Today in 10 Seconds
Gospel: A soldier's faith heals without a touch Rosary: Joyful Mysteries Pope: War never bears God's blessing, Pope declares CBS News: Soccer's biggest stage comes home to North America ABC News: Drone strike escalates U.S.-Iran tensions in Gulf Saint: A stolen icon finds its way to Rome
— † —
Matthew 8:5-17
"When Jesus went into Capernaum a centurion came up and pleaded with him. ‘Sir,’ he said ‘my servant is lying at home paralysed, and in great pain. ’ ‘I will come myself and cure him’ said Jesus."
| ? |
Test Your Faith IQ |
Liturgy |
|
|
In today's Gospel, we say a version of the centurion's words at every Mass ('Lord, I am not worthy...'). When did this formula officially enter the Roman Rite liturgy?
- A) The Council of Trent in 1570
- B) The earliest Roman sacramentaries (7th-8th century)
- C) The Second Vatican Council in 1969
- D) Pope Gregory the Great in 590 AD
Answer at the bottom of this newsletter.
|
 Photo: Vatican News
VATICAN NEWS
Pope Leo XIV celebrated the opening Mass of an Extraordinary Consistory, calling Cardinals to reflect on true freedom in faith while stressing that war is never worthy of human dignity. Speaking directly to a historic gathering of 178 cardinals, he emphasized the gift of peace as central to the Church's mission.
 Photo: CBS News
CBS News
The 2026 FIFA World Cup kicks off across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico with 104 games over five weeks, described as 'a Super Bowl every single day.'
| † |
FAITH & THE WORLD |
1 Corinthians 9:24-25 |
|
|
"Do you not know that the runners in the stadium all run in the race, but only one wins the prize? Run so as to win. Every athlete exercises discipline in every way."
CCC 2289 (Temperance and the body)
Paul didn't dismiss athletics; he borrowed from them. He saw in the stadium something the Church still teaches: the body is not a distraction from the spiritual life but a vehicle for it (CCC 2289). When billions pause to watch the same match, that shared attention is a flicker of the universal communion we were made for.
Reflect → What discipline in your daily life are you training for, and what's the prize you're actually running toward?
|
 Photo: ABC News
ABC News
U.S. forces struck targets in Iran after an Iranian drone hit a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz, escalating military tensions in the region.
| † |
FAITH & THE WORLD |
Lamentations 2:2 |
|
|
"The Lord has destroyed without pity all the dwellings of Jacob; he has torn down in his wrath the fortresses of daughter Judah."
Just War Doctrine (CCC 2307-2317)
Today's first reading from Lamentations is a war poem. It refuses to sanitize destruction, and the Church follows suit: CCC 2314 demands that "every act of war directed to the indiscriminate destruction of whole cities or vast areas" is a crime against God and humanity. Strikes and counterstrikes have real bodies underneath them.
Reflect → When you see another headline about military strikes, do you pause long enough to remember someone's child is underneath that news?
|
 Photo: Good Good Good
Good Good Good
A roundup of encouraging stories includes progress on wildlife crossings, coral reef restoration, and elk population recovery.
| † |
FAITH & GOOD NEWS |
Genesis 1:31 |
|
|
"God looked at everything he had made, and found it very good. Evening came, and morning followed,the sixth day."
Laudato Si' 33 (Pope Francis on biodiversity)
Pope Francis wrote that each creature lost is a prayer that will never be offered to God again (Laudato Si' 33). So each creature recovered is a prayer restored. Wildlife crossings and coral reefs aren't just environmental wins; they are acts of returning praise to its rightful owner.
Reflect → What small corner of creation near you could use your attention and care this week?
|
| Rosary Mystery of the Day | |
| † |
Today's Mysteries |
Saturday: Joyful Mysteries |
|
|
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
|
|
|
|
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
The saints aren't dead. Jesus himself said, 'He is not God of the dead but of the living' (Luke 20:38). The "one mediator" verse (1 Timothy 2:5) is in a passage where Paul literally asks Christians to pray for each other (1 Tim 2:1), which means intercession and Christ's unique mediation aren't in conflict. Revelation 5:8 shows the heavenly elders offering the prayers of the saints to God, which is exactly what Catholics believe the saints in heaven do. Asking a saint to pray for you is no different than asking a friend to pray for you, except the friend happens to be fully alive in Christ's presence.
CCC 956 | CCC 2683 | Luke 20:38 | Revelation 5:8 | 1 Timothy 2:1-5
|
|
DAILY WORD GAME
Test your Catholic vocabulary
|
 |
| † |
Saint of the Day |
June 27 |
|
|
Our Lady of Perpetual Help
The original icon was likely stolen from a church in Crete by a merchant who hid it in his belongings during a voyage. On his deathbed in Rome, he confessed his theft and begged that the image be displayed publicly. It sat forgotten in a private chapel for nearly 300 years before Pope Pius IX entrusted it to the Redemptorists in 1866, and devotion exploded worldwide almost overnight.
Her feast falls today, and the centurion in the Gospel models exactly the kind of bold, humble cry for help that this devotion is built on.
|
Trivia Answer
B . The prayer 'Domine, non sum dignus' appears in early medieval sacramentaries and was already established practice by the time of the oldest surviving Roman Ordos. Trent standardized it but did not originate it. You've been quoting a Roman centurion every Sunday for over 1,300 years.
|
|
