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 St Josaphat, martyr and patron of Church Unity Formative years St. Josaphat was born John Kuncevic (also Kuncevyc) in 1580 in Vladimir (also Volodymyr also Volodymyr-Volynskyi in modern Ukraine), then a village of the Lithuanian Province of Volhynia, a Ukrainian Orthodox parish, part of the staunchly Catholic Polish Jagellonian Dynasty.  When John was just a child, his mother explained the icons in church. Years later he told a friend that he felt a spark of fire leave the wounded side of the Crucified and enter his own heart, which was filled with joy. This event influenced the rest of his life. He began to memorize the Church rituals and psalms. Within him grew the desire to suffer poverty and death for his Savior. John's father sent him to Vilno (modern Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania) to learn more about the family business, but he spent much of his leisure in reading the lives of the Saints and observing painfully the religious ferment in the local church. The Ruthenians (t

 ST. MARTIN, BISHOP OF TOURS Introduction Saint Martin of Tours belongs to a small, eclectic group of people who had one life-changing experience that defined the rest of their lives.  The life-changing story of Martin, a Gentile Roman soldier, giving up half of his cloak when he encountered a man freezing without warm clothing near a gate at the city of Amiens in Gaul is emblematic of his ascetic life in service of the poor.  Jesus Himself appeared to Martin in a dream the following night, wearing the cloak. Addressing the angels who accompanied him, the Lord said, “Behold, here is Martin, an unbaptised Roman soldier: He has clothed me.” The dream left a grave impression on the young soldier, and Martin was baptised the following Easter.  Formative years Martin was born in 316 AD in Pannonia, now Hungary, on the edge of the Roman Empire. The son of a military tribune, he grew up in Pavia, Italy, after his father was transferred there and given land in that city. Although his parents w

 Nov-9: Feast of the Dedication of the Basilica St. John Lateran “This Basilica, dedicated to St John the Baptist as well as to St John the Evangelist, is rightly consecrated to the Most Holy Saviour. It is as if, today also, as throughout the centuries, we hear this voice ringing out on the banks of the Jordan. The voice of the Forerunner, the voice of the Prophet, the voice of the Bridegroom's Friend. John spoke as follows: ‘He must increase, but I must decrease’ (Jn 3:30).”  – Pope St. John Paul II Homily, Basilica St. John Lateran, Sunday, 12 November 1978 Today November 9, 2024 marks 1,700 years since the Dedication of the Archbasilica Cathedral of the Most Holy Savior and of Saints John the Baptist and John the Evangelist in the Lateran, also called Saint John Lateran (Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano) on the Caelian Hill in Rome, built over the ancient Lateran Palace in Rome. “The Lateran” comes from the name of the Laterani family, high-ranking nobility in service to se

     The  Luke 11:9  series: Love your neighbour as yourself Previous   Next   The Greatest Commandment  When asked about the greatest commandment, Jesus responds by quoting from Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18 : " Love God with all your heart, soul, and mind. Love your neighbour as yourself ." Jesus said that these two commandments sum up all the law and the prophets. The command to love your neighbour is central to the Christian life; this means treating others with the same care, kindness, respect, and compassion that you would want for yourself. In the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus expands our understanding of a neighbour beyond the traditional limit of proximity or relationship to anyone we can show love, kindness, and mercy, even those who may be part of a different background, ethnicity, social or religious group. " This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for

   The  Luke 11:9  series: Life after death Previous   Next   When someone dies, the universal prayer is: ' Eternal rest grant unto him/her O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him/her, and through the mercy of God may his/her soul rest in peace . Amen ' What the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) teaches us The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) on life after death states that though the body decays after death, the soul never ceases to exist (CCC 366-368); in the afterlife, the soul experiences eternal communion with God (Heaven) in perfect peace, joy, and fulfilment (CCC 1023-1029); or temporary separation from God for purification (Purgatory) before joining him in Heaven (CCC 1023-1029); or eternal separation from God (Hell), not as a punishment but rather as a consequence of a person's free will to turn away from God's love by living a life of sin without repentance (CCC 1033-1037).  Upon death, each person goes through a particular judgement (CCC 102