The Mystery of Relics, Truthful Surrender, Culture of Death at Olympic Closing Ceremonies, and More!

The Best in Catholic Blogging

Unpacking the Mystery of St. Stephen of Hungary’s Hand – Kathy Schiffer, Patheos/Seasons of Grace

Trustful Surrender to Divine Providence - Dan Burke, Catholic Spiritual Direction

Olympics Closing Ceremony is Emblematic of the Culture of Death by Joseph Pearce of the StAR blog – Big ulpit

Becoming a Catholic can be a Spur to Overcoming Addiction – Francis Phillips, Catholic Herald

The Marriage Debate: Lessons and Prospects – Bonchamps, The American Catholic

Parental Rights (Homeschooling) Denied in Catholic Austria – Robert F. Cassidy, Crisis Magazine

Virtuous Pedophiles? – Jennifer Mazzara, Ignitum Today

A Bishop Explicitly Charges All His Seminarians to Learn the E.F. Mass – Fr. Z’s Blog

Cardinal Burke on O.F. Mass and E.F. Mass – Shawn Tribe, New Liturgical Movement

What if G. K. Chesterton Edited Your Writing? – Brandon Vogt, BrandonVogt.com

Do Entrepreneurs Have a Right to Religious Liberty? – Andrew Knot, Acton Institute/PowerBlog

The Battle for Western Culture: What is at Stake? – Steve Skojec, Catholic Vote

How to Go to College without Losing Your Mind – Patti Maguire Armstrong, Catholic Lane

The LCWR Needs an Ecclesial Mission – Dr. Jeff Mirus, Catholic Culture/On the Culture

For the latest on the best punditry, analysis, and news in the Catholic blogosphere click on Big ulpit.

Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki of Cologne attends a German Synodal Way assembly on March 9, 2023.

Four German Bishops Resist Push to Install Permanent ‘Synodal Council’

Given the Vatican’s repeated interventions against the German process, the bishops said they would instead look to the Synod of Bishops in Rome. Meanwhile, on Monday, German diocesan bishops approved the statutes for a synodal committee; and there are reports that the synodal committee will meet again in June.

Palestinian Christians celebrate Easter Sunday Mass at Holy Family Church in Gaza City on March 31, amid the ongoing battles Israel and the Hamas militant group.

People Explain ‘Why I Go to Mass’

‘Why go to Mass on Sundays? It is not enough to answer that it is a precept of the Church. … We Christians need to participate in Sunday Mass because only with the grace of Jesus, with his living presence in us and among us, can we put into practice his commandment, and thus be his credible witnesses.’ —Pope Francis