Good Sunday morning. The world kept moving overnight. Here's what happened, and what your faith has to say about it.
✝ 4th Sunday of Easter
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Pope Leo XIV
Response to World Events
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John 10:1-10
"Jesus said: ‘I tell you most solemnly, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold through the gate, but gets in some other way is a thief and a brigand. The one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the flock; the gatekeeper lets him in, the sheep hear his voice, one by one he calls his own sheep and leads them out. When he has brought out his flock, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow because they know his voice."
| Rosary Mystery of the Day | |
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Today's Mysteries |
Sunday: 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
"The idea of Purgatory isn't in the Bible. Catholics just made it up in the Middle Ages to scare people and sell indulgences."
The Catholic Response
Jesus himself speaks of a sin that "will not be forgiven either in this age or in the age to come" (Matthew 12:32), which implies some sins can be forgiven after death. Paul describes being saved "but only as through fire" (1 Corinthians 3:15), pointing to a purification after death for those who are ultimately saved. The practice of praying for the dead goes back to 2 Maccabees 12:46, well before the medieval period, and the early Church Father Tertullian wrote about prayers for the dead around 210 AD. The Council of Trent clarified the doctrine and condemned abuses around indulgences, but the core teaching that God's mercy purifies us for heaven is ancient, biblical, and rooted in God's holiness (CCC 1030-1032).
CCC 1030-1032 | Matthew 12:32 | 1 Corinthians 3:15 | 2 Maccabees 12:46
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Test Your Faith IQ |
Church History |
In today's Gospel, Jesus calls himself 'the gate' for the sheep. Which ancient Roman catacomb features the earliest known image of Jesus as the Good Shepherd?
- A) Catacomb of Domitilla
- B) Catacomb of Priscilla
- C) Catacomb of San Callisto
- D) Catacomb of Commodilla
Answer at the bottom of this newsletter.
 Photo: NPR
NPR
A shooting at the White House Correspondents' Dinner derailed momentum in Iran peace talks, with the Iranian foreign minister returning to Islamabad as negotiations stall.
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FAITH & THE WORLD |
Isaiah 32:17 |
"The work of justice will be peace; the effect of justice, calm and security forever."
Just War Doctrine / CCC 2304
The Catechism defines peace not as the mere absence of war but as "the work of justice" (CCC 2304). When violence at home and war abroad compete for headlines, both reveal the same fracture: a world trying to build security on something other than justice, and finding that the foundation keeps cracking.
Reflect → Where in your own life are you settling for a fragile ceasefire when real justice still needs doing?
 Photo: ABC News
ABC News
A suspect who reportedly intended to target administration officials is in custody after a shooting at the annual White House Correspondents' dinner in Washington, D.C.
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FAITH & THE WORLD |
Genesis 4:9-10 |
"Then the LORD asked Cain, 'Where is your brother Abel?' He answered, 'I do not know. Am I my brother's keeper?' The LORD then said: 'What have you done? Your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground!'"
Fifth Commandment / CCC 2258
Every act of political violence tries to turn a person into a symbol. But CCC 2258 is blunt: human life is sacred because every person bears the image of God, and no grievance, ideology, or rage can override that reality. Cain's question, "Am I my brother's keeper?", is still the wrong question.
Reflect → Have you let anger at a political figure quietly erode your sense of their basic humanity?
 Photo: The Verge
The Verge
A tech journalist switched to Linux full-time and found the open-source operating system more than capable of replacing Windows for everyday use.
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FAITH & THE WORLD |
John 10:9 |
"I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture."
Universal Destination of Goods / CCC 2402-2406
Open-source software echoes something Catholic Social Teaching calls the universal destination of goods: knowledge and tools exist to serve all people, not just those who can pay the gatekeeper (CCC 2402). Today's Gospel gives us Jesus calling himself the Gate, the one access point that never charges admission and never locks anyone out.
Reflect → What knowledge or resource do you have that you could share more freely?
 Photo: Good News Network
Good News Network
On this day 106 years ago, the Smithsonian hosted its first "Great Debate" on whether spiral nebulae were distant galaxies or part of our own Milky Way.
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FAITH & GOOD NEWS |
Psalm 19:2 |
"The heavens declare the glory of God; the firmament proclaims the works of his hands."
Faith and Reason / Fides et Ratio (John Paul II)
The Church has never feared the telescope. John Paul II wrote in Fides et Ratio that faith and reason are "like two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth." Every galaxy discovered is another line in a love letter we're still learning to read.
Reflect → When was the last time you looked up at the night sky and let it make you feel small in the best possible way?
 Photo: Upworthy
Upworthy
Gen Xers are sharing the humble home-cooked meals from their childhood that they still cook today, from sloppy joes to pizza bread.
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FAITH & GOOD NEWS |
Luke 24:30-31 |
"And it happened that, while he was with them at table, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them. With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him."
Domestic Church / CCC 1657
The disciples recognized Jesus in the breaking of bread. CCC 1657 calls the family the "domestic church," and every family dinner table, even one serving Hamburger Helper, is a place where love gets passed along with the salt. The recipes we inherit are small sacramentals of belonging.
Reflect → What meal from your childhood still makes you feel at home, and who gave you that gift?
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DAILY WORD GAME
Test your Catholic vocabulary
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Saint of the Day |
April 26 |
Our Lady of Good Counsel
In 1467, a fresco of the Madonna and Child appeared on a thin layer of plaster on a church wall in Genazzano, Italy. It arrived during a town festival, seemingly from nowhere, and the plaster it's painted on is so thin it should have crumbled centuries ago. Scientists still can't explain how the image adheres to the wall without any visible support.
Her feast falls on April 26, and today's Gospel about the sheep knowing the Shepherd's voice is a perfect echo of seeking good counsel from the one Voice that matters.
Trivia Answer
B . The Catacomb of Priscilla, dating to the late 2nd or early 3rd century, contains one of the oldest depictions of Christ as the Good Shepherd carrying a sheep on his shoulders. It predates the legalization of Christianity by over a century, showing how central this image was to the earliest believers.
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