasons…. …
[St. Augustine of Hippo – IV-V Century AD; Thagaste, Roman Empire/Hippo, Western Roman Empire; (aged 75) – Church Father – Doctor of the Church – Blessed; Resting Place – Pavia, Italy] “Chapter V 13 ~ "Blessed are ye," says He, "when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake. Rejoice and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven." Let any one who is seeking after the delights of this world and the riches of temporal things under the Christian name, consider that our blessedness, is within; as it is said of the soul of the Church by the mouth of the prophet, "All the beauty of the king's daughter is within;" for outwardly revilings, and persecutions, and disparagements are promised; and yet, from these things there is a great reward in heaven, which is felt in the heart of those who endure, those who can now say, "We glory in tribulations: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; …'Besdal
"15 ~ "Rejoice," says He, "and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven." I do not think that it is the higher parts of this visible world that are here called heaven. For our reward, which ought to be immoveable and eternal, is not to be placed in things fleeting and temporal. But I think the expression "in heaven" means in the spiritual firmament, where dwells everlasting righteousness: in comparison with which a Wicked soul is called earth, to which it is said when it sins," Earth thou art, and unto earth thou shalt return."
Matthew 12:40 40 For as Jonas was in the whale's belly three days and three nights: so shall the Son of man be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights Wednesday Crucifixion View: Advocates argue for a Wednesday death to allow 72 hours (three full days and nights) before a Saturday night or early Sunday morning resurrection. This interpretation relies on counting three separate nights (Wednesday, Thursday, Friday) before Sunday dawn. Thursday Crucifixion View: This interpretation allows for the full three nights (Thursday, Friday, Saturday) to pass before a Sunday morning resurrection, aligning with the "three days and three nights" phrasing literally. Supporting Context (Two Sabbaths): Some proponents suggest there were two Sabbaths that week—the high day Sabbath (Passover) on Thursday, and the weekly Sabbath on Saturday—allowing for a Thursday burial, Friday spice prep, and Saturday rest Note: The traditional Friday crucifixion relies on Jewish, idioms where partial days …'Besdal
Byzantine Catholic Liturgical Holy Week traditions Good Friday: A strict fast day centered on the Vespers of Good Friday and the procession with the Holy Shroud (Plashchanytsia). Holy Saturday: Focuses on Christ’s descent into Hades, often featuring a morning service that anticipates the Resurrection, including the reading of the Bible's "song of Moses" and resurrectional hymns. Pascha (Easter): The celebration begins with the Resurrection Matins/Vespers and Divine Liturgy, often early Sunday morning or late Saturday night, followed by the blessing of Easter foods.