Today in 10 Seconds
Gospel: Beware the righteous who devour the vulnerable Rosary: Joyful Mysteries Pope: Pope urges dialogue as Ukraine and Lebanon burn NPR: U.S. intercepts Iranian drones over Gulf waters CBS News: Senate candidate's abuse allegations surface before primary Saint: Lightning strike transforms pleasure-seeker into poverty preacher
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Mark 12:38-44
"In his teaching Jesus said,
‘Beware of the scribes who like to walk about in long robes, to be greeted obsequiously in the market squares, to take the front seats in the synagogues and the places of honour at banquets;
these are the men who swallow the property of widows, while making a show of lengthy prayers...
'Amen, I say to you, this poor widow put in more
than all the other contributors to the treasury.
For they have all contributed from their surplus wealth,
but she, from her poverty, has contributed all she had,
her whole livelihood.'"
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Test Your Faith IQ |
Scripture |
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In today's Gospel, the widow's two small coins are called 'lepta' in Greek. What was the approximate value of two lepta in first-century Palestine?
- A) About one day's wages for a laborer
- B) About 1/64th of a day's wages
- C) Enough to buy a loaf of bread
- D) The minimum temple tax required annually
Answer at the bottom of this newsletter.
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 Photo: Vatican News
VATICAN NEWS
On his way to Madrid, Pope Leo XIV spoke directly to journalists about the urgent need for dialogue in Ukraine and expressed his closeness to Lebanon, reiterating the Church's call for peace amid global conflicts.
 Photo: NPR
NPR
The U.S. military intercepted Iranian drones targeting Gulf allies as the Trump administration pressures Iran toward a negotiated end to the conflict.
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FAITH & THE WORLD |
Isaiah 2:4 |
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"They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; one nation shall not raise the sword against another, nor shall they train for war again."
Just War Doctrine (CCC 2307-2317)
The Catechism is blunt: "The gravity of such a decision makes it subject to rigorous conditions of moral legitimacy" (CCC 2309). Every drone launched or intercepted represents a failure of the peace that God wills for the nations, and the Church demands we exhaust every alternative before accepting the logic of escalation.
Reflect → Do you pray for peace as urgently as you follow the headlines about war?
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 Photo: CBS News
CBS News
A Maine Senate candidate faces allegations of physically abusive behavior toward women he dated, which he denies, just days before the primary.
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FAITH & THE WORLD |
Mark 12:40 |
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"They devour the houses of widows and, as a pretext, recite lengthy prayers. They will receive a very severe condemnation."
Human Dignity (CCC 2297, Mulieris Dignitatem)
Today's Gospel warns about leaders who exploit the vulnerable while performing piety for the cameras. John Paul II wrote in Mulieris Dignitatem that any violence against women "constitutes a violation of their personal dignity," and voters have a moral duty to weigh character, not just policy.
Reflect → When you evaluate leaders, do you weigh how they treat the people who can't do anything for them?
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 Photo: Good Good Good
Good Good Good
A roundup of uplifting stories celebrates wins for wildlife conservation and housing access this week.
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FAITH & GOOD NEWS |
Genesis 1:31 |
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"God looked at everything he had made, and found it very good. Evening came, and morning followed,the sixth day."
Laudato Si' (Pope Francis, 2015)
Pope Francis wrote that "each creature has its own purpose" and none is superfluous (Laudato Si' 84). Every rescued turtle and thriving bee colony is a small act of obedience to the first job God ever gave us: tend the garden.
Reflect → What one small thing could you do this week to care for a creature or a neighbor who needs shelter?
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| Rosary Mystery of the Day | |
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Today's Mysteries |
Saturday: 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 believe in Purgatory? It's not even in the Bible. It sounds like the Church invented a place to scare people into paying for indulgences."
The Catholic Response
The concept is deeply biblical. In 2 Maccabees 12:46, Judas Maccabeus makes atonement for the dead "that they might be freed from sin," which only makes sense if there's a state of purification after death. Jesus himself speaks of sins that "will not be forgiven either in this age or in the age to come" (Matthew 12:32), implying some sins can be resolved 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). Historical abuses of indulgences were real and were condemned by the Church itself, but the abuse of a doctrine does not invalidate the doctrine.
CCC 1030-1032 | 2 Maccabees 12:46 | Matthew 12:32 | 1 Corinthians 3:15
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DAILY WORD GAME
Test your Catholic vocabulary
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Saint of the Day |
June 6 |
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St. Norbert of Xanten
Norbert was a wealthy, pleasure-seeking courtier until a lightning bolt knocked him off his horse (sound familiar?). He gave away his entire fortune, was nearly killed by a mob for preaching poverty too aggressively, and then founded the Premonstratensian Order, which still exists today. He once ended a heresy debate by drinking from a chalice the heretics had supposedly poisoned, completely unharmed.
His feast is June 6, and his radical conversion from vanity to poverty perfectly mirrors today's Gospel about the widow who gave everything versus the scribes who took everything.
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Trivia Answer
B . A lepton was the smallest coin in circulation, worth about 1/128th of a denarius (a day's wage). Two lepta equaled roughly 1/64th of a day's pay. Jesus chose the tiniest possible amount to make the biggest possible point about generosity.
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