Just yesterday I experienced exactly this. My wife and I went to evening Mass at Basilica Santa Maria della Croce in Crema. It was all in Italian but we understood what was going on and were welcomed by the locals.
Truly memorable.
You can walk into a Catholic church almost anywhere on earth and know exactly where you are.
You could be in Rome, Poland, Kenya, Mexico, the Philippines, or sitting in a nearly empty parish in Chester County on a Tuesday morning. You may not understand a word being spoken, but you will still recognize the Mass. You will know when to stand, when to kneel, what is happening at the altar, and why everyone came.
That alone is incredible. But then you remember what it took for the Mass to survive.
It was offered in catacombs when Christians had to hide. It was offered in prison camps, during wars, in Irish homes when the faith was persecuted, and in underground churches where being caught could cost people everything. Priests risked their lives to celebrate it. Catholics risked theirs just to be there.
Kings died. Empires collapsed. Borders changed. Whole countries disappeared.
The Mass continued.
And now I get to walk into my church on an ordinary weekday morning and step into the same worship Catholics have carried across centuries.
That is what gets me.
Catholicism is not tied to one country, one culture, one preacher, or one generation. The Church is bigger than all of that.
You can cross an ocean, walk through the doors of a Catholic church, and still know exactly where you are.
Home.
@mrnguyen007 It’s bullshit when they don’t even tell you what posts violate the rules. At least give creators the courtesy to see what the supposed violation was.
A new UK study has raised concerns about how teenage boys are using AI companion apps.
Researchers surveyed more than 1,000 boys aged 12–16 from 37 schools and found that around 1 in 5 either had an AI girlfriend or knew someone their age who did.
The study also found that:
- 85% had used an AI chatbot.
- 43% used AI to ask questions they were too embarrassed to ask someone else.
- 26% said they preferred the attention from AI companions over real-life relationships.
- 36% said they sometimes preferred talking to AI instead of friends or family.
Experts say AI companions could give young people unrealistic ideas about relationships because the bots are designed to always be supportive, agree with the user, and be available whenever needed.
#BreakingNews: Sunset Boulevard is closed indefinitely in West Hollywood after a massive, 100-year-old water main ruptured early Thursday morning, creating a large sinkhole directly under the traffic light at Sunset Boulevard and Holloway Drive.
I remember sitting in bed watching this live on my iPad. Never have forgiven him for this moment and now that he’s gone I won’t pretend that it didn’t happen.
January 6, 2021: Traitor..
“Everyone in this body needs to say it— Joe Biden is the legitimate president of the United States— Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are lawfully elected”
Trump and his administration will say the kindest words about him in the days to come.. what else can they say? But they, just like us, understand exactly who he was.
Who was Lindsey Graham to you?
https://t.co/wQleK2tuN8
@LauraLoomer Laura, stop the bullshit. Lindsey couldn’t be counted on when the Country needed him most. How many Jihadis snuck through the Southern Border because of the stolen election of 2020?