Some people think that such an accomplished person, with such a busy agenda, will not have time for an intense spiritual life – to the point that this relationship with God can be classified as heroic. The Church’s conclusion is that just the opposite happened: it was because he worked so hard that he became a saint.
With the Holy Family of Nazareth in the background, Fr Fausto Gomez reflects on the Christian Family and Human Life. Christian couples are asked to proclaim life by being aware of the true meaning of procreation, which reveals that human life is “a gift received in order to be given as a gift.”
John the Baptist not only prepares the way but also gives way to the Messiah. John is a blameless holy man and an appreciated prophet. People could have easily mistaken him for the Messiah, and some did indeed as we see in the gospel today. He could have taken advantage of that! But he gives way. Giving way is the noblest way.
The pain and shock caused by the terrorist attack that hit the Catholic community on December 3 in a predominantly Muslim province on the island of Mindanao will not impede the path of dialogue and the construction of peaceful coexistence in the south of the Philippines, say Catholic leaders in the region.
The Didache is a document from the earliest times of the Church. It is a kind of instruction, written during the first five centuries of Christianity, and believed to have come from the apostles. In Greek, it means ‘teaching’ or ‘instruction’ from the title ‘The Lord’s Instruction to the Gentiles through the Twelve Apostles’.
A visiting professor at the University of Saint Joseph since 2019, Father David Goodill arrived in Macau for the very first time and delivered a public lecture at Saint Dominic’s Church on the concept of hope in the Summa Theologiae of Saint Thomas Aquinas. With a doctorate in moral theology from the Swiss University of Freiburg, the Dominican friar argues that hope is the virtue that makes us persevere on our journey of faith. The Reverend David Goodill in his own words…
The Faculty of Religious Studies and Philosophy of the University of Saint Joseph (USJ) and the Xavier Centre for Memory and Identity will commemorate, next summer, the 100th anniversary of the First Council for China with the organization of a four-day long international conference. The event will debate the relevance and significance of the Shanghai Plenary Council.
Around two dozen families have received the Pilgrim Image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus for monthly visits since the beginning of October. The initiative is one of the events being hosted by local parishes and Catholic organizations to promote vocations to the ordained ministry and consecrated life. The Diocese of Macau is currently celebrating, until December 8, 2024, the Diocesan Year of Vocations.
John the Baptist is a good example for all preachers and leaders who follow Christ. The invitation to every Christian and every minister of the Church is to rewrite the sender’s address and the delivery address to Christ and to the people; not (selfie) to self-address. If the preaching diverts the attention from the message to the messenger, it is no more the gospel that we preach and all efforts will go vain and fruitless.
We have already discussed the three great Apostolic Fathers: St Clement, St Ignatius of Antioch, and St Polycarp. There are three other things from this period that we can mention: these concern a bishop, a letter and a revelation.