Tag: Christianity

One of the magnificent facets of our Catholic faith is our belief of Jesus’ true presence in the Eucharist. When we look at life through the lens of God’s sacrifice and his desire to give himself perpetually to us in holy Communion, everything looks different.

We look different to ourselves: worthy, dignified, an object of immeasurable divine love. Our brothers and sisters gain their true stature in our eyes. Our churches and sanctuaries appear as they are: holy and sacred spaces where we meet God. Our troubles and weaknesses look smaller, standing beside the infinitude of tenderness of a Savior who stayed to dwell among us. 

You may be reading this and nodding along, secure in your own appreciation of the Eucharist. But here is a sobering fact: a 2019 Pew survey found that only one-third of practicing Catholics understand that Jesus is truly present in the Eucharist. I would suggest that behind this sad statistic is a world of hurt and dysfunction, and the reason for things like empty pews, the decline of marriage, the collapse of childbearing, and a general loss of hope in our culture.

The new film “Jesus Thirsts: The Miracle of the Eucharist,” proposes to rescue Catholics, and non-Catholics, from this tragic confusion. 

To do so, the film calls on notable Catholic figures to help explore the biblical origin of the Eucharist: its centrality in God’s plan of salvation, prefigured and anticipated in centuries of prophecy and revelation. Theologian and Angelus contributor Scott Hahn, Supreme Knight of Columbus Patrick Kelly, and writer and speaker Chris Stefanick are among the list of voices included in the movie. Their insights go a long way in helping viewers approach an understanding of what is, at bottom, a physical reality wrapped in an ineffable mystery. 

The spiritual impact of an encounter with the Real Presence is traced as it runs through a prison population of men serving life sentences for heinous crimes, presented by the sympathetic Jim Wahlberg (film producer and brother of A-list actor Mark). The peace we see in those faces poses viewers with a question: What power could be hidden in that wafer of bread? 

A scene depicting Eucharistic adoration in a dusty and impoverished village in Uganda invites reflection on material poverty and spiritual richness. Then there’s the story of Cardinal Van Thuan of Vietnam, who spent 13 years in a Communist prison and sustained himself by celebrating the Mass secretly in solitary confinement, using drops of wine and crumbs of Communion host smuggled in by family members. (He didn’t just survive his captivity through the grace of the Eucharist. He flourished, converting the guards who were blessed enough to be near him.)

Eucharistic heroes like the New York-based Sisters of Life are featured in the film, inviting strangers passing by to join them in adoration at St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Their happiness and innocence is infectious, and the reason for their joy is intriguing, even to the areligious. In Chicago we see a Spanish-speaking parish where a large monstrance containing the Blessed Sacrament is embedded in a statue of the Virgin Mary styled as the Ark of the Covenant. The Eucharistic life is richer, higher, more glad and loving, than we can imagine. 

This beautifully shot, wide-ranging documentary succeeds in large part thanks to the passion for apostolate that its creators brought to the project. The film understands that in a secular culture often inimical to faith, the arts need to be reclaimed for their proper purpose: the ennobling and lifting of the human spirit. It’s no accident that the film coincides with the high point of the National Eucharistic Revival, launched with the hope of helping Catholics rediscover the source and summit of our faith. 

“Jesus Thirsts” enjoyed a wildly successful limited run the first weekend of June across the country, selling out and becoming the second-highest grossing documentary of 2024 so far. Because of popular demand, Fathom Films will bring it back to theaters June 18 and 19. 

Don’t miss this lovely work, or the opportunity to bring a friend or family member to an encounter with the magnificent reality of the Eucharist.

For more information about “Jesus Thirsts,” visit JesusThirstsFilm.com.

Holy Grand Duchess Tatiana Nikolaevna Romanova June 11 (May 29 according to the old calendar) this year was the 127th anniversary of the birth of the second daughter of Emperor Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna—Grand Duchess Tatiana Nikolaevna Romanova.

Grand Duchess Tatiana Nikolaevna was born on June 11 (May 29), 1897 and was the second child of the Romanov Imperial couple.

“1897, May 29. The second bright, happy day in our family life: at 10:40 a.m., the Lord blessed us with a daughter, Tatiana,” St. Nicholas II wrote in his diary.

The newborn was baptized by the Imperial Family’s father-confessor, Protopresbyter John Yanyshev, on June 8 of the same year at the church of the Grand Palace of Peterhof. During the sacrament, the Empress Dowager Maria Feodorovna, the newborn’s grandmother, awarded the Order of St. Catherine to the Grand Duchess.

Tatiana was one of the four daughters of Emperor Nicholas II: Rare Photos from Family AlbumsWe here present rare photographs of the tsar from 1907 to 1915 from six family albums that were taken abroad by the empress’ lady-in-waiting Anna Vyrubova.

“>St. Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna. Grand Princess Olga Nicholaevna RomanovaGrand Princess Olga Nicholaevna (1895-1918), the first child of Emperor Nicholai II and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, was born on November 3, 1895. “>Grand Duchesses Olga (b. 1895) and Tatiana were informally called the “elder pair”, while the sisters Maria (b. 1899) and Anastasia (b. 1901) were nicknamed the “younger pair”.

Grand Duchess Tatiana Nikolaevna with her mother Princess Tatiana looked like Empress Alexandra Feodorovna.

“Tatiana Nikolaevna took after her mother—she was tall and thin,” recalled A.A. Taneyeva (Vyrubova), a close friend of the Royal Family. “The Emperor told me that Tatiana Nikolaevna strongly reminded him of the Empress in her character and manners.”

The head of the Court Chancellery, Lieutenant General A.A. Mosolov, comparing her to her older sister Olga, wrote:

“Tatiana was taller, thinner and slimmer than her sister, her face was oblong, her entire figure was more elegant and aristocratic, and her hair was a little darker than that of the older one. In my opinion, Tatiana Nikolaevna was the most beautiful of the four sisters.”

Grand Duchesses Olga and Tatiana Romanov “Tatiana Nikolaevna was twenty years old, she was dark blonde, thin, and elegant. She was her older sister’s opposite. She was withdrawn, reserved, focused and independent. Her sphere was housework, needlework, and everyday household life. Thanks to such traits of her character she, and not Olga Nikolaevna, was seen as the eldest daughter in the family. She resembled her mother more than all the other sisters and was her closest friend and adviser,” the investigator N.A. Sokolov wrote about Princess Tatiana Nikolaevna.

Courtiers noted Tatiana Nikolaevna’s deep nature—she was a person of integrity—along with her exceptional kindness and friendliness. Graceful and very feminine, she won people’s hearts with her beauty and intelligence. Shy by nature and outwardly restrained, she was reticent by character, because of which outsiders often accused her of being arrogant and proud, which was not true. The princess had amazing composure; she was notable for her organization and firmness of purpose. Tatiana developed a sense of duty and a penchant for order.

Princess Tatiana was a leader among the royal children and helped her parents raise them.

“She… would always stop the sisters and remind them of their mother’s will, for which they constantly called her, ‘governess’,” wrote A.A. Taneyeva.

Whenever the Empress was unwell or her brother Alexei was ill, Tatiana, like the other sisters, cared for them tenderly. According to her contemporaries, due to her mother’s illness, Tatiana often had to keep house and preserve order in it. She loved to embroider and knit; she sewed blouses for herself and her sisters and knew how to make beautiful coiffures. Everyone who came into close contact with the Royal Family testified that Tatiana was very practical and quick to cope with various life situations.

Let us give the floor to people who knew the Grand Duchesses intimately.

Pierre Gilliard with his students, Grand Duchesses Olga and Tatiana in Livadia, 1911     

Those Who Remained FaithfulThe names of the faithful servants and close ones who voluntarily shared imprisonment and exile to Siberia with the Royal Family are inscribed forever on the pages of Russia’s glory.

“>Pierre Gilliard, who taught French to the Tsar’s children, wrote:

“Tatiana Nikolaevna was rather restrained by nature; she had a strong will, but was less open and spontaneous than her older sister. She was less naturally intelligent than Olga, but this disadvantage was made up for by her great consistency and even temper. She was very beautiful, although she lacked the charm of Olga Nikolaevna… With her beauty and natural ability to conduct herself in high society perfectly, she overshadowed her sister who was less concerned with her own person and was less conspicuous. Nevertheless, these two sisters loved each other dearly; there was only a year and a half age difference, which naturally brought them closer.”

Empress Maria Feodorovna’s lady-in-waiting S.Ya. Ofrosimova recalled scenes of the past in emigration:

“Grand Duchess Tatiana Nikolaevna is sitting to my right. She is a Grand Duchess from head to toe; how aristocratic and royal she is! Her face is lusterless and pale, only her cheeks show a little pink, as if pink satin were breaking through from under her thin skin. Her profile is immaculately beautiful, as if sculpted from marble by a great artist’s chisel. Her eyes are far apart, which makes her face original and distinctive… She laughs less often than her sisters. Sometimes her face has a concentrated and stern expression. She looks like her mother at these moments. There are traces of intense thought and sometimes even sadness on the pale features of her face. I feel without words that there is a whole closed and original world inside her.”

S. K. Buxhoeveden, Olga and Tatiana Nikolaevna, 1914     

Baroness S.K. Buxhoeveden wrote of Tatiana Nikolaevna:

“She had beautiful, regular features… She possessed a mixture of sincerity, straightforwardness and perseverance, along with a penchant for poetry and abstract ideas… she had a practical mind inherited from her mother the Empress and a detailed approach to everything.”

A. A. Vyrubova, Alexandra Fedorovna and Yu. A. Dehn     

Yulia von Dehn, the Tsarina’s friend, recalled:

“Grand Duchess Tatiana Nikolaevna was as charming as her older sister, but in her own way… She had a poetic nature and longed for true friendship… She was fresh, fragile and as pure as a rose.”

“She was a young lady of a well-developed character and an open, honest and pure nature… She helped in her mother’s illness, doing the chores and taking care of Alexei Nikolaevich. She was smart, cultivated, and loved to keep house,” this is how Colonel E.S. Kobylinsky, the Commander of the Special Detachment at Tsarskoye Selo, described her.

A.A. Taneyeva recalled:

“Everyone loved her—the household, the tutors, and those in military hospitals.”

All memoirists agree that of the four sisters Tatiana was the closest to her mother: she always tried to lavish care and attention on her and hear her out. Their English teacher Charles Gibbes (later Archimandrite Nicholas) testified, “In my opinion, the Empress loved Tatiana more than her other daughters.” This opinion was shared by the tutor Claudia Bitner: “She was the closest person to the Empress. They were two friends.”

Tatiana had an excellent home education. She knew foreign languages, read a lot, including spiritual literature, played the piano perfectly, and drew fairly well. She attended theaters and concerts with her parents. Tatiana was the commander of the Ulan Cavalry Regiment, and therefore considered herself to be an Ulan and was very proud of it. Together with the Emperor she took part in military parades, sitting in the saddle graciously.

Alexander I Karađorđević In 1914, when Grand Duchess Tatiana turned seventeen, the family began to speak about her possible marriage. Among the suitors was the Serbian King Peter I’s son, Alexander. In order to meet the princess he and his father arrived in St. Petersburg, and they almost agreed on their future marriage, but the First World War broke out and prevented the wedding. Despite this, Tatiana and Alexander continued to correspond.

During the First World War, Tatiana, along with her mother and sister Olga, labored as a nurse at the Tsarskoye Selo Hospital, where she bandaged purulent wounds and assisted in operations. T.E. Melnik-Botkina, the daughter of the physician Eugene Botkin, who treated the Tsarina and Tsarevich Alexei, recalled:

“‘I marvel at their capacity for work,’ my father used to tell me about the Royal Family. ‘Grand Duchess Tatiana Nikolaevna, for example, before going to the military hospital gets up at seven in the morning to take a lesson, then they both go to do bandaging, then breakfast, lessons again, visiting all the sick, and once evening comes, they immediately set about doing needlework or reading.’”

Tatiana Eugenievna Botkina     

She also recalled:

“Doctor Derevenko, who had very high expectations for his nurses, told me after the Revolution that he had rarely met such a calm, adroit and able surgical nurse as Tatiana Nikolaevna.”

Head of the Chancellery of the Imperial Court, Lieutenant General Alexander Alexandrovich Mosolov A.A. Mosolov wrote about Grand Duchesses Olga and Tatiana:

“Not only did they perform the duties of ordinary nurses in the full sense of the word, but they also assisted with great skill in complex operations… Tatiana was the most serious and self-restrained of all.”

She went to the military hospital every day, even on her name day.

A few weeks after the outbreak of the First World War, the Grand Duchess established the Committee of Her Imperial Highness Grand Duchess Tatiana Nikolaevna for the Temporary Relief of Victims of War. The Committee provided aid to civilians affected by the war, facilitated the sending of refugees to their homeland, helped those capable of working find employment, had invalids admitted to almshouses and asylums, and paid benefits to refugees from collected donations.

Holy Grand Duchess Tatiana Nikolaevna Romanova On behalf of Princess Tatiana, her appeal was published in newspapers:

“The war has devastated and scattered millions of our civilians: unfortunate refugees, homeless and starving, are looking for food. The Government, public and national institutions, private benefactors and my Committee are helping refugees, but their need is so great that only the whole nation can cover it.

“Please, generous people, warm refugees spiritually and physically and comfort them with the awareness that you understand their hopeless grief. Keep in mind the testament of the Lord: For I was an hungred, and ye gave Me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave Me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took Me in (Mt. 25:35). November 9, 1915, Tsarskoye Selo. TATIANA.”

The princess took to heart the tragedy into which the First World War had plunged Russia. Here is Tatiana’s letter dated August 15, 1915, addressed to her parents:

“I am praying all the time for both of you, my dears, that God will help you in this terrible time. I just can’t express how sorry I feel for you, my beloved. It’s such a pity that I can’t help you… I bless you, my beloved parents. I kiss You and dear Dad many times… Your loving and faithful daughter Tatiana.”

Indeed Tatiana was a loving and obedient daughter, as evidenced by her letters. Here is another letter written on Christmas Day, 1916:

“My precious, dear Mama, I am praying that God will help you now in this terrible, difficult time. May He bless and protect you from all evil, my dearest angel and Mother…”

The officer Semyon Pavlov, who was treated at the Tsarskoye Selo Hospital, made interesting observations:

“If Grand Duchess Olga was the embodiment of femininity and special endearment, Grand Duchess Tatiana was undoubtedly the embodiment of courageousness, energy and strength… Grand Duchess Tatiana evoked a feeling of a deep respect…”

Dmitry Yakovlevich Malama in the uniform of the graduating class of the Page Corps of His Imperial Majesty, 1912 Dmitry Yakovlevich Malama, a cornet of the Life Guards of the Cavalry Regiment of Lancers, who underwent treatment at the Tsarskoye Selo Hospital, was in love with Princess Tatiana. It seems that Tatiana also liked him. The Empress had a benevolent attitude towards the young man as well—she wrote to her husband:

“My little Malama spent an hour with me last night, after dinner at Anya’s… I must admit that he could make an excellent son–in-law. Why aren’t foreign princes like him?”

According to his relatives, on learning about the execution of the Royal Family, Dmitry Malama began to seek death deliberately and was killed in the summer of 1919 in a cavalry attack near Tsaritsyn.

After the February Revolution Tatiana and her family were arrested in Tsarskoye Selo. The Tsar and his daughters had to lay out a vegetable garden in the park and grow vegetables to survive. They sawed up dead trees in the woods for the stove. St. Nicholas II wrote in his diary on his daughter’s birthday:

“Dear Tatiana has turned twenty. I went for a long walk with all the children in the morning. At noon there was a prayer service. In the afternoon we spent three hours in the garden, two of which I spent working in the woods.”

There was no grand reception at the palace that day on the occasion of Grand Duchess Tatiana’s birthday.

St. Nicholas II’s eldest daughter, Grand Duchess Olga, sits a little apart, followed by Emperor Nicholas II, Tsarevich Alexei, Grand Duchesses Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia. Tobolsk     

On August 1, 1917, the family of the former Emperor Nicholas II was exiled to Tobolsk. Here is an excerpt from Tatiana’s letter from Tobolsk to her maid of honor Margarita Khitrovo:

“Everything that is being done to our poor Motherland is so painful and sad, but there is one hope that God will not forsake us and will bring the madmen to reason.”

On April 22, 1918, by order from Moscow it was decided to transfer the royal prisoners from Tobolsk to Ekaterinburg. However, due to the Tsarevich’s serious illness the whole family could not go to Ekaterinburg. The Emperor, the Tsarina and Princess Maria went, while the sick Alexei was left in the care of his sisters. Tatiana ran the household. Colonel E.S. Kobylinsky recalled:

“After the departure of the Emperor and the Empress from Tobolsk, hardly anyone noticed Olga Nikolaevna’s seniority. Whenever something was needed, everybody always turned to Tatiana: ‘As Tatiana Nikolaevna says…’”

When Tsarevich Alexei got a little better, the princesses, their tutors and servants went to Ekaterinburg under guard. On the arrival of the train in Ekaterinburg, the royal children, the sailor Klimenty Nagorny (the personal assistant of the Tsarevich) and several servants were taken to the carriages waiting for them. The Englishman Charles Sidney Gibbes (later Archimandrite Nicholas) wrote in his reminiscences that through a carriage window he had seen Tatiana Nikolaevna, sinking ankle-deep in mud, carrying a heavy suitcase in one hand and the Tsarevich’s beloved dog in the other. Nagorny wanted to help her, but the guard roughly pushed him away.

​In the Ipatiev House on the site of the Royal Family’s execution     

During the persecution, the Royal Family was especially united, carrying their indestructible faith through all the hardships and suffering. On the last day of their lives Alexandra Feodorovna made the following entry in her diary:

“Everyone went for a walk for half an hour in the morning… When they left, Tatiana stayed with me, and we read the books of the Prophets Obadiah and Amos together…”

In difficult moments of severe ordeal Grand Duchess Tatiana did not lose heart. The last entry in her diary, made in Ekaterinburg, was a quotation from St. John of Kronstadt:

“Your sorrow is indescribable, the Savior’s sorrow in the Garden of Gethsemane for the sins of the world is immeasurable; unite your sorrow with His and in this you will find solace.”

Nicholas II, Alexandra Feodorovna, their children, Dr. Botkin and their three servants were shot. Tatiana did not die immediately; the bullets were hampered by diamonds sewn into her corsets. She was finished off with bayonets.

On August 20, 2000, Grand Duchess Tatiana, along with Emperor Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, her sisters Olga, Maria, Anastasia and brother Tsarevich Alexei were canonized as New Martyrs of Russia at the Jubilee Bishops’ Council of the Russian Orthodox Church. Earlier, in 1981, they were canonized by ROCOR.

Holy Royal Martyrs, pray to God for us!

A fragment of the painting on the vault of the Resurrection Cathedral of the Moscow Sretensky Monastery. The Royal Martyrs are in the center. Photo: Chebotar Alexander Mircevic / temples.ru   

St. Albert Chmielowski was born in Igolomia, Poland, on August 20, 1845, as Adam Hilary Bernard. His family was wealthy and aristocratic, and Adam was the oldest of their four children.

At the age of 18, Adam lost his leg fighting an insurrection against Czar Alexander III. He then became a popular artist in Krakow, which led him to study in Warsaw, Munich, and Paris.

Adam felt God’s call to a life of service, and returned to Krakow in 1874. He became a Secular Franciscan, taking the name Albert, and dedicating himself to the care of the poor. In 1887, he founded the Brothers of the Third Order of St. Francis, Servants of the Poor, also known as the Albertines or the Gray Brothers. A few years later, he founded a community of Albertine sisters, the Gray Sisters.

The Albertines organized food and shelter for the homeless and poor. Albert preached consistently on the importance of giving aid to suffering individuals, and the great crisis that resulted from ignoring their plight.

St. Albert died on Christmas day in 1916. He was canonized on November 12, 1989, by Pope John Paul II.

In 1949, Pope John Paul II, then Father Karol Wojtyla, wrote a well-received play about Albert, called “Our God’s Brother.” The pope later said that he was inspired in his own vocation by the life of St. Albert, who left a world of literature, art, and theater to make a radical choice for the priesthood.

Photo: ​varnitsy.spb.ru     

We Christians are truly blessed to profess the true Orthodox faith! As the Apostle Paul says, For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God (Ephesians 2:8). Indeed, our faith is a divine gift, brought to us from heaven by our Savior, Jesus Christ! Before the coming of Jesus Christ, people did not know the true God and walked in the darkness of ignorance. After the flood, most people forgot God to such an extent that they began to worship many gods. Instead of the one true God, they venerated various creations of God; for example, they worshiped the heavenly bodies—the sun, the moon, and the stars. They deified humans, revered domestic animals as gods, worshiped various wild beasts and even reptiles, and ultimately prayed to all kinds of depictions of objects—idols.

The doctrines of paganism were so abhorrent to God that they even involved human sacrifices to their gods. Such was the spiritual blindness and ignorance that engulfed humanity at that time. The faith in the true God was preserved only among the chosen people of God—the Jews. But even among them, very few were true worshippers of the Almighty God. These were the patriarchs, prophets, and others who pleased God with their faith and life. The rest of the Jews vacillated between true faith in God and constant lapses into idolatry. They often reduced all piety and godliness to mere ritual observance and external sanctity.

Generally speaking, before the birth of Christ, people forgot God and indulged in wayward passions and sinful, sensual pleasures.

But then, from Bethlehem, the Sun of Righteousness, Christ our God, began to shine, and the rays of this Sun reached all corners of the world. The Gospel teaching was spread across the earth by Christ’s apostles—humble, uneducated, and modest fishermen. And what did we see then and continue to see now? Wherever the benevolent light of Christ penetrates, everything in people changes. Gross misconceptions are dispelled, harsh manners are softened, pure and elevated concepts of God and humanity are established. Lawfulness is instituted, and prosperity flourishes in homes and human societies.

Such are, in general, the fruits of the Christian faith proclaimed by Jesus Christ.

How can one possibly describe the benevolence of the Christian faith and enumerate all the blessings it bestows upon humanity? Consider the personal life of an individual. Should one suffer the loss of a home or property, or be struck by illness or another misfortune, the holy faith teaches us that God is chastening us for our sins, urging us towards repentance and the amendment of our lives. If we lose loved ones dear to our hearts—an unbearable, overwhelming grief! How can this sorrow be alleviated? Let us turn to God, in whom we believe, and pour out our prayerful tears with faith and hope, believing that the Lord of life and death will reward them with a better life and grant us the grace to see them again, alive and immortal.

In the end, holy faith works miracles. What can’t those who truly believe, strengthened by the power of God, accomplish? All believers can perform miracles, for faith is like a hand by which one receives God’s power and accomplishes deeds beyond natural human abilities. The Savior said, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also (John 14:12); All things are possible to him that believeth (Mark 9:23). Indeed, the history of the Christian Church is filled with countless and astonishing examples of the miraculous power of faith. One such example is found in the life of St. Sylvester, Pope of Rome.

St. Sylvester was the bishop in Rome during the blessed reign of Constantine the Great, who brought peace to the Christian Church and protected it from the assaults of Jews and pagans. Yet, the age-old struggle of Christianity against its enemies did not cease within the Christian communities, even after the external prosperity of the Church had been secured. These adversaries, once wielding fire and sword, now sought to use more subtle, sharp, and penetrating weapons—words—hoping to shake the minds of faithful Christians with crafty arguments and vain rhetoric.

In Rome, during the episcopacy of St. Sylvester, a public debate was arranged by the Jews, in the presence of Emperor Constantine and his mother Helena. This debate demonstrated the grace-filled power of the name of Christ. Zambri, a famous and reputedly wise rabbi among the Jews, argued with St. Sylvester using the Old Testament Scriptures. However, being clearly defeated by the undeniable testimonies of the Scriptures about Christ, he proposed to demonstrate the power and superiority of his Jewish faith through action. He claimed that to him had been revealed the divine name, powerful and dreadful, which no human nature could endure without falling dead upon hearing it. Zambri challenged them to bring any animal, even the fiercest one, and promised that as soon as he whispered the divine name into its ear, it would instantly die. They brought a wild ox, and Zambri indeed caused its immediate death by whispering some words over it.

The Jews celebrated their triumph, but St. Sylvester addressed them, saying, “In the sacred books, the Lord Himself says, I kill and I make alive: I wound, and I heal (Deuteronomy 32:39). If Zambri truly killed by the name of God, let him revive the animal by the same name, for God in His essence is All-Good and turns even evil into good.” Here the contrast and vanity of the Jewish faith compared to the Christian faith were fully revealed. Zambri could not manifest the grace-filled power of the divine name because he acted not by it, but by the power given by the evil one for his sorcery. St. Sylvester, on the other hand, was endowed with the grace-filled power of God and did not hesitate to demonstrate it to all. After offering a prayer to the Lord Jesus aloud, the holy bishop revived the ox and thereby solemnly testified to the benevolence of the Christian faith before all.

From this example, we understand that we Christians now live in days of God’s favor, For ye are not under the law, but under grace (Romans 6:14). Therefore, we should not feel bound by the yoke of servile fear in our relationship with God. Instead, we should live as beloved children of God, with full assurance that all things work together for good to them that love God (Romans 8:28), and that it is unbecoming of a Christian to harbor any superstitious fear of created beings, having such a mighty protection in the great and name of Jesus, worthy of all worship. Whatever unexpected misfortune may befall us, whatever evil circumstance may burden us, whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved (Romans 10:13).

There is only one thing we must fear above all: that through our unbelief or unrighteous life, we might lose the grace-filled help of the Lord. Therefore, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity (2 Timothy 2:19), and let the name of God be hallowed in our lives. Then, the invincible power of the name of the Lord Jesus, invoked in our prayers with faith, will not depart from us.

St. John Francis Regis was born in 1597. His father was a wealthy merchant, and his mother was descended from nobility. When John was young, he was devout, and eager to please his parents and teachers. He was educated by the Jesuits from the age of 14, and entered the Society of Jesus in 1616. 

John followed the traditional Jesuit path of teaching and studying, and found that he was a skilled catechist. He was eager to enter the priesthood, offering his first Mass in 1631. For the rest of that year, John spent most of his time caring for victims of a plague outbreak in Toulouse. 

In 1632, John was assigned as a missionary to the French Protestants, known as Huguenots, as well as the country’s lapsed Catholics. He spent the rest of his life in service of this mission. 

John’s missionary work spanned 50 districts of France and a wide social spectrum. He preached the Gospel to children, prisoners, the poor, and the forgotten. He was well-known for helping women escape prostitution. 

John’s work led to many conversions, but his boldness, which some perceived as arrogance, led to conflicts with other priests, a period of tension with the local bishop, and even threats from those whose vices he condemned. 

John persevered, praying fervently and living an ascetic lifestyle. He often traveled through difficult winter conditions, and one witness at his beatification testified that John often preached outdoors all day, then heard confessions throughout the night. 

At the age of 43, John died, in December 1640. He had suffered from a sickness in his lungs, but insisted on preaching a parish mission and hearing confessions. A penitent found him unconscious in the confessional, and he only came to long enough to receive last rites before dying. 

St. John Francis Regis was beatified in 1716 and canonized in 1737. He is hailed as a confessor of the faith and a model for Jesuit missionaries. Although his feast day was established on June 16, the Jesuits celebrate St. John on July 2. 

Brothers and sisters, unfortunately, in the modern world the gap between rich and poor countries is increasing, and the folly into which contemporary man is falling because of money is beyond limits. That is why the number of conflicts of all kinds is growing all over the world and armed attacks are often committed in the name of religion. From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts (Jas. 4:1–3). Thus, man, maddened by his pleasures, destroys God’s Creation, mercilessly exploiting his fellow human beings and ruining himself as well.

    

When someone forgets God and no longer lives according to His commandments, which were given to mankind in order to cultivate life and protect it, and, even worse, puts himself (in his extreme madness) in God’s place, he already lives and acts against his own nature, against his own kind and against all Creation. He is guided by the motto: “If there is no God, everything is permitted.”¹ But another, no less terrible extreme is the instrumentalization of faith, turning it into an ideology—when a person condemns his neighbors, excludes them from his social circle and even kills others in the name of his faith. Without realizing it he thereby denies both faith and God Himself. Unfortunately, all religions and denominations face such a fundamentalist and violent environment. We Orthodox Christians cannot act by force or by prohibitions against all these deviations. Because our weapon is spiritual and, above all, it is in the power of a personal example.

We Christians believe that our Lord Jesus Christ came into this world to save people by the example of His life, which He sacrificed for all mankind. Christ did not reject or condemn anyone. On the contrary, He called everyone to Himself: Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light (Mt. 11: 28–30). To be disciples of Christ means to follow His example, being zealous in prayer and practicing asceticism in order to acquire a meek, humble and peaceful heart, free from the passions that cause people to lose peace of mind.

That is why Christian spirituality appeals to the human heart, so that it can become like the heart of Christ our Lord, Who became a man. But why exactly to the heart, and not to the mind, which is so exalted by the modern world? Because the heart is the center of the human being, and it is in it that we find existential unity with all Creation. All of people’s physical and mental powers are concentrated in the human heart. That is why our spiritual life should embrace the heart. Then we will feel joy and unity with everyone and everything. The most significant sign of such an inner spiritual state is the feeling of love and compassion for fellow human beings, for animals and for all living things, as the seventh-century monk St. Isaac the Syrian used to say.

As opposed to this, if someone is in a state of sin, his heart loses its inner integrity and unity. Such a person also loses his inner balance and peace, becoming selfish, withdrawing into himself, distancing himself from others and forgetting them. He begins to be afraid of others, to view them as enemies and oppose them. Others fall prey to such a man with a sullied heart, and he attacks them in his selfish, mercenary interests.

​N. Karazin. Crime and Punishment. 1893     

But how can we change our hearts to make them realize the presence of God in our lives and see fellow human beings around us? The pursuit of peace of mind, happiness, and self-fulfillment are fundamental human needs. For Christians, peace of heart is a gift from God, a result of the work of the grace of God in accordance with the measure of our faith. The Orthodox faith that we confess should not be reduced to intellectual knowledge or some sentimental emotions. It obliges believers to live according to the Divine commandments. God is hidden in His commandments. He who fulfills the commandments of Christ lovingly bears Christ in his heart, and with Him the whole of humanity.

A merciful heart is acquired primarily through prayer. For a believer, prayer is the breath, the “oxygen” of his life. Without regular prayer your soul becomes hardened and insensitive to God and your neighbors, and faith turns into an ideology, even if you do not realize it. However, only prayer performed by the mind in the heart is true, authentic prayer that transforms the human heart and makes it like that of Christ. The practice of such prayer requires not only concentrated attention, but also an ascetic life and abstinence in everything, especially in food. Because it is impossible to pray properly when your stomach is full. That is why the ancient Orthodox tradition recommends observing fasts. Moderation in itself is a great virtue and a true benefit for the health of the soul and the body. In addition, fasting has social consequences, especially in an unfair world like ours.

Thus, a believer purifies his heart through prayer and abstinence, and it is made calm by the grace of God. Such a person begins to radiate peace, becoming a peacemaker: Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God (Mt. 5:9). In our age we really need such people. Let’s strive for this. Amen.

St. Germaine Cousin was born in Pibrac, France, in 1579. Her parents were poor farmers, and her mother died when Germaine was an infant. Germaine was born with a deformed right hand and arm, and suffered from scrofula, a tubercular condition. 

Germaine’s father remarried shortly after her mother died, and his new wife was disgusted by Germaine’s condition. Her stepmother treated Germaine terribly, and instructed her siblings to do so as well. 

Germaine was eventually kicked out of her home, and forced to sleep in the barn, where she tended her family’s sheep. 

Despite her great sufferings, Germaine was always joyful and thankful. She spent many hours praying the rosary and teaching the village children about God. Although she rarely had enough to eat, she always shared her bread with the poor. 

Germaine had a deep holiness and trust in God. She went to Mass every day, leaving her sheep in the care of her guardian angel. Although her deep piety was mocked by many of the villagers, the children were drawn to her holiness. 

It was said that on days when the river was high, the waters would part so Germaine could get to Mass. One winter day, her stepmother was chasing her, having accused her of stealing bread. Germaine opened her apron to reveal fresh summer flowers, which she offered to her stepmother as a sign of forgiveness. 

Eventually, the villagers came to recognize the great holiness of the crippled shepherdess. Germaine’s parents offered her a place in their house, but she chose to remain in the barn. When she was 22, her father found her body on her bed of leaves there one morning. 

Forty-three years later, Germaine’s body was found to be incorrupt in her casket. People in the village began praying for her intercession, and received miraculous cures for their illnesses. 

Germaine was canonized by Pope Pius IX in 1867, and is inscribed into the canon of virgins.

The Diocese of San Diego will file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization June 17, a decision Cardinal Robert W. McElroy said “offers the best pathway” to both provide “just compensation” for sex abuse victims and allow the diocese to continue its ministries.

The cardinal made the remarks in a June 13 letter to diocesan Catholics in which he announced the bankruptcy filing was imminent.

The announcement comes a year after the diocese confirmed it would seek bankruptcy and began mediation with attorneys for abuse survivors.

“The Diocese faces two compelling moral claims in approaching the settlement process: the need for just compensation for victims of sexual abuse and the need to continue the Church’s mission of education, pastoral service and outreach to the poor and marginalized,” the cardinal said in the letter. “Bankruptcy offers the best pathway to achieve both.”

A June 13 diocesan news release said that only the diocese is filing for bankruptcy. “Parishes, Catholic Charities, parochial schools and Catholic high schools are not and will continue normal operations,” it said.

However, the cardinal explained, “It is clear that as part of providing appropriate compensation to past victims of the sexual abuse of minors, both the parishes and high schools will have to contribute substantially to the ultimate settlement in order to bring finality to the liability they face.”

In 2019, the California Legislature passed a bill to expand the statute of limitations for filing claims of childhood sexual assault, opening a three-year window (2020-2022) during which injured parties could file civil claims to revive previously time-barred claims. It was the second time the Legislature had lifted the statute of limitations since 2003.

In 2007, the San Diego Diocese settled lawsuits brought by 144 abuse survivors during the 2003 revival of once-barred claims for $198 million, the diocesan news release said. In 2023, the most recent revival resulted in more than 450 claims against the diocese, almost 60% of which are more than 50 years old, the release added.

Cardinal McElroy reminded Catholics that the diocese is faced with bankruptcy because of “the moral failure of those who directly abused children and teenagers, and the equally great moral failure of those who reassigned them or were not vigilant, that led to the psychological and spiritual wounds that still crush the hearts and souls of so many men and women in our midst.”

“The tremendous strides” the Catholic Church has made in the past 20 years to protect minors in the church and beyond “cannot begin to mitigate the enormous moral responsibility that I, as your bishop, and the entire Catholic community continue to bear,” he said.

“May God never let this shame pass from our sight, and may God’s tenderness envelop the innocent children and teenagers who were victimized,” he added.

On May 28, in an open letter, Bishop Joseph V. Brennan of Fresno said that diocese would file for Chapter 11 “to address the substantial number of claims brought forth by victims collectively” as a result of California opening a three-year window for civil claims to be filed.

The bishop said 154 cases have been filed against the diocese.

“The reopening of the window has made every Diocese in California susceptible to more claims,” Bishop Brennan said. “What we are facing gives us the opportunity to redouble our efforts in creating a safe environment for everyone in and out of the church and address real issues in atoning for the sin of clergy abuse against children.”

Other dioceses in California — including San Francisco and Sacramento — also have recently filed for bankruptcy amid similar circumstances.

In an address to more or less open the first public session of the U.S. Bishops’ Conference spring general assembly on June 13, Cardinal Christophe Pierre reminded the American prelates that the Eucharistic revival isn’t necessary for just the laity, but for them, as well.

“It is good that as shepherds we are thinking about the needs of the flock … but let us not forget that we need Eucharistic revival, too,” said Pierre, the Apostolic Nuncio to the United States. “As we approach the Eucharistic congress each of us can ask himself: Are we experiencing in our own lives the Eucharistic transformation that we want our people to experience? Are we opening ourselves to all dimensions of the mystery of the Eucharist?”

“These questions, asked in a posture of humble receptivity before the Lord, can invite from God the sort of answers that will incite Eucharistic revival within us, and that will make us, as the Lord’s chosen shepherds, better witnesses the Lord’s wounded and resurrected life, which he continues to live in the midst of his suffering and redeemed Church,” he said.

Pierre made the remarks near the top of his approximately 20-minute-long address, where he also commended the National Eucharistic Revival initiative, and noted that Pope Francis “is united with us in this desire that people rediscover the power of the Eucharist.”

The public portion of the USCCB spring general assembly on June 13 was on the lighter side, with notable items including the address from Pierre, an address from conference president Archbishop Timothy Broglio, and updates on both the synod and the bishops’ mental health initiative.

Like Pierre’s, each address contained a question, challenged, or offered advice to the American bishops.

Broglio, near the top of his address, posed the question of “can we be catalysts for a greater national unity in our own turbulent times?” In the synod update, Bishop Daniel Flores of Brownsville challenged his fellow bishops to both listen and learn from those who suffer “the poverty of isolation.” And in the mental health update, Archbishop John Wester of Santa Fe advised that they should all be honest about their own vulnerabilities, so as to help remove the stigma around getting mental health help.

There were no votes taken during the June 13 session, though there will be multiple taken today, particularly on pastoral frameworks for both Native American and youth and young adult ministry. And other than during the mental health update, there were hardly any public comments.

Today concludes the USCCB spring general assembly, which began June 12 in Louisville, Kentucky.

As Pierre got further into his address to the American bishops on June 13, he highlighted many wounds of the modern Church, including the scandal of abuse and failed oversight, indifference in society towards the poor and suffering, skepticism towards God and religion in a secularized culture, and the “agitating” temptation some have towards polarization and division.

Pierre said that it’s important for the Church to move forward from these wounds and the troubling experiences contained within each, but not in a way that erases the wounds. Instead, Pierre said, the bishops must follow the way of Christ by acknowledging what has happened as part of the whole reality.

“The wounds of the Church can lead us back to the present … which is exactly where Christ wants to show us his power to heal,” Pierre said. “Christ wants to console the many wounded people whom we serve through our ministry – priests, religious, and lay faithful alike. But in order to do that he wants first to console us, the shepherds of his Church.”

“A Eucharistic procession, the like of which has been happening in this country in an extraordinary way … speaks of this,” Pierre added. “A bishop who has encountered the power of Christ’s resurrection in his own personal experience of weakness, leads his flock to that same kind of encounter with the Lord.”

Broglio, who leads the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, gave his address following Pierre’s. Other than the aforementioned question he posed, Broglio focused his address on challenges the world presently faces, the synod, and eucharistic revival.

Broglio highlighted the “horrible” situation in Haiti, and the situation in Syria in which there are sanctions that “punish only the poor and not the powerful,” offering the conference’s prayers, and assistance in any way possible. He also expressed solidarity and prayers to those suffering in Ukraine.

Broglio also said he doesn’t expect congress to address immigration reform in an election year.

“In an election year our pleas will probably fall on deaf ears, but we cannot cease in our efforts to proclaim the Gospel from the rooftops and to see if we cannot influence those in power at the very least to improve the conditions in the countries of origin so that migration is not seen as a necessity for life,” Broglio said.

Commenting on the synod, Broglio said the experience taught participants the importance of listening to the other. In terms of the upcoming National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis, Indiana, Broglio said the bishops need to consider how they can capitalize on the momentum from it, and the ongoing National Eucharistic Pilgrimages.

“It will be important to consider how to capitalize on the momentum of this important event, which will gather so many faithful to celebrate the Lord’s unique presence,” Broglio said. “The events are important, but the continued building and reaffirmation of our Eucharistic faith is even more important.”

In the synod update, Flores, chair of the USCCB Committee on Doctrine who leads the synod process for the American Church, said he was encouraged by what came out of the interim stage listening sessions. He said that is a “hopeful sign” that the disagreements and tensions that were brought forth were rooted in a more basic agreement about what the Church should be about, and what it means to be Catholic.

Tension was a common word used throughout the American Church interim stage synod report that was submitted to the Vatican. Archbishop Thomas Zinkula of Dubuque, speaking after Flores, acknowledged tension was used purposefully, opposed to the word “division,” which he said carries a more negative connotation. He said tensions can lead to growth and development.

“If tensions are managed appropriately they can contribute to the health and holiness of the Church,” said Zinkula, who helped put together the interim stage report. “Tension doesn’t have to be viewed as an automatically bad word. In fact, tension is necessary for proper spiritual and human growth and development.”

To close the public session, the bishops had a discussion on mental health. Led by Bishop Robert Barron of Winona-Rochester, one of the leaders of the conference’s mental health campaign launched last October, the bishops spoke amongst themselves for about 25 minutes, before offering reflections.

Bishop John Dolan of Phoenix, a leader in mental health advocacy, offered a reflection first, emphasizing  that the best way the church can help alleviate the stigma around mental health is by “opening up this avenue of conversation and accompanying people who are struggling.”

Multiple other bishops highlighted the effectiveness of the mental health ministries – counselors, therapists, and training – that they’ve implemented in their dioceses. Wester, as mentioned, spoke directly to the need for bishops themselves to be honest with about their mental health.

“People put us on a pedestal whether we like it or not – not everybody, obviously, but some still do – and so I think that we need to be careful that we don’t get sucked into that and somehow think that for us to have an issue, a problem, or something that needs help. There’s nothing wrong with it,” Wester said. “As a matter of fact, it’s actually a sign of good health if we know where to get help when we need it.”

As they waited for Pope Francis to arrive at the Clementine Hall in the Vatican Apostolic Palace for an early morning audience, late night comedy stars looked at each other and thought, “something’s wrong.”

“We’re in this beautiful, beautiful space in the Vatican and for some reason they’ve let comedians in, which is always a mistake,” comedian Conan O’Brien told reporters after meeting the pope June 14.

He was just one of 105 comedians from around the world who traveled to the Vatican for a papal audience and to “establish a link between the Catholic Church and comic artists,” according to the Dicastery for Culture and Education, which organized the meeting.

Comedians from the United States included Stephen Colbert, Chris Rock, Jimmy Fallon, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Whoopi Goldberg, Jim Gaffigan and Mike Birbiglia among others.

Before Pope Francis entered the room, Fallon stood in front of the pope’s chair and was cracking jokes to the entertainment of his peers. But once Pope Francis entered, they all took to their feet to applaud. Several stars, accustomed to being in front of the cameras, held out their phones to record the pope walking steadily to his seat.

And immediately Pope Francis cracked a joke, saying that since smiling is good for one’s health, it would be better for him to just make a funny face for the crowd rather than to read his lengthy speech.

Yet he told the comedians that “in the midst of so much gloomy news, immersed as we are in many social and even personal emergencies, you have the power to spread peace and smiles.”

“You are among the few who have the ability to speak to all types of people, from different generations and cultural backgrounds,” he said.

The pope highlighted the unique role of laughter in bringing people together in the face of conflict, stressing that humor “is never against anyone, but is always inclusive, purposeful, eliciting openness, sympathy, empathy.”

He also encouraged them to remember a prayer often attributed to St. Thomas More, which he said he prays every day: “Grant me, O Lord, a good sense of humor.”

Louis-Dreyfus, the star of hit shows “Seinfeld” and “Veep,” said after the meeting that Pope Francis’ words were “gorgeous,” and praised the pope’s message for highlighting that comedy “has a sacredness to it.”

Each comedian was able to greet the pope individually at the end of the audience.

Colbert, a Catholic, said he told the pope in Italian that he gave his voice to produce the audiobook version of the pope’s recently published autobiography. He later told reporters that after reading the book, he thought he would love to interview the pope on his late-night TV program, “but I really want to do a cooking segment with him, because he talked a lot about cooking: evidently he makes a great ‘tortellini in brodo.’”

Jim Gaffigan, another Catholic comedian who speaks often about his faith life, brought his family with him to the Vatican to meet the pope. His son Michael got rosary beads blessed by the pope that he proudly touted around the Vatican hallway leading out of the meeting.

Gaffigan told reporters after the meeting that being Catholic and a comedian is “the most punk rock thing you can do,” since believing in God in the comedy business is just “asking for trouble.”

Although the group of comedians who came to the Vatican and met the pope was not composed solely of Catholics, the experience “was universal,” Gaffigan said. “There is this warmth, this openness, even with the exceeding amounts of problems that have existed and will exist.”

The pope typically sits in front of the groups he meets with for a group photo before leaving his audiences, and participants often sit politely and clap as he walks away.

This time, Chris Rock, seated near the front row, jumped up behind Pope Francis to put his face right by the pope’s for the photo. Other comedians couldn’t resist following suit and soon enough a group swarmed around the pope for the picture.

Pope Francis encouraged the fun, chuckled and gave a wave as he walked out.