Good Wednesday morning. The world kept moving overnight. Here's what happened, and what your faith has to say about it.
✝ Wednesday of Holy Week
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Pope Leo XIV
Pope appeals to Trump and world leaders: Find solutions to end war
Pope Leo XIV directly called on world leaders, including Trump, to abandon the logic of conflict and return to the negotiating table to resolve their differences through dialogue. His urgent appeal comes as the Pope addresses the Iran war crisis dominating today's global headlines.
Response to World Events
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Matthew 26:14-25
"One of the Twelve, the man called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, ‘What are you prepared to give me if I hand him over to you. ’ They paid him thirty silver pieces, and from that moment he looked for an opportunity to betray him. Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus to say, ‘Where do you want us to make the preparations for you to eat the passover."
| Rosary Mystery of the Day | |
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Today's Mysteries |
Wednesday: Glorious Mysteries |
Glorious Mysteries
- 1. The Resurrection
- 2. The Ascension
- 3. The Descent of the Holy Spirit
- 4. The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
- 5. The Coronation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
The Objection
"Why do Catholics believe in Purgatory? It's not even in the Bible. It sounds like something the Church invented to scare people into giving money."
The Catholic Response
The concept appears in 2 Maccabees 12:46, where Judas Maccabeus makes atonement for fallen soldiers so they might be freed from sin, a passage that only makes sense if the dead can be purified. Jesus himself speaks of a sin that "will not be forgiven either in this age or in the age to come" (Matthew 12:32), implying that some sins can be forgiven after death. The Catechism teaches that Purgatory is not punishment but purification: "All who die in God's grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven" (CCC 1030). Far from a medieval money scheme, Purgatory is the Church's confidence that God's mercy doesn't stop at the moment of death.
CCC 1030-1032 | 2 Maccabees 12:46 | Matthew 12:32 | 1 Corinthians 3:15
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Test Your Faith IQ |
Scripture |
In today's Gospel, Judas is paid 30 pieces of silver to betray Jesus. The prophet Zechariah also mentions this exact amount. What does he say was done with the money?
- A) It was given to the poor
- B) It was thrown into the treasury of the Lord's house
- C) It was buried in a field
- D) It was melted down for a golden calf
Answer at the bottom of this newsletter.
 Photo: NPR
NPR
The president will address the nation on withdrawing from Iran within weeks while the Supreme Court hears arguments on birthright citizenship the same day.
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FAITH & THE WORLD |
Isaiah 50:6-7 |
"I gave my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who tore out my beard; my face I did not hide from insults and spitting. The Lord God is my help, therefore I am not disgraced."
CCC 2307-2309 (Just War Doctrine)
Today's first reading from Isaiah describes a servant who endures violence without retaliation, not out of weakness but out of trust in God's justice. The Church teaches that war is permissible only as a last resort and demands a "rigorous consideration" of strict conditions (CCC 2309); withdrawing troops is never a sign of defeat when it moves closer to the peace Christ commands.
Reflect → When you're in a conflict, personal or political, do you know the difference between retreating in fear and choosing peace on purpose?
 Photo: ABC News
ABC News
Luigi Mangione's attorneys are asking a federal judge to postpone his murder trial until next year.
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FAITH & THE WORLD |
Matthew 26:15 |
"He said, 'What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?' They paid him thirty pieces of silver."
CCC 2258 (Sanctity of Human Life)
Today's Gospel shows Judas reducing a human life to a transaction: thirty coins for the Son of God. The Catechism teaches that no grievance, however legitimate, justifies taking an innocent life (CCC 2258), because every person bears the image of God, even the ones running industries we despise.
Reflect → Has righteous anger ever tempted you to dehumanize someone you see as the villain?
 Photo: The Verge
The Verge
PlayStation 5 prices jump tomorrow by up to $150, triggering a last-minute rush to buy before the increase.
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FAITH & THE WORLD |
Matthew 6:19-20 |
"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and decay destroy, and thieves break in and steal. But store up treasures in heaven."
CCC 2536 (Tenth Commandment, Disordered Desire)
Artificial urgency is the oldest sales trick in the book, and it works because we're wired to fear loss more than we love gain. The Catechism warns against coveting goods beyond what we need (CCC 2536); a price hike on a console is not a crisis, it's a test of whether our spending serves our flourishing or just our restlessness.
Reflect → What's the last thing you bought in a panic that you barely use now?
 Photo: Good News Network
Good News Network
Retired Vancouverite Ruth Hasman has spent years lovingly repairing hundreds of damaged stuffed animals, restoring cherished childhood memories for their owners.
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FAITH & GOOD NEWS |
Psalm 147:3 |
"He heals the brokenhearted, and binds up their wounds."
CCC 2447 (Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy)
Ruth's tiny needle-and-thread repairs echo something enormous: God's own habit of restoring what the world tears apart. The spiritual works of mercy include comforting the afflicted (CCC 2447), and sometimes that comfort arrives in the shape of a re-stitched teddy bear that holds thirty years of someone's love.
Reflect → What small, even silly-seeming act of care could you offer someone today that might mean more than you realize?
 Photo: Positive.News
Positive.News
A US court has ruled that addiction is a designed feature of social media platforms, prompting fresh advice on reclaiming control of screen time.
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FAITH & GOOD NEWS |
1 Corinthians 6:12 |
"'Everything is lawful for me,' but not everything is beneficial. 'Everything is lawful for me,' but I will not let myself be dominated by anything."
CCC 1809 (Temperance)
Paul could have been writing about your notification settings. The virtue of temperance, which the Catechism calls the moral virtue that "moderates the attraction of pleasures and provides balance" (CCC 1809), is not about hating technology; it's about refusing to let an algorithm own the hours God gave you.
Reflect → If you tracked your screen time today, would you be proud of what got your best attention?
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DAILY WORD GAME
Test your Catholic vocabulary
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Saint of the Day |
April 1 |
Saint Hugh of Grenoble
Hugh was so overwhelmed by the corruption in his diocese that he tried to resign and flee to a monastery. The Pope refused his resignation and sent him back. He spent the next 40 years reforming Grenoble anyway, often battling depression the entire time. He also personally welcomed St. Bruno and his companions, giving them the remote land that became the Grande Chartreuse monastery.
His feast is April 1, and his lifelong struggle between wanting to escape and choosing to stay mirrors today's Gospel, where Jesus walks knowingly toward betrayal rather than running from it.
Trivia Answer
B . In Zechariah 11:13, the Lord says, 'Throw it to the potter,' and the money is cast into the treasury of the Lord's house. Matthew's Gospel explicitly cites this prophecy when Judas returns the silver and the priests use it to buy the potter's field.
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