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Thank you for listening to Catholic News. This podcast will take two brief summer breaks to allow the producers to go on vacation. The first break will be from today until May 15. The second will be for one week in July. As always, the latest news will be available at CatholicNewsAgency.com. God bless you.

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Pope Francis on Sunday warned against the danger of living life without a sense of purpose or a destination to set our course by, reminding the faithful that Jesus is “our compass for reaching heaven,” our true home. Speaking to pilgrims gathered on a sunny day in Saint Peter’s Square to pray the Regina Caeli, the pope reflected on the day’s Gospel reading, in which Jesus consoles his disciples before his ascension, telling them, “I am the way, the truth, and the life,” John 14:6. “Jesus uses the familiar image of home, the place of relationships and intimacy. In the Father’s house — he says to his friends, and to each one of us — there is space for you, you are welcome, you will always be received with the warmth of an embrace, and I am in heaven to prepare a place for you!” Pope Francis said that keeping in mind “where life is headed” is the way to get through the experiences of “fatigue, bewilderment, and even failure.” When we lose sight of what makes “life worth living for,” he said, we “compress our life into the present,” the pope said. We merely seek maximum enjoyment and “end up living day by day, without purpose, without a goal.” “Our homeland, instead, is in heaven; let us not forget the greatness and the beauty of our destination!” he urged.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/254258/pope-francis-jesus-calls-us-to-set-our-sights-on-heaven

Today, the Church celebrates Saint Peter of Tarantaise, a Cistercian monk who reluctantly became Archbishop of Tarantaise in France. On his accession to the episcopacy, he reformed the diocese and set about providing education and distributing food to the poor, a tradition called the "May Bread,” which lasted until the French Revolution in 1789. He performed many miraculous healings during that time.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-peter-of-tarantaise-bishop-470

A daily news briefing from Catholic News Agency, powered by artificial intelligence. Ask your smart speaker to play “Catholic News,” or listen every morning wherever you get podcasts.

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Pope Francis has sent a video message to the teens and young adults preparing to attend World Youth Day in Lisbon, Portugal, in August. World Youth Day was established by Pope John Paul II in 1985. The weeklong gathering usually attracts hundreds of thousands of young people. Pope Francis announced that the Portuguese capital would host the global Catholic gathering of young people at the closing Mass of the last international World Youth Day in Panama City in January 2019. In his video message, Pope Francis also shared “a secret” to preparing well for World Youth Day. “To prepare well, it’s good to look towards your roots,” he said, encouraging young people to spend time with the elderly before the gathering. “Many of you have grandparents. Visit your grandparents and ask them: ‘In your time did World Youth Day exist?’ — Surely not. ‘And what do you think I must do?’ Talk a little with your grandparents. They’ll give you wisdom.”

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/254237/see-you-in-lisbon-pope-francis-shares-message-3-months-before-world-youth-day-2023

The Vatican’s secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, will represent Pope Francis at the coronation of King Charles III on Saturday, May 6. Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni announced Parolin’s attendance on Thursday. Parolin will be in attendance with other high-ranking guests, including world leaders, representatives of European monarchies, and royal families from around the world. The presence of other crowned royals at the ceremony is a break from royal tradition, British press reported. Approximately 2,200 people have been invited to the crowning.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/254236/vatican-to-send-representative-of-pope-francis-to-british-coronation-ceremony

A Catholic hospital system in Oklahoma is contesting federal officials’ demand that it must extinguish an enclosed tabernacle candle in its chapel or lose accreditation and its ability to serve needy patients. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, a federal agency under the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), ordered Saint Francis Health System in Oklahoma to snuff out the candle after one of its contractors responsible for accrediting hospitals deemed it a fire hazard. Saint Francis Health System has five hospitals in eastern Oklahoma. It treats almost 400,000 patients per year and has provided over $650 million in free medical care over the last five years.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/254239/hhs-orders-catholic-hospital-to-snuff-out-chapel-candle-or-lose-its-accreditation

Today, the Church celebrates Saint Hilary of Arles, a fifth-century bishop who gave up wealth and privilege in favor of austerity and sacrifice for the sake of the Church.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-hilary-of-arles-701

The Church also celebrates Blessed Edmund Rice, an Irish businessman who was so moved by the plight of children in the port city where he worked that he founded schools and eventually a religious order to serve them.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/blessed-edmund-rice-467

A daily news briefing from Catholic News Agency, powered by artificial intelligence. Ask your smart speaker to play “Catholic News,” or listen every morning wherever you get podcasts.

www.catholicnewsagency.com

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For the first time since the Reformation, a Catholic prelate will be formally participating in the coronation of King Charles III on Saturday, May 6, along with other Christian leaders across the country who have been invited to formally bestow a blessing on the new king. The Order of Service, released by the Church of England, explains: “The progress of ecumenical relations since 1953 means that for the first time, this blessing is to be shared by Christian leaders across the country.” The blessings will take place shortly after the archbishop of Canterbury formally crowns King Charles III, after which Westminster Abbey’s bells will peal for two minutes and then the official blessings will commence. Cardinal Vincent Nichols, Catholic archbishop of Westminster, will say: “May God pour upon you the riches of his grace, keep you in his holy fear, prepare you for a happy eternity, and receive you at the last into his immortal glory.”

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/254225/catholic-prelate-will-participate-in-british-coronation-ceremony-for-the-first-time-since-reformation

Today, the Church celebrates the English Carthusian Martyrs, the 18 Carthusian monks who were put to death in England under King Henry VIII between 1535-1540 for maintaining their allegiance to the Pope.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/english-carthusian-martyrs-227

The Church also celebrates Saint Pelagia, a pagan woman who sought baptism after hearing a homily by a bishop. As a result of her conversion, the emperor's son, whose eye Pelagia had caught, turned against her, as did her mother. Together they reported her to the emperor in hopes that her faith would weaken under torture. Diocletian interviewed her, but he failed to persuade her to change her mind and heart about being a Christian. She ran from home, giving away all of her possessions and setting her slaves free, and lived as a hermit within the mountains. She was called "the beardless hermit," and went by the name of "Pelagius." She then died three or four years later, apparently as a result of extreme asceticism, which had emaciated her to the point she could no longer be recognized.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-pelagia-484

A daily news briefing from Catholic News Agency, powered by artificial intelligence. Ask your smart speaker to play “Catholic News,” or listen every morning wherever you get podcasts.

www.catholicnewsagency.com

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Pope Francis’ prayer intention for the month of May is for ecclesial movements and groups. “Ecclesial movements are a gift; they are a treasure in the Church,” the Holy Father said in a video released by the Vatican on May 2. “These movements renew the Church with their capacity for dialogue at the service of her evangelizing mission,” he said. “Each day, they rediscover in their charism new ways of showing the attractiveness and the newness of the Gospel.” “How do they do this? Speaking different languages, they seem different, but it is their creativity that creates these differences. But always understanding themselves and making themselves understood.” Pope Francis encouraged members of ecclesial groups to “remain in harmony with the Church, since harmony is a gift of the Holy Spirit.” The pope concluded his message with a prayer: “Let us pray that ecclesial movements and groups may daily rediscover their mission, an evangelizing mission, and that they place their own charisms at the service of the world’s needs.”

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/254224/this-is-pope-francis-prayer-intention-for-the-month-of-may

Today, the Church celebrates Saints Phillip and James, Apostles. Philip was born in Bethsaida in Galilee and was one of the 12 Apostles that Jesus called. Immediately, Philip began to convert others, finding his friend Nathaniel and telling him that Jesus was the one whom Moses and the other prophets had foretold. James the Lesser is called “Lesser” because he was younger than the other Apostle by the same name, James the Great. James the less was related in some way to Jesus, and after Jesus’ Ascension into heaven, he became the head of the Church in Jerusalem. He was martyred in the year 62.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/sts-philip-and-james-the-less-apostles-473

A daily news briefing from Catholic News Agency, powered by artificial intelligence. Ask your smart speaker to play “Catholic News,” or listen every morning wherever you get podcasts.

www.catholicnewsagency.com

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Speaking at a Catholic university in Hungary on Sunday, Pope Francis warned of the risk of technological domination and the threat it poses to culture and to our human ecology. He also spoke about the false freedoms offered by both communism and consumerism, and encouraged people to seek out Christ’s truth. The visit marked the final meeting in Francis’ three-day trip to Hungary’s capital. Pope Francis’ visit to Budapest included meetings with President Katalin Novák and Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. He also spent time with visually impaired children, young adults, and clergy. On the morning of April 30, he celebrated Mass for 50,000 people gathered in and around Kossuth Lajos Square.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/254208/hundreds-of-faithful-gather-in-prayer-for-pope-francis-at-budapest-s-oldest-parish-church

Pope Francis said on board the papal plane on Sunday that he did not lose consciousness before his hospitalization at the end of March, which was for “strong and acute pneumonia” in his lower lungs. Pope Francis spent three nights in Rome’s Gemelli Hospital March 29–April 1. A statement from the Holy See Press Office said the pope had been diagnosed with bronchitis and that his condition improved after receiving antibiotic infusion therapy. “The body responded well to the treatment. Thank God,” Francis said Sunday.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/254209/pope-francis-says-he-did-not-lose-consciousness-before-hospitalization-in-march

Today, the Church celebrates Saint Joseph the Worker. Joseph has two feast days on the liturgical calendar. The first is March 19 — Joseph, the Husband of Mary. The second is May 1 — Joseph, the Worker. There is very little about the life of Joseph in Scripture, but we know he was the chaste husband of Mary, the foster father of Jesus, a carpenter and a man who was not wealthy. We also know that he came from the royal lineage of King David. We can see from his actions in scripture that Joseph was a compassionate man, and obedient to the will of God. He also loved Mary and Jesus and wanted to protect and provide for them. Since Joseph does not appear in Jesus' public life, at his death, or resurrection, many historians believe Joseph had probably died before Jesus entered public ministry. Joseph is the patron of many things, including the universal Church, fathers, the dying and social justice.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/feast-of-st-joseph-the-worker-471