Does God Answer Prayer; We, the Church, are the Maccabees of the 21st Century; and More Links!

The Best in Catholic Blogging

Does God Answer Prayer? – Bart Schuchts, Catholic Stand

We, the Church, are the Maccabees of the 21st Century – Fr. Edward Looney, Catholic Exchange

Dominican Rite Calendar for 2017 Available – Fr. Augustine Thompson O.P., New Liturgical Movement

Why Do Catholics Honor the Saints, Mary, and Jesus with Statues and Paintings? – Catherine Mendenhall-Baugh, Truth and Charity Forum

The Forgotten History of Anti-Catholic Riots – Ann Casey, Catholic Stand

With Crippling Fines Still Looming, Little Sisters Serve ‘One Soul at a Time’ – Matt Hadro, Catholic News Agency

Why I’m Catholic: Sola Scriptura Isn’t Historical, Part I – Kenneth Hensley, Catholic Answers

British Columbia’s Highest Court Upholds Religious Freedom – Catholic News Agency

Pope Francis’ Reform: How Will the New Dicasteries be Designed? – Andrea Gagliarducci, Monday Vatican

Ecosexuals Gather to Have Sex with the Earth – Matthew Archbold, Creative Minority Report

Interview with Cardinal Burke about Their Plea to Pope Francis “Seeking Clarity” – Fr. John Zuhlsdorf, Fr. Z’s Blog

Won’t Somebody Please Rescue Poor Tradinistas Slaving Away as Baristas? - William M. Briggs Ph.D., The Stream

For the Most Recent in 'The Best in Catholic Blogging' click on Big Pulpit.

Follow 'The Best in Catholic Blogging' on facebook and twitter.

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