Catholic Democrats

Catholic voice in Democratic Party; Democratic voice in the Catholic community. Promoting Catholic Social Justice Tradition in Democratic party & public square

[Catholic Democrats @CatholicDems]

With deep sorrow and abiding gratitude we mourn the passing of Pope Francis, who returned to the Father’s embrace this morning. A Suffering Servant for our time, a pastor of mercy and hope whose courage opened our eyes to the virtue of building bridges, a prophet of justice, and a voice for — and sojourner to — the poor and forgotten, he reminded the Church and the world — through his actions — that “realities are greater than ideas,” and that love without borders is the heart of the Gospel.

His prophetic witness to humility, compassion, and mercy, and to the integral ecology and morality inherent to God’s Creation, shaped a generation — and lifted all our eyes and hearts to heaven. His call to be “the saint next door” provides a light for us in the darkness through which we now must find our way.

Pope Francis always asked for our prayers. Today, please join us in offering prayers in gratitude and love — for our beloved Papa Francisco, for all our sisters and brothers who mourn his passing, for our Church in this time of transition and hope, and for the global community that was the beneficiary of his love, hope, and wisdom.

As he just wrote for his Easter homily, delivered by Cardinal Angelo Comastri: “The Jubilee invites us to renew the gift of hope within us, to surrender our sufferings and our concerns to hope, to share it with those whom we meet along our journey and to entrust to hope the future of our lives and the destiny of the human family.”

@pontifex #PopeFrancis #PapaFrancisco

[Catholic Democrats @CatholicDems]

DAY 1 – HEART OF JESUS, AFLAME WITH LOVE FOR US 🙏
SOURCE: USCCB Novena to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

PRAY 🙏

In his prayer intention for June of last year, the month dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Pope Leo XIV encouraged us, “Let us pray together that each one of us might find consolation in a personal relationship with Jesus, and from His Heart, learn to have compassion on the world.” As we begin this Novena to the Sacred Heart, we join the Holy Father in that prayer.

Lord, I come to Your tender Heart today, to You who have words that set my heart ablaze, to You who pour out compassion on the little ones and the poor, on those who suffer, and on all human miseries.

I desire to know You more, to contemplate You in the Gospel, to be with You and learn from You and from the charity with which You allowed Yourself to be touched by all forms of poverty.

You showed us the Father’s love by loving us without measure
with Your divine and human Heart.

Grant all Your children the grace of encountering You.

Change, shape, and transform our plans, so that we seek only You in every circumstance: in prayer, in work, in encounters, and in our daily routine.

From this encounter, send us out on mission, a mission of compassion for the world in which You are the source from which all consolation flows.

Amen. 🙏

LEARN

While reflections on the heart of Jesus date to the earliest writings of Christianity, the modern devotion to the Sacred Heart began in 17th century France when Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque received visions of Jesus revealing his heart burning with love for humanity. In this revelation, Jesus expressed his desire to be honored in a special way through his Sacred Heart. This devotion grew when Pope Pius IX extended the observance to the universal Church in 1856, and later when Saint Mary of the Divine Heart urged Pope Leo XIII to consecrate the world to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which he did in 1899 through his encyclical, Annum Sacrum.

There have been four papal encyclicals on the Sacred Heart of Jesus: Annum Sacrum (on consecration to the Sacred Heart), Pope Pius XI’s 1928 encyclical Miserentissimus Redemptor (on reparation to the Sacred Heart), Pope Pius XII’s 1956 encyclical Haurietis Aquas (on devotion to the Sacred Heart), and Pope Francis’ 2024 encyclical Dilexit Nos (on the human and divine love of the heart of Jesus Christ).

ACT

Take time today to read Dilexit Nos and explore resources to reflect on Pope Francis’ final encyclical. What stands out to you about the Holy Father’s writings on the Sacred Heart? How might this meditation on Jesus’ love for us set your own heart on fire to love others?

#SacredHeartOfJesus #NovenaToTheSacredHeartOfJesus #ConsecrationToTheSacredHeartOfJesus #America250 #GodBlessAmerica #USCCB

[Catholic Democrats @CatholicDems]

NOVENA TO THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS – EXPLANATORY NOTE 🙏

Yesterday, the Catholic Church in the United States begins a nine-day novena in preparation for the consecration of the nation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. It will occur on June 11th when all of the US bishops are gathered for their Spring Plenary Assembly in Orlando, Florida.

Here is what you should know, to avoid misunderstanding that may be spread — unintentionally or otherwise.

A novena is a traditional nine-day prayer seeking special graces from God. Think of it as a nine-day spiritual preparation for a culminating act.

A consecration is the culmination. In plain terms: it is the act of freely giving or entrusting something — or someone — over to God. It is not centered on receiving something from God (which would be a blessing). It is giving, offering, and dedicating.

In this consecration we are entrusting the United States of America to God. It is not ours to give — but it is ours to acknowledge. And so we publicly proclaim God's sovereignty over all creation, asking for His grace, mercy, and guidance. 🙏

Every citizen has the right to pray for their nation and to express what they believe their nation is called to be. This is not an expression of power. This is a prayer.

For a non-Catholic, or for anyone concerned about the role of religion in public life, we share the following.

In today’s tribalized society, public expressions of faith are often interpreted by some as being against a group of people. Any such characterization of this Novena and Consecration is incorrect; a novena and a consecration are acts of prayer and religious devotion seeking God's mercy, healing, and grace for all, not exercises of political power.

This viewpoint often reflects either a misunderstanding of Catholic teaching or the unfortunate tendency to view public acts of faith that harmonize with the Constitution through a political lens.

To put this in perspective, the same Catholic bishops who have been publicly proclaiming the human dignity of all immigrants are the same bishops who will be leading Catholics and people of good will in praying to the Sacred Heart of Jesus for love, mercy, atonement, and the common good of all.

The Catholic Church in America is freely and solemnly saying to God: "We recognize that this nation — and everything in it — already belongs to You. We ask for Your grace, Your protection, and Your help." 🙏

You can find the daily novena at https://t.co/sVmGlb27Yv the social media accounts of the @USCCB. The consecration on June 11th will be live streamed at https://t.co/tY1yinKH7t.

Let us pray. 🙏

#SacredHeartOfJesus #NovenaToTheSacredHeartOfJesus #ConsecrationToTheSacredHeartOfJesus #America250 #GodBlessAmerica #USCCB

[Catholic Democrats @CatholicDems]

REMEMBERING MOTHERS ONE MORE TIME IN MAY 🙏

Giving thanks is one of the signs of a faithful heart. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches, “Every joy and suffering, every event and need can become the matter for thanksgiving,” so that we may “give thanks in all circumstances.” (CCC 2648; 1 Thessalonians 5:18)

We regret that we were not able to post a Mother’s Day message this year, so while it is still the month of May – for another hour – we want to do just that.

Let us pray in thanksgiving today, and each day, for the mothers in our lives, for expectant mothers, and for Mary, the Mother of God, who accompanies us with a mother’s love. 🙏

#MothersDay #GivingThanks #MomsInNeed #ExpectantMothers #MaryMotherOfGod

[Catholic Democrats @CatholicDems]

THE SOLEMNITY OF THE MOST HOLY TRINITY – LET US PRAY 🙏

Every time we make the Sign of the Cross, we profess and pray the central mystery of our faith:

“In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”

We are not only turning toward God – we are asking God to draw us into communion so that with God’s grace we may be guided by the perfect love shared by the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

At the Last Supper, Jesus prayed to the Father for His disciples – and for all who would come to believe:

“That they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you.” (John )

Jesus does not merely pray His followers will be united. His prayer reaches forward through time – including to us. In these divisive times, may Christ’s prayer for unity strengthen our hope. 🙏

On this Solemnity, we remember that God loved creation into existence so that our life in the Kingdom is rooted in communion, not division; relationship, not isolation; love, not conflict. Only sin gets in the way.

Let us pray that we may be open to the embrace of God – the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit – and that, drawn ever closer to Him, we may seek holiness and unity with our human family. 🙏

#HolyTrinity #SolemnityOfTheHolyTrinity #TrinitySunday #GodIsLove

[Catholic Democrats @CatholicDems]

PRAY FOR PEACE WITH POPE LEO AND CATHOLICS AND PEOPLE OF GOOD WILL FROM AROUND THE WORLD 🙏

Pope Leo will lead the global community in praying the Holy Rosary at the Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes in the Vatican Gardens on Saturday, May 30, at 1:00 pm ET.

The global prayer service occurs at the end of the Marian month and at a time when the world is embroiled in multiple wars that have brought immense suffering and taken countless lives.

Pope Leo invites the all of the global community to join him in praying the Rosary, particularly from one of the many shrines around the globe.
"If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other." – Saint Teresa of Calcutta

Mary, Mother of God, pray for us. 🙏

Vatican News reports that, “Pope Leo will pray the Joyful Mysteries, with each decade being dedicated specifically for those affected by war and violence and entrusting them to the intercession of Mary, Queen of Peace.”

Please join Pope Leo and our sisters and brothers from around the world to pray for peace on Saturday, May 30, 2026, at 1:00 pm ET.

Here is the link to the live stream (and likely subsequent YouTube video) from the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, DC, from which the Most Rev. Gabriele G. Caccia, Apostolic Nuncio to the United States, will lead the faithful praying the Rosary with the Holy Father.
https://t.co/UUwxaAENoR

Our Lady, Queen of Peace, pray for us. 🙏
Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us. 🙏
Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us. 🙏

#RosaryForPeace #GlobalRosaryForPeace #PrayForPeace #PopeLeo

[Catholic Democrats @CatholicDems]

PRAY FOR PEACE WITH POPE LEO AND CATHOLICS AND PEOPLE OF GOOD WILL FROM AROUND THE WORLD 🙏

Pope Leo will lead the global community in praying the Holy Rosary at the Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes in the Vatican Gardens on Saturday, May 30, at 1:00 pm ET.

The global prayer service occurs at the end of the Marian month and at a time when the world is embroiled in multiple wars that have brought immense suffering and taken countless lives.

Pope Leo invites the all of the global community to join him in praying the Rosary, particularly from one of the many shrines around the globe.
"If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other." – Saint Teresa of Calcutta

Mary, Mother of God, pray for us. 🙏

Vatican News reports that, “Pope Leo will pray the Joyful Mysteries, with each decade being dedicated specifically for those affected by war and violence and entrusting them to the intercession of Mary, Queen of Peace.”

Please join Pope Leo and our sisters and brothers from around the world to pray for peace on Saturday, May 30, 2026, at 1:00 pm ET.

Here is the link to the live stream (and likely subsequent YouTube video) from the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, DC, from which the Most Rev. Gabriele G. Caccia, Apostolic Nuncio to the United States, will lead the faithful praying the Rosary with the Holy Father.
https://t.co/UUwxaAENoR

Our Lady, Queen of Peace, pray for us. 🙏
Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us. 🙏
Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us. 🙏

#RosaryForPeace #GlobalRosaryForPeace #PrayForPeace #PopeLeo

[Catholic Democrats @CatholicDems]

As our nation celebrates Memorial Day, our Church celebrates the Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church. This is a beautiful, consoling coincidence for a divided nation carrying heavy hearts in a time of uncertainty.

Today's Gospel shows Mary standing at the foot of the Cross – not looking away – as her Son makes the ultimate sacrifice. The First Reading shows her after the loss, gathered with the disciples, devoted to prayer, holding the community together.

Mary is mother to every family that has ever received a folded flag, and mother to each of us and to our nation. Her human heart knows their personal pain and our collective grief. But she also knows the loving embrace of her Son, who is always seeking us.

Mary, Mother of the Church, pray for us and for all who grieve. 🙏

#MemorialOfTheBlessedVirginMary #MemorialDay #MaryMotherOfTheChurch #NoWords

[U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops @USCCB]

Mary, Mother of the Church, pray for us!

[Catholic Democrats @CatholicDems]

ON MEMORIAL DAY, LET US REMEMBER, HONOR, AND PRAY 🙏

Please join us in remembering, honoring, and praying for those who made the ultimate sacrifice in serving our country.

Today, we pray for their eternal rest in heaven, and that their sacrifice may inspire us toward lives of virtue – and a nation worthy of their courage and devotion. 🙏

May the shared remembrance we hold today bind us together as one people, united in gratitude and humility. 🙏

#MemorialDay #MemorialDay2026 #AmericanVirtue #RememberHonorPray

[Catholic Democrats @CatholicDems]

MAGNIFICA HUMANITAS-INTRO 2

From his inside the Vatican vantage point, @AntonioSpadaro explains:

“… But Leo XIV is not starting from scratch, and this matters. In January 2025, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith and the Dicastery for Culture and Education jointly published Antiqua et Nova, a substantial doctrinal note on the relationship between artificial intelligence and human intelligence, commissioned by #PopeFrancis himself. Structured in 117 paragraphs, the document did something that earlier Vatican statements on technology had not quite managed: it drew a clear philosophical line between what machines do and what human minds are….”

Read the article here:

The Vatican gets serious about AI
An encyclical and a commission: what Leo XIV’s double move tells us about the Church and technology
https://t.co/rVdOI1GRLi

#MagnificaHumanitas #AI #PopeLeoXIV #HumanDignity #AntiquaEtNova

[Catholic Democrats @CatholicDems]

THIS PENTECOST SHOULD STOP US IN OUR TRACKS. 🙏

We live in the year the world is reckoning not only with division and war, but also artificial intelligence – a technology that can write, simulate reason, and communicate across every subject and every tongue in ways that were unimaginable just a few years ago. AI is not only a technology of language but also a technology of science-fiction-like power. It is already reshaping how decisions are made in business, science, medicine, warfare, and justice.

And we live in the year the Catholic Church, led by the first American pope, releases its first major teaching on AI — Magnifica Humanitas – the day after Pentecost.

This convergence is worth pondering with humility.

AI brings opportunities for humanity that stretch our imagination. It also brings risks that are challenging for us to imagine – risks that threaten our human dignity and welfare. To navigate this moment faithfully, we must work together in ways we are not accustomed to – and truly become one body of many gifts in one Spirit.

But here is what AI does not change: the biblical imperative of who will renew the face of the earth.

“Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.”
— Psalm 104

To navigate what lies ahead, we are being called in this time – urgently, personally – to make more room for the Holy Spirit in our lives.

Too many of us have allowed that space to be filled by a “throwaway culture” that moves too fast for discernment.

We cannot relive Pentecost exactly as the apostles experienced it.

Imagine the intimacy and power of our Lord and friend Jesus breathing his Spirit into you in that upper room. But we are not without that same Spirit who has filled every corner of our Church, our faith, and our world. Through prayer, sacrament, and life in community, the Spirit guides us – if we make room for the Spirit.

Let us pray: Lord, send us your Spirit and bless us with the zeal of the Apostles. Give us the humility to accept, if not understand, that we cannot guide the development and use of this technology without You guiding us. And let us pray for #PopeLeo, whose moral leadership is helping call the world to wisdom, humility, and responsibility in this moment. We are one body of many gifts in one Spirit. – Amen 🙏

#Pentecost #MagnificaHumanitas #HolySpirit #AI #HumanDignity @Pontifex

[Catholic Democrats @CatholicDems]

THE LIFE CHANGING COMMANDMENT OF CHRISTIAN FRIENDSHIP 🙏

Memorial Day is a day of countervailing emotion – the kickoff to summer is juxtaposed by the honor we pay to those who made the ultimate sacrifice. On many occasions, their selfless sacrifice was chosen to protect their brothers – their friends – in the midst of danger.

With that in mind, this Gospel read during the Easter Season, is even more sobering for most of us: “This is my commandment: love one another as I love you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”

Being a Christian is difficult. We are called to love everyone as Christ did – including those who oppose us, and even our enemies. This is a call to holiness – a state that is aspirational but can give us pause.

Yet Christian love is not merely a feeling. Rather, it is a decision of the heart that guides our reason. It is a real choice to love, even when it is hard.

Jesus first calls us friends, and then shows what friendship looks like: self-giving love for which we would make the ultimate sacrifice. Aquinas helps us understand what Jesus means by friendship: a friend is one whom we love as “another self” — someone whose good we desire as we desire our own.

In a polarized political climate, and in a world torn by war and fear, today’s Gospel calls us to rise above hatred, despair, and contempt. #PopeFrancis reminds us that holiness is often found in the “saints next door” (Gaudete et exsultate, no. 7-9, March 19, 2018) – ordinary people living faith with humility, love, and daily fidelity. Holiness is not only for the extraordinary. It is also the path of everyday discipleship.

Many of us feel overwhelmed by this commandment. But we can begin the journey today with small, confident steps, knowing that Jesus accompanies us, including those who gave their lives in service to others.

We can pray for those who offend us, including our adversaries. We can reject bitterness. We can speak with civility. We can even find a way, with Christ, to do good for those we do not like. That is how Christian love becomes real in ordinary life.

Let us pray: Lord Jesus, help us to be Your friends. Teach us to love those who offend us, even when it is difficult to do so, and to forgive from the heart. Make our love mercifuland real—shown in deeds, not just words—so holiness becomes possible in ordinary life and we may build Your Kingdom on earth. Amen. 🙏

#Holiness #SaintNextDoor #MemorialDay #UltimateSacrifice

[Catholic Democrats @CatholicDems]

MAGNIFICA HUMANITAS-INTRO 1
POPE LEO XIV: BY GOD’S GRACE, THE RIGHT POPE AT THE RIGHT TIME 🙏

135 years ago #RerumNovarum helped shape the modern world's response to industrialization. Today the Church speaks again to address artificial intelligence with Pope Leo's first encyclical Magnifica Humanitas (The Magnificence of Humanity). #PopeLeoXIV signed the encyclical on May 15, 2026 and it will be released publicly on May 25, 2026.

In his first address to the College of Cardinals after his election, the pope explained why he chose the name Leo XIV:

“… In this regard, I would like us to renew together today our complete commitment to the path that the universal Church has now followed for decades in the wake of the Second Vatican Council. Pope Francis masterfully and concretely set it forth in the Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, from which I would like to highlight several fundamental points: the return to the primacy of Christ in proclamation (cf. No. 11); the missionary conversion of the entire Christian community (cf. No. 9); growth in collegiality and synodality (cf. No. 33); attention to the sensus fidei (cf. Nos. 119-120), especially in its most authentic and inclusive forms, such as popular piety (cf. No. 123); loving care for the least and the rejected (cf. No. 53); courageous and trusting dialogue with the contemporary world in its various components and realities (cf. No. 84; Second Vatican Council, Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes, 1-2).

These are evangelical principles that have always inspired and guided the life and activity of God's Family. In these values, the merciful face of the Father has been revealed and continues to be revealed in his incarnate Son, the ultimate hope of all who sincerely seek truth, justice, peace and fraternity (cf. Benedict XVI, Spe Salvi, 2; Francis, Spes Non Confundit, 3).

Sensing myself called to continue in this same path, I chose to take the name Leo XIV. There are different reasons for this, but mainly because Pope Leo XIII in his historic Encyclical Rerum Novarum addressed the social question in the context of the first great industrial revolution. In our own day, the Church offers to everyone the treasury of her social teaching in response to another industrial revolution and to developments in the field of artificial intelligence that pose new challenges for the defence of human dignity, justice and labour….”

— Pope Leo XIV, Address to the College of Cardinals, Saturday, 10 May 2025

Let us pray for @Pontifex and the launch of Magnifica Humanitas. 🙏

#AI #MagnificaHumanitas #CatholicSocialTeaching #HumanDignity #CommonGood

[Catholic Democrats @CatholicDems]

LET US PRAY 🙏

We mourn the tragic loss of Mansour Kaziha, Amin Abdullah, and Nadir Awad, who were killed in the attack at the Islamic Center of San Diego.

We pray that the God of Abraham, who is merciful and compassionate, will grant them peace and mercy – Allah yarhamuhum – and that their families, friends, and the entire Muslim community may feel the consoling presence of God in this time of grief. 🙏

We also honor the courage and selflessness these men showed in protecting others.

Hatred and violence against any of God’s children – particularly when religiously motivated and done publicly – deeply wounds our entire global community.

In solidarity with our Muslim sisters and brothers, we join in prayer for healing, peace, and the strengthening of compassion and understanding among all people. 🙏

#EndReligiousHatred #IslamicCenterOfSanDiego #InterfaithSolidarity #StandAgainstHate #PrayForSanDiego #AbrahamicUnity

San Diego mosque shooting victims recalled as 'men of courage' https://t.co/f1UiWqRWei