Today in 10 Seconds
Gospel: Prayer without pretense: God already knows Rosary: Luminous Mysteries Pope: Francis urges trust amid Middle East tensions NPR: Trump's Iran deal arrives with plummeting approval NPR: Obama's legacy gets its Chicago monument Saint: A bishop who printed peace in seven languages
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Matthew 6:7-15
"Jesus said to his disciples: ‘In your prayers do not babble as the pagans do, for they think that by using many words they will make themselves heard. Do not be like them; your Father knows what you need before you ask him. So you should pray like this: ‘Our Father in heaven, may your name be held holy, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven."
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Test Your Faith IQ |
Scripture |
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In today's Gospel, Jesus teaches the Our Father. How many of the seven petitions in the Lord's Prayer are directed toward God's glory (as opposed to human needs)?
- A) Two
- B) Three
- C) Four
- D) Five
Answer at the bottom of this newsletter.
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 Photo: Vatican News
VATICAN NEWS
Pope Leo XIV expressed his hopes for peace in the Middle East as the US and Iran prepare to sign an agreement, and appealed for an end to the war in Ukraine. The Pope's personal response directly addresses today's major world event.
 Photo: NPR
NPR
Trump signed a preliminary deal with Iran to end hostilities and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, even as his approval rating hits an all-time low.
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FAITH & THE WORLD |
Isaiah 32:17 |
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"The work of justice will be peace; the effect of justice, calm and security forever."
Pacem in Terris (John XXIII), CCC 2304
The Catechism teaches that peace is not merely the absence of war but "the work of justice and the effect of charity" (CCC 2304). John XXIII's Pacem in Terris insists that lasting peace between nations requires truth, justice, love, and freedom, not just signatures on paper. A deal that opens a shipping lane is a start; a deal that honors human dignity on both sides is peace.
Reflect → Where in your own life have you settled for a ceasefire when God is asking you to pursue real reconciliation?
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 Photo: NPR
NPR
The Obama Presidential Center opens in Chicago with a star-studded ceremony, featuring a museum focused on the former president's legacy rather than a traditional archive.
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FAITH & THE WORLD |
Sirach 44:1 |
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"Now will I praise those godly men, our ancestors, each in his own time."
CCC 1869, Social Doctrine of the Church
Today's first reading celebrates Elijah's legacy, and Sirach 44 opens an entire catalogue of honoring great figures. The Church teaches that remembering the past honestly, both its glories and its sins, is essential to building a just future (Compendium of Social Doctrine, 132). Every monument is a statement about what a culture chooses to remember and what it chooses to forget.
Reflect → What legacy are you building right now, and would you be comfortable if someone put it in a museum?
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 Photo: Good News Network
Good News Network
A Welsh council rejected the UK's last outstanding coal mining application, meaning no new coal mining proposals exist anywhere in the country.
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FAITH & GOOD NEWS |
Genesis 2:15 |
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"The Lord God then took the man and settled him in the garden of Eden, to cultivate and care for it."
Laudato Si' (Pope Francis), CCC 2415
Pope Francis wrote in Laudato Si' that "the earth, our home, is beginning to look more and more like an immense pile of filth" (LS 21), and that moving away from fossil fuels is a moral obligation, not just a policy preference. This small Welsh council decision is the kind of local courage Laudato Si' calls for: ordinary people choosing stewardship over short-term gain.
Reflect → What's one concrete way you could better care for creation this week, even if nobody notices?
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| Rosary Mystery of the Day | |
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Today's Mysteries |
Thursday: Luminous Mysteries |
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Luminous Mysteries
- 1. The Baptism of Christ in the Jordan
- 2. The Wedding Feast at Cana
- 3. The Proclamation of the Kingdom of God
- 4. The Transfiguration
- 5. The Institution of the Eucharist
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The Objection
"Why do Catholics pray to saints? The Bible says there is 'one mediator between God and man' (1 Timothy 2:5). Praying to saints is basically worshipping dead people."
The Catholic Response
Catholics don't worship saints; we ask them to pray for us, the same way you'd ask a friend to pray for you. The verse right before 1 Timothy 2:5 actually commands Christians to make "supplications, prayers, intercessions" for one another (1 Tim 2:1), so intercessory prayer is biblical. Death doesn't break the Body of Christ: Jesus said God "is not God of the dead but of the living" (Mark 12:27), and Revelation 5:8 shows the heavenly saints offering the prayers of the faithful like incense before God's throne. The Catechism (CCC 956) teaches that the saints in heaven are more alive in Christ than we are, and their intercession strengthens the whole Church.
CCC 956 | CCC 2683 | 1 Timothy 2:1-5 | Revelation 5:8 | Mark 12:27
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DAILY WORD GAME
Test your Catholic vocabulary
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Saint of the Day |
June 18 |
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St. Gregory Barbarigo
Gregory Barbarigo set up one of the first multilingual printing presses in Europe at his seminary in Padua. It printed texts in Arabic, Hebrew, and other languages because he believed you couldn't evangelize people you couldn't talk to. He spent his personal fortune on it and died nearly broke.
His feast day is June 18, and his passion for communication across cultures speaks directly to today's Iran diplomacy story: real peace requires actually understanding the other side.
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Trivia Answer
B . The first three petitions (hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done) are oriented toward God's glory. The final four address human needs: daily bread, forgiveness, temptation, and deliverance. The structure itself teaches us to put God first, then bring our needs to him.
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