Saint of the Day for Saturday

St. Anthony of Padua

Feastday: June 13
Patron: of Lost Things
Birth: 1195
Death: 1231
Canonized: Pope Gregory IX in 1232

Saint Anthony was born Fernando Martins in Lisbon, Portugal. He was born into a wealthy family and by the age of fifteen asked to be sent to the Abbey of Santa Cruz in Coimbra, the then capital of Portugal. During his time in the Abbey, he learned theology and Latin.

Following his ordination to the priesthood, he was named guestmaster and was responsible for the abbey's hospitality. When Franciscan friars settled a small hermitage outside Coimbra dedicated to Saint Anthony of Egypt, Fernando felt a longing to join them.

Fernando eventually received permission to leave the Abbey so he could join the new Franciscan Order. When he was admitted, he changed his name to Anthony.

Anthony then traveled to Morocco to spread God's truth, but became extremely sick and was returned to Portugal to recover. The return voyage was blown off-course and the party arrived in Sicily, from which they traveled to Tuscany. Athony was assigned to the hermitage of San Paolo after local friars considered his health.

As he recovered, Anthony spent his time praying and studying.

An undetermined amount of time later, Dominican friars came to visit the Franciscans and there was confusion over who would present the homily. The Dominicans were known for their preaching, thus the Franciscans assumed it was they who would provide a homilist, but the Dominicans assumed the Franciscans would provide one. It was then the head of the Franciscan hermitage asked Anthony to speak on whatever the Holy Spirit told him to speak of.

 Though he tried to object, Anthony delivered an eloquent and moving homily that impressed both groups. Soon, news of his eloquence reached Francis of Assisi, who held a strong distrust of the brotherhood's commitment to a life of poverty. However, in Anthony, he found a friend.

In 1224, Francis entrusted his friars' pursuits of studies to Anthony. Anthony had a book of psalms that contained notes and comments to help when teaching students and, in a time when a printing press was not yet invented, he greatly valued it.

When a novice decided to leave the hermitage, he stole Anthony's valuable book. When Anthony discovered it was missing, he prayed it would be found or returned to him. The thief did return the book and in an extra step returned to the Order as well.

The book is said to be preserved in the Franciscan friary in Bologna today.

Anthony occasionally taught at the universities of Montpellier and Toulouse in southern France, but he performed best in the role of a preacher.

So simple and resounding was his teaching of the Catholic Faith, most unlettered and the innocent could understand his messages. It is for this reason he was declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope Pius XII in 1946.

Once, when St. Anthony of Padua attempted to preach the true Gospel of the Catholic Church to heretics who would not listen to him, he went out and preached his message to the fish. This was not, as liberals and naturalists have tried to say, for the instruction of the fish, but rather for the glory of God, the delight of the angels, and the easing of his own heart. When critics saw the fish begin to gather, they realized they should also listen to what Anthony had to say.

He was only 35-years-old when he died and was canonized less than one year afterward by Pope Gregory IX. Upon exhumation some 336 years after his death, his body was found to be corrupted, yet his tongue was totally incorrupt, so perfect were the teachings that had been formed upon it.

He is typically depicted with a book and the Infant Child Jesus and is commonly referred to today as the "finder of lost articles."

St Anthony is venerated all over the world as the Patron Saint for lost articles, and is credited with many miracles involving lost people, lost things and even lost spiritual goods.

Saturday is the Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of Mary

 

Ordinary Time: June 13th

Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of Mary

In the midst of the World War II, Pope Pius XII put the whole world under the special protection of our Savior's Mother by consecrating it to her Immaculate Heart, and in 1944 he decreed that in the future the whole Church should celebrate the Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. This is not a new devotion. In the seventeenth century, St. John Eudes preached it together with that of the Sacred Heart; in the nineteenth century, Pius VII and Pius IX allowed several churches to celebrate a feast of the Pure Heart of Mary. Pius XII instituted today's feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary for the whole Church, so as to obtain by her intercession "peace among nations, freedom for the Church, the conversion of sinners, the love of purity and the practice of virtue" (Decree of May 4, 1944).

The Immaculate Heart of Mary

The attention of Christians was early attracted by the love and virtues of the Heart of Mary. The Gospel itself invited this attention with exquisite discretion and delicacy. What was first excited was compassion for the Virgin Mother. It was, so to speak, at the foot of the Cross that the Christian heart first made the acquaintance of the Heart of Mary. Simeon's prophecy paved the way and furnished the devotion with one of its favorite formulae and most popular representations: the heart pierced with a sword. But Mary was not merely passive at the foot of the Cross; "she cooperated through charity," as St. Augustine says, "in the work of our redemption."

It is only in the twelfth, or towards the end of the eleventh century, that slight indications of a regular devotion are perceived in a sermon by St. Bernard (De duodecim stellis).

Stronger evidence are discernible in the pious meditations on the Ave Maria and the Salve Regina, usually attributed either to St. Anselm of Lucca (d. 1080) or St. Bernard; and also, in the large book De laudibus B. Mariae Virginis (Douai, 1625) by Richard de Saint-Laurent.

In St. Mechtilde (d. 1298) and St. Gertrude (d. 1302) the devotion had two earnest adherents. A little earlier it had been included by St. Thomas Becket in the devotion to the joys and sorrows of Mary, by Blessed Hermann (d.1245), one of the first spiritual children of St. Dominic, in his other devotions to Mary, and somewhat later it appeared in St. Bridget's Book of Revelations.
St. Ambrose perceived in her the model of a virginal soul. St. Bernardine of Siena (d.1444) was more absorbed in the contemplation of the virginal heart, and it is from him that the Church has borrowed the lessons of the Second Nocturn for the feast of the Heart of Mary. St. Francis de Sales speaks of the perfections of this heart, the model of love for God, and dedicated to it his Theotimus.

In the second half of the sixteenth century and the first half of the seventeenth, ascetic authors dwelt upon this devotion at greater length. It was, however, reserved to St. Jean Eudes (d. 1681) to propagate the devotion, to make it public, and to have a feast celebrated in honor of the Heart of Mary, first at Autun in 1648 and afterwards in a number of French dioceses.

In 1799 Pius VI, then in captivity at Florence, granted the Bishop of Palermo the feast of the Most Pure Heart of Mary for some of the churches in his diocese. In 1805 Pius VII made a new concession, thanks to which the feast was soon widely observed. Such was the existing condition when a twofold movement, started in Paris, gave fresh impetus to the devotion. The two factors of this movement were first of all the revelation of the "miraculous medal" in 1830 and all the prodigies that followed, and then the establishment at Notre-Dame-des-Victoires of the Archconfraternity of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Refuge of Sinners, which spread rapidly throughout the world and was the source of numberless graces. On 21 July 1855, the Congregation of Rites finally approved the Office and Mass of the Most Pure Heart of Mary without, however, imposing them upon the Universal Church.
—Excerpted from Catholic Encyclopedia, 1913 edition

As he prepares to depart Spain, Pope Leo encourages all to "lift up their gaze"

 

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Pope concludes Spain journey with appeal to "lift up your gaze"

Concluding his Apostolic Journey to Spain, Pope Leo XIV thanks the Spanish people for their welcome and urges the world to "lift up its gaze".

Vatican News

Pope Leo XIV brought his Apostolic Journey to Spain to a close on Friday with a few words at the Port of Santa Cruz de Tenerife at the end of the final Mass. In his short address he thanked the Spanish people for their welcome and left them with a final invitation to "Lift up [their] gaze."

Speaking after the concluding Eucharistic celebration, the Pope reflected on the six-day journey, which took him to Madrid, Barcelona, Montserrat and the Canary Islands.

"I return to Rome deeply moved by the great affection I have received," he said, expressing gratitude to all those who helped organize the visit and to the faithful who participated in the various events.

The Pope also praised what he described as Spain's enduring Catholic identity, saying he had been comforted by the many "testimonies of faith and love for the Church" he encountered throughout the country.

Looking to Christ

Speaking in the port city of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, whose name means "Holy Cross," Pope Leo turned his thoughts "to the whole world and its wounds, which cause entire populations to suffer," he said.

The Pope then turned to the journey's motto: "Lift up your gaze."

"Let us turn our eyes to Christ Crucified," he urged, describing the Heart of Christ as "the source of mercy, which alone can save humanity."

A call for peace

The Pope went on to say that humanity is in need of "forgiveness and reconciliation" in order to achieve "true and lasting peace", before entrusting those who suffer to the care of the Virgin Mary.

"Let us lift up our eyes, as did Mary, the Mother of all who suffer," he said added. 

United in prayer

Bringing his address to a close, the Pope thanked the people of Spain once more and invited them to remain united in faith.

"Thank you from the bottom of my heart," he said. "Let us remain united in prayer and in communion in Christ and in the Holy Church."

In Tenerife before he completes his Apostolic Journey, Pope Leo XIV tells traffickers: Stop, Repent or face divine justice

 

Pope Leo meets with organisations working with migrants, Tenerife, Spain  (@Vatican Media)

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• Pope Leo XIV
• migrants and refugees
• Spain
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Pope to human traffickers: Repent! Divine justice awaits you

Meeting organizations working with migrants in Tenerife, Pope Leo XIV calls integration a shared responsibility that restores dignity and belonging, while urging human traffickers to repent before facing divine justice.

Vatican News

Pope Leo has once again called for a renewed commitment to migrant integration insisting that welcome must go beyond emergency assistance and become a process that restores dignity, belonging and opportunity.

Addressing Church groups, charities and civil organizations in San Cristóbal de La Laguna on Friday, during the final day of his Apostolic Journey to Spain, the Pope reflected on the role the Canary Islands continue to play as one of Europe's principal migration routes.

The meeting took place in Plaza del Cristo de La Laguna, in Tenerife, where the Pope praised the work of organizations accompanying migrants after their arrival on the islands and challenged societies to move beyond fear and indifference.

"A city without walls"

Beginning his address, Pope Leo referred to a description he had heard of La Laguna as "a city without walls." The image, he suggested, points to a deeper challenge. He explained that "the barriers that are the hardest to break down are not always made of stone" and that instead they "sometimes they lie in our attitudes, in fear or in indifference."

The Canary Islands have become one of the European Union's busiest migration frontiers in recent years. Located around 100 kilometers off the northwestern coast of Africa, the Spanish archipelago is often the first European territory reached by migrants and refugees departing from countries such as Senegal, Mauritania, Mali and Gambia.

The Atlantic route is considered one of the world's most dangerous migration corridors, with thousands attempting the crossing each year in overcrowded and often unseaworthy boats. Many arrive exhausted after days or weeks at sea, while countless others never complete the journey.

"The sea which surrounds these islands brings us stories that we do not always know how to interpret: stories of pain, of hope and of searching," the Pope said.

Pope Leo XIV during the meeting (@Vatican Media)

Learning to see differently

Pope Leo's reflection emphasized the idea that integration requires a different way of seeing. Drawing on the example of Braille and tactile forms of communication, he suggested that people must learn to "read" the lives of migrants through closeness and encounter rather than statistics or administrative categories.

"There are those whose gazes see and yet do not recognize," he said. "They turn a face into a number, a story into a file and a difference into distance." Instead, he argued, the Gospel teaches a way of seeing rooted in patience, accompaniment and practical solidarity.

Beyond charity

The Pope went on to stress that solidarity cannot be reduced to philanthropy or occasional acts of generosity. "Welcome opens the door; integration helps one cross the threshold," he said. "Assistance applies a salve to the wound, and integration rebuilds the future."

He went on to reject approaches that either force migrants to abandon their identity or encourage communities to live separately without meaningful interaction. Rather, integration, he explained, is "a reciprocal journey" in which newcomers learn the language, laws and customs of their new home while those receiving them learn to widen their horizons without losing their own identity.

Addressing migrants directly, Pope Leo encouraged each person to participate fully in the life of their new communities and to offer their talents and experiences for the common good.

More than a problem to be managed

Pope Leo also challenged attitudes that reduce migration to political or administrative questions. He explained that "we are speaking, above all, of people created in the image and likeness of God," he said, "rather than legal categories or problems to be managed."

He then reflected on some of the testimonies he had heard just moments before, including those of two migrant men named Khalid and Mbacke. The Pope noted that many people arriving on the islands are searching not only for safety but also for the possibility of rebuilding their lives. "They are looking for someone to tell them through actions rather than with words: your life is not a waste; your suffering is not invisible; your dignity has not been washed away in the waters you have crossed."

At the same time, he added, they seek opportunities to work, contribute and participate, rather than remaining permanently defined by vulnerability.

Preventing a "second shipwreck"

Pope Leo then went on to speak about what he described as a "silent shipwreck" that can occur after migrants arrive safely. While many die attempting to cross the sea, he said, others face isolation, exploitation and exclusion after reaching their destination.

"There is also a silent shipwreck that occurs after arrival," he warned, describing those left "without a voice, without ties, work or a sense of security."

"Integration means preventing that second shipwreck", he said.  For this reason, he praised the work of diocesan Caritas, migration offices, parishes and local organizations that accompany migrants beyond the immediate emergency phase and help them establish stable lives within society.

A warning to traffickers

Pope Leo then turned his appeal towards those who profit from migration and human suffering. Addressing human traffickers, exploiters and criminal networks involved in the movement and abuse of vulnerable people. "Stop. Repent," he said. "For every life lost, every family deceived, everybody subjugated, every woman threatened, every worker exploited, you will have to appear before divine justice", he said. 

He then condemned those who organize dangerous migration routes, exploit workers, threaten women and profit from desperation, warning that "the tears and blood of these brothers and sisters cry out to God."

"The money wrested from the vulnerability of the poor will bring neither peace, nor honor, nor a future," he added, before urging those responsible to free those they exploit, return what has been taken and seek reconciliation before it is too late.

A Christian response

The Pope then went on to remind those present that integration cannot be viewed solely as a social project.

Along with practical support such as housing, language assistance, employment and legal protection, migrants should encounter Christian communities capable of offering friendship, witness and accompaniment. "A Church that welcomes is also a Church that proclaims," he said, stressing that the Gospel must be shared "without imposing" it and always with respect for freedom of conscience.

Bringing his address to a close, Pope Leo pointed to the Holy Family's flight into Egypt as a lasting symbol for migrants and refugees throughout history.

"The Holy Family of Nazareth," he concluded, "remains for all time a model and refuge for every refugee family, every migrant and every person forced to leave their homeland."

The final event on Pope Leo's Apostolic Journey to Spain: Mass at Santa Cruz de Tenerife

 

Pope Leo during the celebration of Mass at the port of Santa Cruz de Tenerife  (@Vatican Media)

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• Spain
• apostolic journey
• Pope Leo XIV
• migrants and refugees
• Dilexi te

Pope in Tenerife: Open Christ’s ‘Ocean of Love’

Pope Leo brings his Apostolic Journey to Spain to a close in the Port of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, stressing that “no human being is an island”.

By Augustine Asta - Tenerife

With the stunning backdrop of the port of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, and the waters of the Atlantic Ocean glistening behind him, Pope Leo brought to a close his trip to the Canary Islands, and with it his Apostolic Journey to Spain.

In his homily, Pope Leo invited the faithful to contemplate the Sacred Heart of Jesus as the center of human history - a place where the joys, hopes, sorrows, and anxieties of all people resonate.

“No human being is an island,” he declared, emphasizing that the Christian life is a continuous exodus toward others and toward God. The Pope warned against the pitfalls of a society consumed by haste, materialism, and the pursuit of profit, which risk trapping individuals in a “sterile dynamism.”

In a region heavily dependent on tourism, he urged both locals and visitors to rediscover simplicity, gratitude, and the value of human relationships over mere commerce. “There is life when you give life,” the Pope stressed.

Spiritual wealth

Reflecting on the day’s Gospel, the Pope highlighted the privileged place of the marginalized in God’s plan. Divine revelation, he noted, often manifests itself to those the world deems insignificant or powerless.

The Pope cited his apostolic exhortation Dilexi Te, which underscores that the poor are not merely recipients of charity but bearers of a wisdom capable of evangelizing the Church itself.

Migration and hospitality in Tenerife

The Canary Islands are a key transit point for migrants crossing the Atlantic.

In his homily, Pope Leo XIV acknowledged the harsh realities faced by migrants, including exploitation by human traffickers, and called on Christians to offer not just material aid but true fraternity.

He challenged local communities to allow themselves to be transformed by their encounters with newcomers, describing the experiences of the poor and migrants as a source of wisdom for societies often trapped in comfort and individualism.

Seeing with the Heart of Christ

Drawing his homily to a close, the Pope expressed gratitude to the people of the Canary Islands for their spirit of welcome and commitment to fraternity.

He encouraged Christian communities to pay special attention to the young, the vulnerable, the rich and poor alike, locals and visitors. “God is love,” he reminded them, quoting the First Letter of John.

Leo urged the faithful to help others discover “the ocean of love” in the Heart of Christ, ensuring no one feels excluded from encountering God and their brothers and sisters.

Farewell and gratitude

At the end of the Mass, Pope Leo XIV offered thanks “to God and to all who welcomed me and helped out in countless ways” to prepare his visits to Madrid, Barcelona, Montserrat, and the Canary Islands. “I return to Rome deeply moved by the great affection that has surrounded me,” he said, “and comforted by the testimonies of faith and love for the Church, expressions of Spain’s great Catholic heart.”

June 12th is the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

 

Ordinary Time: June 12th

Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

Catechism of the Catholic Church 478:
"Jesus knew and loved us each and all during his life, his agony and his Passion, and gave himself up for each one of us: "The Son of God. . . loved me and gave himself for me" (Gal 2:20). He has loved us all with a human heart. For this reason, the Sacred Heart of Jesus, pierced by our sins and for our salvation (Cf. Jn 19:34), "is quite rightly considered the chief sign and symbol of that. . . love with which the divine Redeemer continually loves the eternal Father and all human beings" without exception (Pius XII, Enc. Haurietis aquas (1956): DS 3924; cf. DS 3812).

Today is the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, designated the Friday after the Second Sunday of Pentecost. Sixteenth century Calvinism and seventeenth century Jansenism preached a distorted Christianity that substituted for God's love and sacrifice of His Son for all men the fearful idea that a whole section of humanity was inexorably damned.

The Church always countered this view with the infinite love of our Savior who died on the cross for all men. The institution of the feast of the Sacred Heart was soon to contribute to the creation among the faithful of a powerful current of devotion which since then has grown steadily stronger. The first Office and Mass of the Sacred Heart were composed by St. John Eudes, but the institution of the feast was a result of the appearances of our Lord to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque in 1675. The celebration of the feast was extended to the General Roman Calendar of the Church by Pius IX in 1856.

The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus
Today we celebrate The Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The Sacred Heart of Jesus is a devotional with long and historic provenance within Christianity, and in modern times has been established as a Solemnity for the universal Church.

Catechism of the Catholic Church 478:
"Jesus knew and loved us each and all during his life, his agony and his Passion, and gave himself up for each one of us: "The Son of God. . . loved me and gave himself for me" (Gal 2:20). He has loved us all with a human heart. For this reason, the Sacred Heart of Jesus, pierced by our sins and for our salvation (Cf. Jn 19:34), "is quite rightly considered the chief sign and symbol of that. . . love with which the divine Redeemer continually loves the eternal Father and all human beings" without exception (Pius XII, Enc. Haurietis aquas (1956): DS 3924; cf. DS 3812).

Today is the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, designated the Friday after the Second Sunday after Pentecost (Corpus Christi Sunday). Sixteenth century Calvinism and seventeenth century Jansenism preached a distorted Christianity that substituted for God's love and sacrifice of His Son for all men the fearful idea that a whole section of humanity was inexorably damned.

The Church always countered this view with the infinite love of our Savior who died on the cross for all men. The institution of the feast of the Sacred Heart was soon to contribute to the creation among the faithful of a powerful current of devotion which since then has grown steadily stronger. The first Office and Mass of the Sacred Heart were composed by St. John Eudes, but the institution of the feast was a result of the appearances of our Lord to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque in 1675. The celebration of the feast was extended to the General Roman Calendar of the Church by Pius IX in 1856.

Today is the World Day of Prayer for the Sanctification of Priests. The World Day of Prayer for the Sanctification of Priests takes place every year on the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.

The Solemnity was first celebrated in France. The liturgy was approved by the local bishop at the behest of St. John Eudes, who celebrated the Mass on August 31, 1670. The celebration was quickly adopted in other places in France. In 1856, Pope Pius IX established the Feast of the Sacred Heart as obligatory for the whole Church.

But the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is much older. The beginnings of a devotion of the love of God symbolized by the heart of Jesus are found in the fathers of the Church, including Origen, St. Ambrose, St. Jerome, St. Augustine of Hippo, St. Hippolytus of Rome, St. Irenaeus, St. Justin Martyr, and St. Cyprian. In the 11th century this devotion found a renewal in the writings of Benedictine and Cistercian monasteries. In the 13th century, the Franciscan St. Bonaventure’s work “With You is the Source of Life” (which is the reading for the Divine Office on the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart) began to point to the heart as the fountain from which God’s love poured into our lives. Also in the 13th century, there was the “Vitis Mystica” (the mystical vine) a lengthy devotional to Jesus, which vividly describes the “Sacred Heart” of Jesus as the font and fullness of love poured into the world. This work is anonymous, but most often attributed to St. Bonaventure.

At the end of the 13th century, St. Gertrude, on the feast of St. John the Evangelist, had a vision in which she was allowed to rest her head near the wound in the Savior’s side. She heard the beating of the Divine Heart and asked John if, on the night of the Last Supper, he too had felt this beating heart, why then had he never spoken of the fact. John replied that this revelation had been reserved for subsequent ages when the world, having grown cold, would have need to rekindle its love.

In the late 17th century the devotion was renewed and adopted elsewhere, especially following the revelations to St. Marguerite Marie Alacoque. The saint, a cloistered nun of the Visitation Order, received several private revelations of the Sacred Heart, the first on December 27, 1673, and the final one 18 months later. The stained glass window centered in the sanctuary dome recalls the Saint and her vision.

Initially discouraged in her efforts to follow the instruction she had received in her visions, Alacoque was eventually able to convince her superior of the authenticity of her visions. She was unable, however, to convince a group of theologians of the validity of her apparitions, nor was she any more successful with many of the members of her own community. She eventually received the support of the community’s confessor who declared that the visions were genuine. Alacoque’s short devotional writing, “La Devotion au Sacré-Coeur de Jesus” (Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus), was published posthumously in 1698. The devotion was fostered by the Jesuits and Franciscans, but it was not until the 1928 encyclical “Miserentissimus Redemptor” by Pope Pius XI that the Church validated the credibility of Alacoque’s visions of Jesus Christ in having “promised her [Alacoque] that all those who rendered this honor to His Heart would be endowed with an abundance of heavenly graces.”

In the late 19th century, Sr. Mary of the Divine Heart received a message from Christ. This eventually led the 1899 encyclical letter Annum Sacrum in which Leo XIII decreed that the consecration of the entire human race to the Sacred Heart of Jesus should take place on June 11, 1899.

On the 100th anniversary of the Feast of the Sacred Heart in a landmark encyclical, Haurietis aquas (Latin: “You will draw waters”; written May 15, 1956), Pope Pius XII began his reflection by drawing from Isaiah 12:3, a verse which alludes to the abundance of the supernatural graces which flow from the heart of Christ. Haurietis aquas called the whole Church to recognize the Sacred Heart as an important dimension of Christian spirituality. Pius XII gave two reasons why the Church gives the highest form of worship to the Heart of Jesus. The first rests on the principle whereby the believers recognize that Jesus’ Heart is hypostatically united to the “Person of the Incarnate Son of God Himself.” The second reason is derived from the fact that the Heart is the natural sign and symbol of Jesus’ boundless love for humans. The encyclical recalls that for human souls the wound in Christ’s side and the marks left by the nails have been “the chief sign and symbol of that love” that ever more incisively shaped their life from within.

In a letter on May 15, 2006, Benedict XVI wrote: “By encouraging devotion to the Heart of Jesus, [we exhort] believers to open themselves to the mystery of God and of his love and to allow themselves to be transformed by it. After 50 years, it is still a fitting task for Christians to continue to deepen their relationship with the Heart of Jesus, in such a way as to revive their faith in the saving love of God and to welcome Him ever better into their lives.

As the encyclical states, from this source, the Heart of Jesus, originates the true knowledge of Jesus Christ and a deeper experience of His love. Thus, according to Benedict XVI, we will be able to understand better what it means to know God’s love in Jesus Christ, to experience Him, keeping our gaze fixed on Him to the point that we live entirely on the experience of His love, so that we can subsequently witness to it to others.
—Excerpted from Friar Musings

The Sacred Heart of Jesus
"Beloved brethren, since it had been ordained by a merciful Providence that the Church should be formed from the side of the crucified Christ and that the words of the Scriptures be fulfilled: They shall look upon Him whom they have pierced — a soldier armed with a lance opened the sacred Breast. The Blood mingled with water, which was shed from that pierced side, was the price of our salvation. Flowing from the hidden fount of the Sacred Heart, it gave to the sacraments their power of conferring the life of grace, and to those already living in Christ a draught of the living fount, gushing forth unto life eternal.

"Arise, therefore, O soul friendly to Christ! Cease not your vigil; bring close your lips, that you may draw waters from out the Savior's fountain. Oh, how good and how pleasant it is to dwell in this most Sacred Heart. Your Heart, dearest Jesus, is the great treasure, the precious jewel which we will find in the dug field of Your sacred Body. Who is there who would throw away this jewel? Rather would I throw away all my own jewels, my thoughts and my affections, and cast my cares upon Your Sacred Heart, which will nourish me without fail. I beg of You, sweet Jesus my God, place my prayer among those that You will answer. Draw me wholly into Your Heart. For unto this end Your side was pierced, that an entrance would lie open to us. Unto this end Your Heart was wounded, that detached from worldly tumult, we would be able to dwell in it.

"But above all, Your Heart was wounded so that a visible scar would enable us to see the invisible wound of Your love. For how could the ardor of Your love be better shown than by this, that not only Your Body but even Your very Heart was pierced with a lance? Truly the wounds of the flesh showed forth the wounds of the spirit. Who is there who would not love One so loving? My dearly beloved, let us pray that the Sacred Heart may deign to wound our heart still so hard, still so impenitent, and bind it with the sweet bonds of His love."
—St. Bonaventure

• Read The 12 Promises of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
• From the Catholic Culture Library read Enthronement of the Sacred Heart of Jesus: Sacred Scripture by Bishop Raymond Burke.

Today, in the Canary Islands at las Palmas, Pope Leo XIV met with clergy & staff at St. Anne's Cathedral

 

2026.06.11 Viaggio Apostolico in Spagna - Incontro con i Vescovi, i Sacerdoti, i Diaconi, i Religiosi, le Religiose, i Seminaristi e gli Operatori pastorali nella Cattedrale di Sant’Anna  (@Vatican Media)

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Pope in Canary Islands: Remain united through the Cross and the Eucharist

Pope Leo XIV urged the Church in the Canary Islands to remain united in faith by embracing the Cross, deepening its Eucharistic life, and serving the most vulnerable with solidarity and hope.

Vatican News

Pope Leo on Thursday met with bishops, priests, deacons, religious, seminarians, and pastoral workers in St. Anne's Cathedral in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.

The meeting took place during the penultimate stop of the Pope's Apostolic Journey to Spain, which has included a strong focus on migration, social challenges, and the role of the Church in accompanying vulnerable communities. The Canary Islands have become one of the main entry points into Europe for migrants travelling from West Africa, and local Church communities have played a significant role in providing humanitarian and pastoral support.

Addressing those gathered in the cathedral, Pope Leo thanked them for their witness to what he described as a "living Church," one that reflects "the joys and hopes, the grief and anguish of the people of our time, especially those who are poor or afflicted."

The Pope said he had come to the islands "as a father and brother in the faith," recalling the words he spoke at the beginning of his pontificate: "With you I am a Christian, and for you, I am a bishop."

Pope Leo XIV meeting with the local Church community in Las Palmas (@Vatican Media)

Building the Church together

Reflecting on the day's reading from the Letter to the Ephesians, Pope Leo emphasized the importance of recognizing the different gifts and ministries within the Church and using them to build unity. "The Lord's call resonates anew in our hearts today and confirms our vocation and mission: to build the Church together, founded on Christ, the 'cornerstone'," he said.

He encouraged the faithful to "build on what is good, to harmonize our differences and to work together for the good of all."

Carrying the Cross

The Pope went on to speak of two attitudes that he said are essential for Christians seeking to become "wise architects" in building what he called the "civilization of love."

The first was embracing the Cross of Christ. Using the image of the sea that surrounds the Canary Islands, Pope Leo noted that while the ocean evokes home and belonging, it can also symbolize challenge, distance, and uncertainty.

Quoting then Saint Augustine, he recalled that humanity longs for its true homeland but must cross "the sea of this world" to reach it. "To show us the way, the One to whom we longed to go came himself," the Pope quoted. "No one is able to cross the sea of this world unless they carry the cross of Christ."

Pope Leo said the saints provide an example of how to face life's difficulties by trusting in Christ. "As they faced the storms of life, they knew how to take Jesus into their boats; they trusted in him, embraced the cross and thus calmed the waves of uncertainty and fear," he explained.

Pope Leo XIV meeting with the local Church community in Las Palmas (@Vatican Media)

A Eucharistic spirituality

The second attitude highlighted by Pope Leo was the need to cultivate a Eucharistic spirituality.

He referred to the long-standing local tradition of showering flower petals before the Blessed Sacrament during celebrations of the Ascension, describing it as a reminder that Christ is the center of Christian life.

"On our pilgrimage, the goal is the encounter with Christ; he is the center of Christian life, before whom we bow our knees in adoration, around whom we gather to form one body," he said.

Then quoting the Second Vatican Council's Lumen Gentium, the Pope stressed that participation in the Eucharist strengthens the unity of the Church and should lead believers to a deeper sense of communion. "Cultivating a Eucharistic spirituality means delving deeper into 'a spirituality of ecclesial unity in love,'" he said.

Looking ahead with hope

Concluding his address, Pope Leo encouraged the local Church to draw strength from the witness of the many holy men and women who have shaped the history of Christianity in the Canary Islands.

He urged the faithful to remain united in faith, hope, and charity, describing those virtues, in the words of Saint John Paul II, as "three stars that rise in the sky of our spiritual life to guide us to God."

Entrusting the Church in the Canary Islands to the Virgin Mary under the title "Stella Maris", Star of the Sea, the Pope encouraged Catholics to continue their mission with confidence, asking the Holy Spirit for the grace to remain united and faithful amid the challenges of the present age.

Here is a recap of the June 10th session of the USCCB spring plenary meeting in Orlando

 

Child protection, sainthood causes, World Youth Day on US bishops’ spring meeting agenda

written by Julie Asher 

Bishop Daniel J. Felton of Duluth, Minn., speaks during an episcopal consultation on the sainthood cause of Msgr. Joseph Francis Buh during a June 10, 2026, session of the annual spring meeting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in Orlando, Fla. Msgr. Buh was a missionary priest who served Northeastern Minnesota and his cause was first opened in 2023. (OSV News photo/Bob Roller)

ORLANDO, Fla. (OSV News) — Headlining the June 10 public session of the U.S. bishops’ spring plenary in Orlando were addresses by the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and the new apostolic nuncio to the United States, along with a preliminary presentation on proposed updates to the bishops’ landmark document on protection policies for children and minors.

A highlight in the afternoon was a report on World Youth Day 2027, accompanied by a gift of traditional Asian paper fans for each bishop from South Korea — whose capital, Seoul, will host the international event.

In a morning presentation, Bishop Barry C. Knestout of Richmond, Virginia, chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on the Protection of Children and Young People, said the bishops are reviewing proposed updates to the “Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People,” seeking to define key terms while balancing care for victim-survivors with accused clergy’s right to a presumption of innocence until proven otherwise.

The suggested changes would keep the charter focused “exclusively” on clergy abuse of minors, with a new document being developed to address abuse involving vulnerable adults, Bishop Knestout said. Voting on the agenda item was scheduled for June 11.

Glossary of terms in response to diocesan requests

He said the revised text includes a glossary of terms in response to diocesan requests, and — drawing on canon law — the integration of "the right of an accused to the presumption of innocence.” 

Following the presentation, Archbishop Shawn McKnight of Kansas City, Kansas — citing several factors and calling for a “more synodal approach” — asked if it would be possible to suspend the vote on the revisions pending further consultation among presbyteral councils and diocesan review boards.

At the start of the public session, Msgr. Michael J.K. Fuller, the USCCB’s general secretary, read a message from the U.S. bishops to Pope Leo XIV thanking him for his new encyclical “Magnifica Humanitas” and for shining “the light of the Gospel and the tradition of the Church on the new opportunities and challenges posed by the rise” of artificial intelligence and “emerging technologies.”

The bishop said the pope’s teaching is a timely reminder that human life and dignity must remain at the center of technological development. Marking the first year of Pope Leo’s pontificate, they prayed that he would continue to be a guiding light for both the Church and the wider world.

Archbishop Paul S. Coakley of Oklahoma City gave his first address to the body of bishops as USCCB president, having been elected during the conference’s annual fall meeting in November 2025. 

Church must ‘create hope in Christ’

The Church must “put out into the deep” and “create hope in Christ,” he said. He told the bishops he was “especially pleased to recognize the impact” of the USCCB’s special message on migration, released during the conference’s November 2025 plenary assembly amid the Trump administration’s hardline crackdown on immigration, which has seen sweeping mass detentions and deportations.

The USCCB message “demonstrated our united concern as pastors for the dignity of every person, especially our migrant brothers and sisters,” said Archbishop Coakley.  Archbishop Gabriele G. Caccia gave his inaugural address to the bishops as nuncio to the U.S.  He was named to his new post in March, after having previously served as the Holy See’s permanent observer to the United Nations.

Bishops’ mission as missionary disciples

In his remarks, he highlighted the consecration of the U.S. Church to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, urged the bishops to fulfill their mission as missionary disciples by welcoming immigrants in their midst, and reminded his brother bishops he is there for them, especially in moments when their responsibilities as episcopal shepherds leads them to feel isolated.

“My service here is one of listening, trust, and shared discernment within the Church that we are all serving together,” Archbishop Caccia said.

In the late afternoon, as chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth, Bishop Edward J. Burns of Dallas gave a report on World Youth Day 2027, which is to take place Aug. 3-8 in Seoul, and he introduced Auxiliary Bishop Paul Kyung Sang Lee of Seoul, general coordinator for WYD 2027, who brought traditional Asian folding fans as a gift to the bishops.

Bishop Burns said some 10,000 to 15,000 young pilgrims will travel to South Korea, a number he said would be comparable to the U.S. presence at WYD in Brazil (2013) and in Panama (2019).

Church of Korea began in hands of laypeople

Bishop Lee said he hopes all U.S. bishops will inspire young people of their dioceses to participate in the global event. The bishop detailed how the Catholic Church of Korea began in the hands of the laypeople, became strengthened by the blood of 10,000-plus martyrs, and served as a sanctuary for democracy and human rights.

“I have a simple hope that by the end of this presentation, Seoul will feel a little less far away,” Bishop Lee said. After the Korean War (1950-1953), he said, “Korea was one of the poorest countries of the world. In 80 years, Korea moved from devastation to renewal. The hardships did not have the final world. Hope can renew and heal a nation.”  Bishop Lee also spoke about three special WYD events that are to take place with Pope Leo XIV — a meeting with people facing hardships, interreligious dialogue, and prayers for world peace.

World Youth Day promises to be a “powerful opportunity” for young people from across the globe to witness how “God’s love never ceases, regardless of circumstances,” the bishop said, adding that three special events with Pope Leo XIV are planned — a meeting with people facing hardships, interreligious dialogue and prayers for world peace.

Catholic scientist and provost of Dartmouth

The bishops also heard from mathematical biologist Santiago Schnell, a Catholic scientist and provost of Dartmouth University. He was invited to speak June 10 by Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Indiana, USCCB secretary and chair of its Committee on Priorities and Plans.

The talk anticipated the bishops’ discussion of the 25th anniversary of the USCCB’s implementation of “Ex Corde Ecclesia,” St. John Paul II’s apostolic constitution on Catholic universities.

The Catholic imagination needs to be reawakened in academic life to nurture leaders who can become “voices for the Catholic Church,” Schnell advised the nation’s bishops.

During his presentation, Schnell — formerly dean of the University of Notre Dame’s College of Science — warned that Catholics were, as his presentation title asserted, “educated, yet absent” from American intellectual life.

Need to educate Catholic to become leaders

“The Catholic paradox is that we have a massive infrastructure of higher education with average outcomes,” said Schnell. “We are not educating sufficient Catholics in our Catholic higher educational system. And we’re not educating them, actually, to become leaders.”

The bishops also heard a preliminary presentation on portions of two texts for consideration: a new edition of the Lectionary for Mass, which provides the Scripture readings and psalm for each day’s liturgy; and the 2025 Roman Missal-Liturgy of the Hours Supplement.

In a voice vote they showed support for the local advancement of two separate American canonization causes: Bishop Daniel J. Felton of Duluth, Minnesota, gave a presentation on the cause opened in his diocese for pioneer missionary priest Msgr. Joseph Buh and Archbishop Thomas G. Wenski of Miami presented the cause of entrepreneur-turned-evangelist John Rick Miller.

The consultation of a body of bishops — at either the regional or national level — is required by Church legislation governing the canonization process as a cause gets underway.

Julie Asher is senior editor for OSV News. Contributing to this story were Gina Christian, Jean Gonzalez and Michael R. Heinlein.