As a follow-up to the article, “Did Early Christians Believe in the Assumption?,” a similar question is asked in regards to Our Lady’s Immaculate Conception. The Immaculate Conception is a dogma of the Faith, stating that the Blessed Virgin Mary was conceived sinless in the womb of Her mother, Saint Anne. While this truth has been believed since the early times of the Church, it was not until December 8, 1854 that Pope Pius IX dogmatically decreed this truth. Thus ended the possibility of any faithful Catholic even slightly doubting this truth. All Catholics are required to believe in this dogma ‘firmly and constantly’ without exception. The decree of Pope Pius IX in Ineffabilis Deus reads in part: “We declare, pronounce, and define that the doctrine which holds that the most Blessed Virgin Mary, in the first instance of Her conception, by a singular grace and privilege granted by Almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the human race, was preserved free …
'Let's Sing with the Pope' returns | Shalom World News 'Let's Sing with the Pope' returns, bringing fresh energy! Join Fr. Robert Mehlhart as he guides us through the Creed. Look forward to two more monthly videos in January and February. Keep the music alive with the Pope!
Saturday, December 6, 2025, 1:00 AM Mass at the Chapel of the Apparitions of Fatima Liturgical Color: Purple 1st Week of Advent | Saturday First Reading (Isaiah 30:19-21, 23-26) A reading from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah. Thus says the Lord, the Holy One of Israel: 19 “People of Zion, who dwell in Jerusalem, you will have no reason to weep: he will be moved at the sound of your cry; as soon as he hears you, he will answer you. 20 The Lord will surely give you the bread of affliction and the water of affliction; your teacher will no longer depart from you; your eyes will see him, 21 and your ears will hear a word of warning behind you: ‘This is the way for all; walk in it,’ without turning to the right or to the left. 23 He will give you rain for the seed you have sown in the ground, and the fruit of the ground will be abundant and rich; in that day your flock will graze in vast pastures, 24 your oxen and the animals that till the ground will eat salted fodder, cleaned with shovel …More
Brownshill SM - isolated.MOV Repairing a 1930s Roman Catholic church. Rachel Morley, our Director, speaks to Contracts Manager Martin Nee from Messenger Construction about the repairs at St Mary of the Angels', Brownshill, Gloucestershire. If you’d like to hear more about the repairs at Brownshill, then please follow this link to a longer video on our YouTube channel: youtube.com/watch?v=s2ugu4N3SKA
Nuestra Señora de los Reyes - December 4th, 2025 | No Greater Delight No Greater Delight is a daily Marian podcast meant to start the day with a Marian touch. After examining the Marian feasts celebrated throughout the world on a given day, Fr. Nate offers a brief reflection to help make our love for Our Lady concrete in daily living. The title "No Greater Delight" is inspired by a homily of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, wherein he expresses his joy in preaching about the Virgin Mother, even though he acknowledges the challenge of adequately praising her. Mary's greatness is beyond words. 0:00 Feasts of Mary Today 02:57 True Devotion to Mary WhatsApp Channel: Catholic Voice | WhatsApp Channel Links: catholicvoice | Instagram, Facebook | Linktree
Thu Dec 4, 2025 - 3:55 pm ESTThu Dec 4, 2025 - 4:32 pm EST WASHINGTON, D.C. (LifeSiteNews) — Conservative U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas struck a potentially fatal blow to the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office’s case defending its investigation of a pro-life pregnancy center, by getting an attorney to admit it had received no actual complaints about the center. As previously covered by LifeSiteNews, New Jersey Democrat Attorney General Matt Platkin issued a consumer alert in 2022 branding pro-life crisis pregnancy centers as “seek(ing) to prevent people from accessing [so-called] comprehensive reproductive health care”; it was later revealed that his office collaborated with America’s largest abortion chain, Planned Parenthood, on the final draft of the alert. First Choice Women’s Resource Centers sued Platkin over its efforts to force the nonprofit to “produce extensive documentation” without reasonable cause and under threat of punishment for “possible violations …
And in all seduction of iniquity to them that perish; because they receive not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. Therefore God shall send them the operation of error, to believe lying:
Home » Architecture » Before and After: The Restoration of Belmont Chapel in Newport, Rhode Island The Belmont Memorial Chapel is a small church that is located on the grounds of Island Cemetery in Newport, Rhode Island. While that goes slightly outside our usually rather tight sphere of focus here at LAJ, I believe our readers will be very interested in this particular project as it not only features a dramatic restoration, but also a period we seldom touch upon -- the Aesthetic Movement and, I also think, a bit of the Arts and Crafts Movement as well -- while also being firmly rooted in aspects of the gothic revival movement. Canning Liturgical Arts sets the background of the project for us: The chapel was originally built in 1887 in honor of Augustus Belmont and Catherine Perry’s deceased daughter, but required significant repairs soon after completion. The architect in charge was Richard Morris Hunt, a good friend of the Belmont and prominent architect at the time. Hunt brought in …
On Thursday, retired Swiss bishop Marian Eleganti warned at the RomeLifeForum.com that efforts to promote a 'universal fraternity' risk collapsing into religious relativism. He stressed that, according to Christian teaching, people are not 'children of God' simply by existing. Rather, they receive this identity through faith in Christ and baptism. Any model of human fraternity that obscures this truth ceases to be authentically Christian, he said. Mission Cannot Be Replaced by Dialogue Monsignor Eleganti warned that the Church’s mission must not be reduced to interreligious dialogue which avoids proclaiming the truth. He also noted the impact of media imagery showing religious leaders praying together, which implicitly suggests that "one religion is as good as another". Criticism of Pope Francis’ Statements Furthermore, Bishop Eleganti criticised Pope Francis's controversial remarks. He cited the 2024 statement in Singapore that "all religions are a path to God", as well as the assertion …More
The Vatican announced the episcopal consecration of Monsignor Francesco Li Jianlin as the new bishop of the Prefecture of Xinxiang in Henan, China, on December 5. The liturgy was held at the church of Weihui and celebrated by Bishop Li Shan of Beijing. He heads the state-controlled Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association. Li Jianlin is the second bishop elected during the papal interregnum following the death of Pope Francis. The appointment was formally approved by Pope Leo XIV on August 11. It comes with the acceptance of the “resignation” of the underground bishop Giuseppe Zhang Weizhu of Xinxiang. Loyal Catholic Bishop Erased from Memory The official Chinese report made no mention of papal approval and omitted any reference to Bishop Zhang Weizhu. Appointed in 1991, he was never recognized by Beijing. For decades he faced arrests, restrictions, and suppression because he refused to join the Patriotic Association. One notable episode occurred in 2021, when police dismantled a clandestine …More
In the WHO’s own words: “Digital transformation is a unique opportunity to address many longstanding challenges in immunization… now is the time for bold, new approaches.” And: “Stakeholders… should embrace digital transformation as an enabler for achieving the ambitious Immunization agenda 2030 goals.” This is a comprehensive proposal for a global digital-identity system, permanently linked to vaccine status, integrated with demographic and socioeconomic data, enforced through AI-driven surveillance, and designed for international interoperability.
Experts who work with U.S. priests told the Register they have increasingly seen, in recent years, the issues of burnout and loneliness drive men away from their vocation.
10 years ago, I visited a church 100 miles from where I live. The door was open, and there was a woman walking around the sanctuary (or what was left of it). She greeted me and said she was the administrator of the parish. I asked her who the priest was and she replied, 'the sacramental minister lives in another parish'. So, as I wrote previously, the priest is no longer the father of his parish. The parish council or femi-nazis are the ones calling the shots. That is why priests are burned out and leaving their priesthood.
Book of Isaiah 11,1-10. On that day, a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom. The spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him: a spirit of wisdom and of understanding, A spirit of counsel and of strength, a spirit of knowledge and of fear of the LORD, and his delight shall be the fear of the LORD. Not by appearance shall he judge, nor by hearsay shall he decide, But he shall judge the poor with justice, and decide aright for the land's afflicted. He shall strike the ruthless with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked. Justice shall be the band around his waist, and faithfulness a belt upon his hips. Then the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; The calf and the young lion shall browse together, with a little child to guide them. The cow and the bear shall be neighbors, together their young shall rest; the lion shall eat hay like the ox. The baby shall play by the …More