Third Sunday of Lent ~ The Man Born Blind

 

“And what does the Lord require of you?

 

Are you in a sowing phase or a reaping phase?

 

Spanish bishops publish a critique of the emotionalism of spiritual retreats

Pope Leo XIV, the US-Iran war, and a forceful call in a Middle East on the brink of the abyss

Jorge Enrique Mújica

The reverberations are being felt most acutely by Christian minorities already living on fragile ground

In Canada, To Say That There Are Only Two Biological Sexes Costs $750,000: The Barry Neufeld Case

Rafael Manuel Tovar

Barry Neufeld of Chilliwack in British Columbia was condemned by the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal because «if a person chooses not to ‘believe’ that gender identity is separate from the sex assigned at birth, then they do not ‘believe’ in trans people. This is a form of existential denial.»

Beyond emotion: Spanish bishops publish a critique of the emotionalism of spiritual retreats

Jorge Enrique Mújica

The note offers a careful critique of what contemporary philosophers have termed emotivism. In postmodern culture, the bishops observe, the “I feel, therefore I am” mentality often replaces the classical primacy of reason. Emotions, detached from truth and moral good,

Lebanon: more than 30,000 displaced by escalating violence

ZENIT Staff

According to local staff of Aid to the Church in Need in Lebanon, more than ten powerful airstrikes struck Beirut’s southern suburbs at around 2:30 a.m. on Monday. Explosions were heard far beyond the capital, including in the Keserwan region. Additional strikes targeted southern Lebanon and the Beqaa Valley.

Synod Study Groups Signal Structural Shifts: Digital Jurisdiction and Women’s Role in Seminary Formation on the Vatican Table

Valentina di Giorgio

The decision to publish the reports was ordered by Pope Leo XIV, who has insisted that synodality must include transparency and accountability before the entire People of God. Cardinal Mario Grech, Secretary General of the Synod, described the texts not as finished products but as working instruments—“a starting point, not an arrival.”

Barcelona’s Basilica of the Holy Family Becomes Officially The Tallest in Europe

Rafael Llanes

The inauguration of the Tower of Jesus will take place on June 10, anniversary of the death of architect Antoni Gaudí, whose heroic virtues Pope Francis recognized on April 14, 2025, as the first step toward his beatification. Pope Leo XIV will preside over the inauguration during his visit to Spain.

Priest scrutinized for letters written on behalf of 2 notorious Mexican drug traffickers

Lou Holtz, legendary Notre Dame football coach and outspoken Catholic, dies at 89 The retired coach and sports analyst had entered hospice shortly before his death. Cuban exiles sign freedom accord for Cuba With the communist government of Cuba under extreme pressure from the economic crisis of its own making and a U.S.-imposed oil embargo, exiled Cuban opposition leaders outlined the way to democracy. Chaldean Archdiocese of Erbil in Iraq suffers drone strike on apartment complex No casualties were reported in the attack in the Kurdistan region in northern Iraq. Amid rising anxiety in Erbil, Catholic bishops say prayer, dialogue are path to peace Catholic leaders in Iraq are calling for prayer and peace talks as the country faces repercussions from the widening war in the Middle East. Religious Freedom panel faults State Department for missing annual report on violations The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom also called for increasing refugee admissions to the United States. Iraqi archbishop laments spread of Iranian conflict, communication barrier with Tehran archbishop Archbishop Bashar Matti Warda of Erbil, Iraq, shared the situation on the ground for the Iraqi Christian community with “EWTN News Nightly” as the prospect of broader regional war looms. ‘This work is about hope:’ University of St. Mary prison education program centers on human dignity University of St. Mary, a Catholic liberal arts university in Leavenworth, Kansas, offers a prison education program as part of its Catholic mission. Priest scrutinized for letters written on behalf of 2 notorious Mexican drug traffickers A Mexican priest is at the center of controversy for sending letters on behalf of two high-profile drug traffickers in U.S. custody. Archbishop Hicks hosts SiriusXM radio show The radio show with New York Archbishop Ronald Hicks offers faith-based dialogue, real-world issues, and everyday life through a Catholic lens, the broadcaster said.

As Iran war widens, Eastern Christians face growing uncertainty Airstrikes on the Iranian capital, Tehran, and other major cities have raised serious concerns about the country’s Christian communities as well as those in the wider region.

Grief and gladness can coexist during Lent

 

Russell Moore on what war with Iran might do to Christians’ spiritual lives.

A reproductive health expert argues local churches—including male leaders—can play an important role in addressing women’s health.

An excerpt from Savoring Childhood: It is tempting for parents to spare their kids from the pain of waiting. But children can learn to wait, with joy.

Grief and gladness can coexist during Lent.

Behind the Story

From senior features editor Kara Bettis Carvalho: Over the years in writing about bioethics and reproductive health topics, I’ve heard anecdotal stories around the country about couples (or single women) using surrogates, sperm donors, or adopted embryos to build their families.

Many of these stories have one thing in common: These people never approached their pastors, or they did so after they made their decision. Like a couple who asks a pastor to wed them without asking for counsel, many couples are pursuing life-changing medical interventions like vasectomies, surrogacy, or in vitro fertilization without pastoral guidance.

In our next two print issues, readers will notice that we’re covering these topics more. We want to equip church leaders for these conversations and help Christians make thoughtful, biblically informed decisions. Today, we’re publishing an essay by Caitlin Estes, a FertilityCare practitioner who encourages pastors and church leaders not to be squeamish about ministering to women through chronic illness, infertility, and reproductive questions.

Michigan Democrat Karen Whitsett said her Christian faith has led her to reject her party’s platform, and plans to leave politics after her term is finished in 2027. Protestant and Catholic groups in Kansas City are preparing to reach out to guests coming to the city for the World Cup this June. The Guardian reports US military commanders told some troops the war in Iran was "part of God’s divine plan." Today in Christian History March 5, 1409: The college of cardinals convokes the Council of Pisa to end the Great Schism, which had divided Western Christendom in 1378 by the election of rival popes.

Southerners tend to be more religious than other U.S. adults

Southerners tend to be more religious than other U.S. adults – but less religious than they used to be
Pew Research Center: The change is big enough that current levels of religiousness in the South resemble the 2007 levels of religiousness in the Northeast and West.
Gallup: Americans’ religious engagement holds at lower levels

 

What comes next for Iranian religious minorities?
Religion News Service: The death of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, creates uncertainty for all Iranians, but especially for non-Muslim minorities.

 

How Trump officials created ‘nuclear option’ against protesters in church
The Guardian: Critics say the administration has overstepped its authority in using 1994 law to prosecute protesters and journalists.

 

Metropolitan AME pastor’s new book offers ancestral veneration as guide to civic engagement
Religion News Service: Though often linked to Black diasporas and Indigenous culture, the practice is deeply rooted in American culture, said the Rev. William Lamar IV.

 

Researchers probe unmarked graves at Virginia site where slaves once toiled*
The Washington Post: The Diocese of Arlington and Catholic University are trying to identify who is buried in the unmarked graves at a cemetery for the family of George Brent, one of Virginia’s earliest settlers.

War in Iran fails just war test
National Catholic Reporter: The Catholic Church recognizes that war can be waged lawfully if certain conditions are met. These conditions include legitimate authority, just cause, right intention, probability of success, proportionality and war as a last resort.
Religion News Service: Is Trump's fight against Iran a just war?

 

Sprawling investigation finds decades of sexual abuse among Catholic priests in Rhode Island
Associated Press: The full scope of the priest abuse problem in Rhode Island — the smallest U.S. state but the one with the highest Catholic population per capita, at nearly 40% — had long remained elusive.

 

Anti-AIPAC group loses first primary test as Rep. Valerie Foushee hangs on
Politico: The Democratic primary for the North Carolina seat at times got tense over Foushee’s former ties to AIPAC and generational divides.

 

Get the stoicism out of your Lent
Mockingbird: The shape of the cross screams out against the black smudge of our suffering and the threat of our destruction, even as it is shaped by it, writes Julia Daniel.

 

The comedown: The Psychedelic Renaissance in sober light
Baptist News Global: A minister who founded Psychedelic Theology says that although he is optimistic about psychedelics as medical treatments and tools of spiritual exploration, he acknowledges the full spectrum of risks.

WORLD DAY OF PRAYER IN SONOGO

 

A Music Guide to This Year's Program

“Keleya (Give Him Thanks)” (this will be a PRE-RECORDED

TRACK in Igbo and English)

"Keleya" (Give Him Thanks, in Igbo)

“Are You Weary, Are You Burdened” (this will be sung by

all in English)

Are You Weary (Art Thou Weary) - Original Lyrics by WDP Nigeria

“Come Unto Me” (this will be sung by all in English)

Come Unto Me - WDPIC Virtual Global Choir

Come Unto Me, by Chisom R. Chukwumerije (Nigeria)

We call this SoNoGo - South Park-North Park-Golden Hill & Our Mission: to see the baptized who live in SoNoGo worship in SoNoGo

Christ United Presbyterian Church of San Diego

What Is The Presbyterian Church (USA)

Christ United Presbyterian Church is a congregation of the Presbyterian Church (USA). Rev. Dr. Kerry Allison is the pastor of this parish church in South Park. We were established in 1981 when an invitation was extended to two churches—Brooklyn Heights Presbyterian, established in 1921 and the Golden Hill Presbyterian, established in 1956—to merge and each church accepted. The late Reverend Doctor George Walker Smith founded Golden Hill Presbyterian Church in 1956 with support from the Presbyterian Women organization. The church, located at 22nd and Market in South Park, became a human rights leader in San Diego as the congregation grew. Reverend Smith was the first black school board member in San Diego. May he rest in peace and rise in glory. Christ United continues its ministry in power and presence to the present day. All are welcome to join us in worship and togetherness.

covenantchurchsd 03.01.2026

 We call this SoNoGo - South Park-North Park-Golden Hill & Our Mission: to see the baptized who live in SoNoGo worship in SoNoGo

Covenant Presbyterian Church

What is the Evangelical Presbyterian Church?

Covenant Church at 30th & Howard  is a Christian church in the tradition of the Protestant Reformation and allied with the EPC [The Evangelical Presbyterian Church] We believe the Scriptures to be the infallible Word of God and our final authority in faith and practice, and we find the historic creeds of the early church (the Apostles’ Creed and Nicene Creed) to be vital expressions of the most important tenets of the global church universal. When the EPC started in 1981, we determined that we would not disagree on the basic essentials of the Christian faith, but on anything that was not essential—such as the issue of ordaining women as officers or practicing charismatic gifts—we would give each other liberty. Above all, we committed ourselves to loving each other and not engaging in quarrels and strife. The result is that when we get together in our regional and national meetings, we spend most of our time in worship and fellowship and almost none in arguing with each other.

A court in India recently ruled that Christians could hold prayer meetings in their homes

Prolific Christian romance author Janette Oke, who turned 91 last month, tells CT about creating relatable characters who rely on their faith amid hardships in her books, like When Calls the Heart.

The Bulletin team with Yossi Klein Halevi analyzes the implications of war in Iran for the Middle East.

Christians may be tempted to skip Sunday morning for a sermon podcast. But it is by going to church that we learn to be the church, writes Bonnie Kristian.

A new book offers a first-rate history of American Christian politics, says Daniel K. Williams. But that’s different from a history of American Christianity.

A court in India recently ruled that Christians could hold prayer meetings in their homes. Yet Indian believers still fear crackdowns by Hindu nationalists and local police. From senior copy editor Alex Wooten: When editing a CT article, I fact-check as much of the piece as time allows and Google has reliable answers for. Global articles, like India correspondent Vikram Mukka’s piece about Indian Christians, have some extra considerations.  For starters, I had to find an online currency converter to verify the US dollar value of 1 crore or 10 million rupees. Rates can change, so it’s worth another check. Even if they were correct a week ago, a difference of a couple of rupees to the dollar multiplies into a large sum of money! I also double-check other countries’ governmental or geographical titles. Does the top court of India call itself the Supreme Court in English? (Answer: yes.) Is Rajasthan a city or a state? (Answer: state.) Some things can only be verified by the author. Vikram is the one recording the details of the Uttar Pradesh pastor’s arrest and looking through court documents about his case. But when he includes links to websites that can independently confirm background information, like how many arrests were made in a state, that makes my work much easier. We keep those links so you can see that we did our homework, and read more about the topic if you’d like. The vice president of church-planting network Acts 29 was fired after confessing an affair.  An Iranian Christian couple who sought asylum in the US are being separated amid the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.  John Piper faced blowback for tweeting Leviticus 19:34. Today in Christian History March 3, 1547: At the Seventh Session of the Council of Trent, the Roman Catholic church defines its theology of the sacraments. Arguing that seven sacraments are necessary for salvation—Baptism, Confirmation, the Eucharist, Penance, Extreme Unction, Orders, and Matrimony—the council rejected the teaching of most Protestants that only two were required: Baptism and the Lord’s Supper.