Light of the Nations

This week we celebrated the Feast of the Presentation, also known as Candlemas, which remembers the presentation of the Lord in the Temple 40 days after his birth. The Canticle of Simeon – found in the Gospel of Luke – proclaims Christ as the Light to all the nations of the world: “a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel.” This light has gone forth through the ages by means of the Church, as the Apostles, their successors, and indeed all the Christian faithful have proclaimed the Gospel most solemnly by the witness they offer. Many disciples have ratified their witness by their blood.

Martyrdom in the face of persecution has always characterized the life of Christian disciples, although in varying degrees in different times and places. Our day is no different. The light of Christ shines even through the darkness of persecution.

On Saturday, a Dominican priest was killed in a knife attack while hearing confessions in Vietnam. Father Giuse Trần Ngọc Thanh, OP, took his religious vows in 2010 and was ordained a priest in 2018.

On Sunday, a Christian minister was gunned down after holding a service in the outskirts of Peshawar, in northern Pakistan

On the same day, the Vatican announced that Pakistani Catholic Akash Bashir has been named Servant of God as his cause for canonization is opened. Bashir was killed in 2015 when he barred a terrorist armed with explosives from entering St. John’s Catholic Church, where 1,000 Catholics were gathered for Mass. Bashir reportedly told the attacker, “I will die but I will not let you go in.”

A police officer in Louisville, Kentucky, has won a $75,000 settlement after being suspended without pay and placed under investigation for praying outside an abortion clinic during 40 Days for Life.

The funerals of two fallen NYPD officers were held in St. Patrick's Cathedral in Manhattan this week. Officers Jason Rivera and Wilbert Mora died after being shot while responding to a domestic violence call in Harlem. Officer Rivera, who was 22 years old, was laid to rest last Thursday. Officer Mora, who was 27 years old, was laid to rest on Tuesday.

Peter’s Pence, the Holy See’s annual collection that finances the pope’s charitable works and important Church administration, is down 15% from last year, continuing a general downward trend seemingly accelerated by the pandemic.

Young people grow into young adults, move out, and establish households of their own. As parents age, they are left on their own or often entrusted into the caring and capable hands of medical professionals. This order is common – but is it for the best? Or has our culture missed out on the beauty and dignity of multi-generational living arrangements?

It may come as no surprise that an increasing focus on digital competency has led to a decrease in other intellectual skills – has the tradeoff been worth it? As the data continues to roll in concerning the impact of new technologies on the formation of young people, it seems clear that our virtually unlimited access to knowledge hasn’t made us more knowledgeable and hasn’t been the great equalizer many predicted it would. (Consider that children from lower-income households spend an incredible 42% more time on screen diversions than do children from upper-income households.)

An opinion piece in The New York Times offers a compassionate and powerful account of our broken prenatal testing system and how our society can do better to promote life.