“As a husband, wife, father or mother, we assume a particular responsibility to lead our spouse and children to heaven, in addition to our own attainment of heaven.” OUR VOCATION In His infinite love and goodness, God created man and woman in freedom to know, love and serve Him in this life and to spend […]

The post Understanding the Vocational Call to Holy Marriage appeared first on Integrated Catholic Life™.

My father is a reverent man. Not in the incense-swinging, Latin-chanting, cassock-donning kind of way—though he’d probably volunteer for all three if asked—but in the unmistakable, sometimes exasperating way that says: this matters. Whether it was praying before dinner or dressing for Mass, his posture told the world something sacred was happening—even if the cathedral […]

A Daily Quote to Inspire Your Catholic Faith “In the family, faith is handed on together with life, generation after generation. It is shared like food at the family table and like the love in our hearts. In this way, families become privileged places in which to encounter Jesus, who loves us and desires our […]

The post Daily Quote — Pope Leo XIV appeared first on Integrated Catholic Life™.

In a world increasingly confused about the meaning of love, identity, and commitment, the Church lifts up marriage not merely as a cultural tradition, but as a divine and sacred reality. Marriage is a sacrament—a visible sign instituted by Christ that communicates grace. But it is more than that: as Pope St. John Paul II […]

ENCOUNTERING THE WORD — YOUR DAILY BIBLE VERSES Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), “that it may be well with you and that you may live long on the earth.” Fathers, do not provoke your children to […]

The post Your Daily Bible Verses — Ephesians 6:1-4 appeared first on Integrated Catholic Life™.

Denver, Colo., Jun 2, 2025 / 18:27 pm (CNA).

Every Sunday afternoon since Oct. 7, 2023, a peaceful group has gathered for a vigil walk in downtown Boulder, Colorado, to remember the Israeli hostages held by the terrorist group Hamas. 

This past Sunday, as they marched past local shops and restaurants in the city’s outdoor Pearl Street Mall, eight participants in the group’s activity were firebombed in what the FBI is investigating as an act of terrorism.

In the wake of the June 1 attack, the archbishop of Denver, Samuel Aquila, called for an end to anti-Jewish violence and urged the faithful to join together in prayer for the victims.

“I’m deeply saddened this evening to hear of the attack in Boulder, especially as it seems our Jewish brothers and sisters were targeted,” Aquila said in a statement released June 1. 

A suspect used a makeshift flamethrower and threw an incendiary device into the crowd, yelling “Free Palestine” during the attack, according to law enforcement.

Four women and four men ages 52 to 88 were taken to the hospital with burns and other injuries after the attack. 

“This type of violence must come to an end as it only fuels hatred,” Aquila said. 

The attack closely followed the killing of two Israeli embassy employees — a young couple soon to be engaged — in Washington, D.C., just weeks ago. 

The Boulder attack suspect, identified as Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45, was booked in the Boulder County Jail on multiple felony charges, according to the City of Boulder. 

An FBI affidavit said Soliman confessed to the attack, telling the police he had planned it for a year and that he wanted to “kill all Zionist people and wished they were all dead.” 

After being taken into custody, Soliman reportedly told the police he would do it again. 

In addition to the two Molotov cocktails that Soliman threw into the crowd, investigators found more than a dozen unlit Molotov cocktails as well as weed sprayer filled with gasoline, according to the FBI affidavit. 

An Egyptian citizen, Soliman entered the country on a B2 visa in August 2022 and filed for asylum the following month. He remained in the country even though his visa expired in February 2023, according to Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Kash Patel described what happened as a “targeted terrorist attack” and said the federal agency is “fully investigating” it as such.

In a post on Truth Social, President Donald Trump pledged to prosecute the perpetrator “to the fullest extent of the law.” 

“My heart goes out to the victims of this terrible tragedy and the great people of Boulder, Colorado!” Trump continued. 

The mayor of Boulder, Aaron Brockett, decried the attack in a statement, saying that the city would “stand strong together.”

“Know that the Jewish community has my full support and the support of the entire Boulder community,” Brockett said. 

“Please join me in praying for everyone affected by this horrific attack,” Aquila said. “We ask the Lord to bring comfort, healing, and peace in the face of such hatred.” 

“May we listen to the voice of God, who calls us to love one another!” Aquila concluded.

Denver, Colo., Jun 2, 2025 / 18:27 pm (CNA).

Every Sunday afternoon since Oct. 7, 2023, a peaceful group has gathered for a vigil walk in downtown Boulder, Colorado, to remember the Israeli hostages held by the terrorist group Hamas. 

This past Sunday, as they marched past local shops and restaurants in the city’s outdoor Pearl Street Mall, eight participants in the group’s activity were firebombed in what the FBI is investigating as an act of terrorism.

In the wake of the June 1 attack, the archbishop of Denver, Samuel Aquila, called for an end to anti-Jewish violence and urged the faithful to join together in prayer for the victims.

“I’m deeply saddened this evening to hear of the attack in Boulder, especially as it seems our Jewish brothers and sisters were targeted,” Aquila said in a statement released June 1. 

A suspect used a makeshift flamethrower and threw an incendiary device into the crowd, yelling “Free Palestine” during the attack, according to law enforcement.

Four women and four men ages 52 to 88 were taken to the hospital with burns and other injuries after the attack. 

“This type of violence must come to an end as it only fuels hatred,” Aquila said. 

The attack closely followed the killing of two Israeli embassy employees — a young couple soon to be engaged — in Washington, D.C., just weeks ago. 

The Boulder attack suspect, identified as Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45, was booked in the Boulder County Jail on multiple felony charges, according to the City of Boulder. 

An FBI affidavit said Soliman confessed to the attack, telling the police he had planned it for a year and that he wanted to “kill all Zionist people and wished they were all dead.” 

After being taken into custody, Soliman reportedly told the police he would do it again. 

In addition to the two Molotov cocktails that Soliman threw into the crowd, investigators found more than a dozen unlit Molotov cocktails as well as weed sprayer filled with gasoline, according to the FBI affidavit. 

An Egyptian citizen, Soliman entered the country on a B2 visa in August 2022 and filed for asylum the following month. He remained in the country even though his visa expired in February 2023, according to Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Kash Patel described what happened as a “targeted terrorist attack” and said the federal agency is “fully investigating” it as such.

In a post on Truth Social, President Donald Trump pledged to prosecute the perpetrator “to the fullest extent of the law.” 

“My heart goes out to the victims of this terrible tragedy and the great people of Boulder, Colorado!” Trump continued. 

The mayor of Boulder, Aaron Brockett, decried the attack in a statement, saying that the city would “stand strong together.”

“Know that the Jewish community has my full support and the support of the entire Boulder community,” Brockett said. 

“Please join me in praying for everyone affected by this horrific attack,” Aquila said. “We ask the Lord to bring comfort, healing, and peace in the face of such hatred.” 

“May we listen to the voice of God, who calls us to love one another!” Aquila concluded.

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jun 2, 2025 / 18:07 pm (CNA).

Archbishop of Toronto Cardinal Francis Leo called on the faithful to honor the most Sacred Heart of Jesus throughout the month of June rather than “using symbols that are contrary to God’s divine revelation.” 

“This year the solemnity of the Sacred Heart is commemorated on June 27, though the entire month is dedicated to this long-standing and much appreciated devotion in the Church,” Leo said in a statement. 

The month of June is a time to reflect on Jesus’ “loving, burning, sacrificial, and life-giving heart,” which Leo called “one of the most profound and enduring symbols in Catholic devotional life.”

For Catholics, symbols “help us to deepen our faith and shape our prayer life, not to mention the lives we lead and the choices we make,” the cardinal said. “They are like bridges joining together the material and spiritual worlds and reveal to us the Gospel truths.”

The month of June is also recognized in many cities around North America as “Pride Month.” Thousands of people gather throughout June to hold parades and parties that celebrate the LGBTQ+ community. 

Leo called on the faithful in Toronto to use symbols this month that “are consistent with our Catholic faith and not borrowed from ideological fora, promoted by lobby groups and endorsed by political movements.” 

He said: “We ought to honor and respect our traditions and not compromise the integrity of the faith by using symbols that are contrary to God’s divine revelation.”

“We do good to use our own symbols to tell our own story without resorting to trendy, misguided, and inadequate symbols that do not represent us as Catholics but rather contribute to confusion, distortions, and ambiguities about what the Catholic faith truly teaches regarding the human person, human nature, and natural moral law.” 

The Sacred Heart of Jesus, which depicts “Christ’s physical heart, pierced and surrounded by thorns calling to mind his suffering and imbued with the inextinguishable flame of his love is ultimately the only symbol we really need,” Leo said.

“It is important for us to remember that the Sacred Heart does not merely refer to Jesus’ physical heart but to his entire interior life — his will, emotions, thoughts, desires, and love. It signifies the love that motivated the Incarnation, Our Lord’s earthly ministry, his passion, and ultimately the offering of himself on the cross for the redemption of the world.”

“Finally, during this month of June, I would encourage you to take time to renew your consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus,” Leo said. “If you haven’t already consecrated yourself, your family, and household to the most Sacred Heart, please consider doing so.”

ACI Prensa Staff, Jun 2, 2025 / 17:37 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV recalled the life and legacy of Cardinal in Pectore Iuliu Hossu, a Romanian Greek Catholic bishop, “pastor and martyr of the faith during the communist persecution in Romania,” who was commemorated Monday in the Vatican and who saved thousands of Jews from death during World War II.

“We have gathered today in the Sistine Chapel to commemorate, in the jubilee year dedicated to hope, an apostle of hope: Blessed Cardinal Iuliu Hossu, Greek Catholic bishop of Cluj-Gherla,” said the Holy Father at the beginning of his address at the commemoration ceremony for the cardinal, who died 55 years ago on May 28, 1970.

“Today,” Pope Leo continued, “he enters this chapel after St. Paul VI, on April 28, 1969, named him cardinal in pectore (in secret) while he was in prison for his fidelity to the Church of Rome.”

Hossu’s appointment as a cardinal was not known until 1973, three years after the death of the cardinal in pectore, according to Vatican News.

According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, the pope can create a cardinal in pectore, a designation known only to him and the cardinal. He does not acquire the rights of a cardinal until it is publicly announced. If the pope dies before this is known, he does not become a member of the College of Cardinals.

‘Righteous among the nations’

In his remarks, Leo XIV emphasized that this year the cardinal is especially remembered, as he is “a symbol of fraternity that transcends any ethnic or religious boundaries. His recognition process as ‘Righteous Among the Nations,’ which began in 2022, is based on his courageous commitment to supporting and saving the Jews of Northern Transylvania when, between 1940 and 1944, the Nazis implemented the tragic plan to deport them to the extermination camps.”

The title of “Righteous Among the Nations” is awarded by the Yad Vashem Holocaust Remembrance Center in Jerusalem to non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews from extermination at the hands of the Nazis.

Action in the face of the ‘darkness of suffering’

Leo XIV then recalled a passage from a 1944 pastoral letter written by the blessed martyr in which he stated: “Our appeal is addressed to all of you, venerable brothers and beloved children, to help the Jews not only with your thoughts but also with your sacrifice, aware that today we can accomplish no nobler work than this Christian and Romanian aid, born of ardent human charity. The first concern of the present moment must be this work of relief.”

“Cardinal Hossu, between 1940 and 1944, contributed to saving thousands of Jews from death in northern Transylvania. The hope of the great shepherd was that of the faithful man, who knows that the gates of evil will not prevail against the work of God,” the Holy Father continued.

After emphasizing that he was a man who lived “prayer and dedication to others,” Pope Leo recalled that Pope Francis beatified Hossu on June 2, 2019, in Blaj, Romania — along with six other martyred bishops — and highlighted a phrase from his homily that belonged to the bishop and cardinal: “God has sent us into this darkness of suffering to forgive and pray for the conversion of all.”

For Pope Leo XIV, the phrase “remains today a prophetic invitation to overcome hatred through forgiveness and to live the faith with dignity and courage.”

‘A courageous and generous man, even to the point of supreme sacrifice’

The pope also emphasized that “Cardinal Hossu’s message is more timely than ever. What he did for the Jews of Romania, the actions he undertook to protect others, despite all the risks and dangers, show him as a model of a free, courageous, and generous man, even to the point of supreme sacrifice.”

“Therefore, his motto, ‘Our faith is our life,’ should become the motto of each one of us.”

After encouraging Hossu’s example to be “a light for the world today,” Pope Leo XIV finally exclaimed: “Let us say ‘no’ to violence, to any violence, even more so if it is perpetrated against defenseless and vulnerable people, such as children and families!”

Who was Iuliu Hossu?

Iuliu Hossu was a Greek Catholic bishop and cardinal in pectore. He was born on Jan. 30, 1885, in Milas.

In 1904, he began his theological studies at the College of Propaganda Fide in Rome. In 1906 and 1908, he earned doctorates in philosophy and theology, respectively. On March 27, 1910, he was ordained a priest.

According to Vatican News, on March 3, 1917, he was appointed bishop of the Greek Catholic Eparchy of Gerla in Transylvania. In 1930, the eparchy changed its name to Cluj-Gherla, moving its center to the city of Cluj Napoca. There was a period of occupation there between 1940 and 1944.

On Oct. 28, 1948, Hossu was arrested by the communist government and taken to Dragoslavele. He was later transferred to the Orthodox Monastery of Caldarusani and in 1950 to the Sighetul Marmatiei Penitentiary. In 1955 he arrived at Curtea de Arges, in 1956 at the monastery of Ciorogarla, and finally back to Caldarusani.

In August 1961, he wrote this in prison: “I have not been able to take away your love, Lord; it is enough for me: I ask your forgiveness for all my sins and I thank you with all my being for all that you have given me, your unworthy servant.”

Hossu was deprived of all freedom until his death on May 28, 1970, at the Colentina Hospital in Bucharest, where his last words were: “My battle is over; yours continues.”

ACI Prensa Staff, Jun 2, 2025 / 17:37 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV recalled the life and legacy of Cardinal in Pectore Iuliu Hossu, a Romanian Greek Catholic bishop, “pastor and martyr of the faith during the communist persecution in Romania,” who was commemorated Monday in the Vatican and who saved thousands of Jews from death during World War II.

“We have gathered today in the Sistine Chapel to commemorate, in the jubilee year dedicated to hope, an apostle of hope: Blessed Cardinal Iuliu Hossu, Greek Catholic bishop of Cluj-Gherla,” said the Holy Father at the beginning of his address at the commemoration ceremony for the cardinal, who died 55 years ago on May 28, 1970.

“Today,” Pope Leo continued, “he enters this chapel after St. Paul VI, on April 28, 1969, named him cardinal in pectore (in secret) while he was in prison for his fidelity to the Church of Rome.”

Hossu’s appointment as a cardinal was not known until 1973, three years after the death of the cardinal in pectore, according to Vatican News.

According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, the pope can create a cardinal in pectore, a designation known only to him and the cardinal. He does not acquire the rights of a cardinal until it is publicly announced. If the pope dies before this is known, he does not become a member of the College of Cardinals.

‘Righteous among the nations’

In his remarks, Leo XIV emphasized that this year the cardinal is especially remembered, as he is “a symbol of fraternity that transcends any ethnic or religious boundaries. His recognition process as ‘Righteous Among the Nations,’ which began in 2022, is based on his courageous commitment to supporting and saving the Jews of Northern Transylvania when, between 1940 and 1944, the Nazis implemented the tragic plan to deport them to the extermination camps.”

The title of “Righteous Among the Nations” is awarded by the Yad Vashem Holocaust Remembrance Center in Jerusalem to non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews from extermination at the hands of the Nazis.

Action in the face of the ‘darkness of suffering’

Leo XIV then recalled a passage from a 1944 pastoral letter written by the blessed martyr in which he stated: “Our appeal is addressed to all of you, venerable brothers and beloved children, to help the Jews not only with your thoughts but also with your sacrifice, aware that today we can accomplish no nobler work than this Christian and Romanian aid, born of ardent human charity. The first concern of the present moment must be this work of relief.”

“Cardinal Hossu, between 1940 and 1944, contributed to saving thousands of Jews from death in northern Transylvania. The hope of the great shepherd was that of the faithful man, who knows that the gates of evil will not prevail against the work of God,” the Holy Father continued.

After emphasizing that he was a man who lived “prayer and dedication to others,” Pope Leo recalled that Pope Francis beatified Hossu on June 2, 2019, in Blaj, Romania — along with six other martyred bishops — and highlighted a phrase from his homily that belonged to the bishop and cardinal: “God has sent us into this darkness of suffering to forgive and pray for the conversion of all.”

For Pope Leo XIV, the phrase “remains today a prophetic invitation to overcome hatred through forgiveness and to live the faith with dignity and courage.”

‘A courageous and generous man, even to the point of supreme sacrifice’

The pope also emphasized that “Cardinal Hossu’s message is more timely than ever. What he did for the Jews of Romania, the actions he undertook to protect others, despite all the risks and dangers, show him as a model of a free, courageous, and generous man, even to the point of supreme sacrifice.”

“Therefore, his motto, ‘Our faith is our life,’ should become the motto of each one of us.”

After encouraging Hossu’s example to be “a light for the world today,” Pope Leo XIV finally exclaimed: “Let us say ‘no’ to violence, to any violence, even more so if it is perpetrated against defenseless and vulnerable people, such as children and families!”

Who was Iuliu Hossu?

Iuliu Hossu was a Greek Catholic bishop and cardinal in pectore. He was born on Jan. 30, 1885, in Milas.

In 1904, he began his theological studies at the College of Propaganda Fide in Rome. In 1906 and 1908, he earned doctorates in philosophy and theology, respectively. On March 27, 1910, he was ordained a priest.

According to Vatican News, on March 3, 1917, he was appointed bishop of the Greek Catholic Eparchy of Gerla in Transylvania. In 1930, the eparchy changed its name to Cluj-Gherla, moving its center to the city of Cluj Napoca. There was a period of occupation there between 1940 and 1944.

On Oct. 28, 1948, Hossu was arrested by the communist government and taken to Dragoslavele. He was later transferred to the Orthodox Monastery of Caldarusani and in 1950 to the Sighetul Marmatiei Penitentiary. In 1955 he arrived at Curtea de Arges, in 1956 at the monastery of Ciorogarla, and finally back to Caldarusani.

In August 1961, he wrote this in prison: “I have not been able to take away your love, Lord; it is enough for me: I ask your forgiveness for all my sins and I thank you with all my being for all that you have given me, your unworthy servant.”

Hossu was deprived of all freedom until his death on May 28, 1970, at the Colentina Hospital in Bucharest, where his last words were: “My battle is over; yours continues.”