Notre Dame des Sept-Douleurs chapel where first Mass since the April 15 fire took place
The restoration of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris achieved a major milestone on Saturday when Archbishop Michel Aupetit celebrated the first Mass in the building exactly two months after a fire nearly destroyed it.
Anonymous: “My brother-in-law has offered to pay all expenses for me to see an Ayurvedic Practitioner that he sees for treatment in New Jersey. I have seen one before here in my state. My viewpoint is that despite how ill I am, it would be putting my faith into Eastern Medicine, instead of in Jesus Christ, for my healing. Am I correct in my view? Would you explain further, and why it would be unwise to seek healing from this type of Practitioner?”
June 15
“Lastly, women in trial, who stand upright at the foot of the cross like Mary, you who so often in history have given to men the strength to battle unto the very end and to give witness to the point of martyrdom, aid them now still once more to retain courage in their great undertakings, while at the same time maintaining patience and an esteem for humble beginnings…..”
-TO WOMEN, VATICAN COUNCIL II CLOSING SPEECHES AND MESSAGES, Pope Paul VI
Today’s Reflection:
Do you know someone who is “at the foot of the cross?” What is one way that you can help them to battle to the end?
RK writes: “I’m wondering if you have ever heard of the New Age Rosary. They have showed up at our parish and my son was given one about three years ago. We had it in our home and it wasn’t until this week that someone informed him that it was “bad.” I had never heard of this controversy until a few days ago. Someone asks the question on the EWTN forum, but doesn’t get a response. I would appreciate any information you might have on this. We just handed out 200 of these rosaries to our First Communicants and they were not blessed prior.”
Perhaps he got it from his father—an Italian immigrant who managed with his wife to raise a large family on a barber’s salary during the toughest of economic times.
Women have always been instrumental in spreading the faith. This is the kind of fruit that Christ and his mother are calling us to. That call is not to become radical activists or social justice warriors but to take the words of St. Teresa of Calcutta to heart: If you want to change the world, go home and love your family. That is the place to start.
Saint Anthony of Padua (1195 – 1231), whose feast we celebrate on June 13th, enjoys popular renown, of course, as the patron saint of finding lost articles. Two lesser-known facts about him, however, are that he was Portuguese and not Italian by birth, and that he began his life in religion as an Augustinian, not as a Franciscan friar.
