Today in 10 Seconds
Gospel: Jesus brings a sword, not peace Rosary: Joyful Mysteries Pope: Pontiff pleads: dialogue over destruction CBS News: Graham's bridge-building legacy remembered ABC News: Dinosaur hunter Sam Neill dies at 78 Saint: Emperor chose celibacy over heirs
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Matthew 10:34-11:1
"Jesus instructed the Twelve as follows: ‘Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth: it is not peace I have come to bring, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. A man’s enemies will be those of his own household."
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Test Your Faith IQ |
Scripture |
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In today's first reading, Isaiah compares the leaders of Jerusalem to the rulers of which infamous city?
- A) Babylon
- B) Nineveh
- C) Sodom
- D) Tyre
Answer at the bottom of this newsletter.
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| Rosary Mystery of the Day | |
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Today's Mysteries |
Monday: Joyful Mysteries |
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Joyful Mysteries
- 1. The Annunciation
- 2. The Visitation
- 3. The Nativity of Our Lord
- 4. The Presentation in the Temple
- 5. The Finding of the Child Jesus in the Temple
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The Objection
"Why do Catholics pray to saints? They're dead. The Bible says there's one mediator between God and man, which is Jesus. Praying to saints is basically necromancy."
The Catholic Response
Catholics don't pray to saints the way we pray to God. We ask saints to intercede for us, the same way you'd ask a friend to pray for you, except these friends are alive in Christ (Luke 20:38, 'He is not God of the dead, but of the living'). Revelation 5:8 shows the heavenly elders offering bowls of incense that are 'the prayers of the holy ones,' meaning the saints actively participate in presenting prayers before God. The 'one mediator' passage in 1 Timothy 2:5 doesn't forbid intercessory prayer; in fact, two verses earlier (1 Timothy 2:1), Paul urges Christians to intercede for one another, which is exactly what the saints continue doing from heaven.
CCC 956 | CCC 2683 | Luke 20:38 | Revelation 5:8 | 1 Timothy 2:1-5
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 Photo: Vatican News
VATICAN NEWS
After praying the Angelus, Pope Leo XIV directly addressed the renewed Middle East conflict and Ukraine crisis, calling for an end to warfare and a return to diplomatic solutions. His personal appeal for peace stands as a pastoral response to today's most urgent global crises.
 Photo: CBS News
CBS News
Lawmakers from both parties paid tribute to Sen. Lindsey Graham after the longtime South Carolina Republican died Saturday.
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FAITH & THE WORLD |
Sirach 44:1-2 |
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"Now will I praise those godly people, our ancestors, each in his own time. The Most High allotted them great glory, his own majesty, from the beginning."
CCC 1807 (Justice as a Cardinal Virtue)
Public eulogies always polish the record, but the Catholic tradition calls us to something harder: pray for the dead honestly. The Church teaches that justice means rendering what is truly owed (CCC 1807), and what the dead are owed most is not applause but intercession.
Reflect → When someone you know dies, do you reach first for praise or for prayer?
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 Photo: ABC News
ABC News
Sam Neill, beloved for his roles in 'Jurassic Park' and 'Peaky Blinders,' has died at 78 after a battle with blood cancer.
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FAITH & THE WORLD |
Wisdom 2:23-24 |
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"For God formed us to be imperishable; the image of his own nature he made us. But by the envy of the devil, death entered the world, and they who are allied with him experience it."
CCC 1006 (Death and the Christian)
Neill once said publicly that he had no religious faith but found beauty in the world enough. The Church holds that every encounter with beauty is already an encounter with God, whether we name it or not (CCC 2500). His honesty about mortality, especially during his cancer battle, echoed the raw realism Scripture reserves for death.
Reflect → Have you ever sensed God in beauty before you had a word for what you were sensing?
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 Photo: Good News Network
Good News Network
Scientists found that a long-living desert mouse produces high concentrations of a longevity-linked protein, opening new doors for human aging research.
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FAITH & GOOD NEWS |
Psalm 104:24 |
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"How varied are your works, LORD! In wisdom you have made them all; the earth is full of your creatures."
CCC 339 (Each creature possesses its own goodness and perfection)
A tiny rodent in the desert holds secrets that could reshape human health. The Catechism reminds us that each creature reflects God's wisdom in its own irreplaceable way (CCC 339), so the next breakthrough in human flourishing might come not from a lab, but from paying attention to what God already built.
Reflect → What small, overlooked thing in creation has taught you something you didn't expect?
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DAILY WORD GAME
Test your Catholic vocabulary
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Saint of the Day |
July 13 |
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St. Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor
Henry II is the only Holy Roman Emperor canonized as a saint. He and his wife, St. Cunegunde, reportedly lived their entire marriage in voluntary celibacy, which the Church approved when it canonized them both. He also personally carried stones to help build the cathedral at Bamberg, which he founded.
His feast is July 13, and his life as a ruler who tried (imperfectly) to unite political power with genuine faith speaks directly to today's readings about worship that must be backed by justice, not just ritual.
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Trivia Answer
C . Isaiah shocks his audience by calling Jerusalem's leaders 'rulers of Sodom' (Isaiah 1:10), equating their injustice with the city God destroyed by fire. It was a deliberate provocation: the chosen people had become indistinguishable from the worst sinners in their own scriptures.
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