ChurchPOP, part of the EWTN network, is an online Christian brand that’s fun, informative, and inspiring with editions in English, Spanish, and Portuguese. It is under the spiritual patronage of Our Lady of Perpetual Help. Brantly C. Millegan is the founder and editor-in-chief of ChurchPOP and you can learn more about him on his personal website brantlymillegan.com.
I have posted stories from ChurchPOP before and offer one today – the third story below – that I think you’ll find fascinating.
POPE FRANCIS TWEETED DECEMBER 6: Jesus gives meaning to my life here on earth and hope for the life to come.
SMALL GESTURES, SPARKS OF BEAUTY AND LOVE CAN HEAL
Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin this afternoon read a Message from Pope Francis to participants in the XXI Joint Meeting of the Pontifical Academies as they ponder the meeting’s theme, “Sparks of beauty. Giving a more human face to our cities.” Participants met in the Apostolic Chancery on Tuesday afternoon to explore this theme chosen by the president of the Pontifical Council for Culture, Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi.
The Holy Father wrote, “Taking care of people, starting with the smallest and weakest, and their daily needs necessarily also means taking care of the environment in which they live. Small gestures, simple actions, small sparks of beauty and love can heal, ‘mending’ the often lacerated and divided human fabric [of society], as well as that of a city and of the environment, representing a concrete alternative to indifference and cynicism.”
The papal Message was addressed to Cardinal Ravasi, who also serves as president of the Coordinating Committee for the Pontifical Academies and who opened Tuesday’s gathering.
There are eleven Pontifical Academies whose aim is to further research and encourage dialogue within and among scientific, artistic, professional and cultural disciplines.
PONTIFICAL COMMISSION TO PROTECT MINORS LAUNCHES WEBSITE
(Vatican Radio) The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors [PCPM] is launching a new website to provide information on the Commission and its Mission.
The website –currently in a ‘beta’ format – has resources divided into four categories: “Healing and Care”, “Guidelines”, “Education”, and the “Day of Prayer [for the Victims and Survivors of Sexual Abuse]”.
It also provides news and information about the Commission in an easily accessible format.
Pope Francis formally appointed the first eight members of the “Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors” on March 22, 2014 upon the suggestion of the Council of Cardinals.
In a ‘Chirograph’ issued the same day, the Holy Father wrote that the Commission’s task is to advise the Roman Pontiff on effective policies for the protection of minors and vulnerable adults and educational programs for all who are involved in this work.
The website – www.protectionofminors.va – is currently available in English, but will be expanded to Spanish, Italian, French, and Portuguese in the near future.
ASTOUNDING: MYSTERIOUS ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELD DISCOVERED AT TOMB OF CHRIST
Is this hard evidence of the Resurrection?
As you may have heard, a team of scientists were recently permitted to open up the place believed to have been the tomb of Christ in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. The slab had been sealed off long ago and hadn’t been opened – even partially – since the early 19th century.
There was at least one, possibly two, astounding discoveries made.
First, for the unconfirmed discovery: there are rumors that the scientists immediately smelled a sweet aroma when they opened the tomb. Those rumors haven’t been confirmed, but something similar was reported the last time the tomb was opened in 1809.
Second, and this is the most incredible: Marie-Armelle Beaulieu, editor-in-chief of the french magazine Terre Sainte, has received confirmation from a scientist from the team that the tomb had a strong, unexplainable electromagnetic field that messed up their equipment.
“The phenomenon was confirmed by one of the scientists authorized to access the tomb,” Aleteia reports. “Later, one of the heads of the building and construction team, Antonia Moropoulou, indicated that it is really hard to imagine that someone would be willing to put in danger his or her reputation just because of a “publicity stunt.” Moreover, the journalist testifies to the scientists’ surprise during the opening of the slab: they hoped that the grave would be much lower than it was. Their conclusion: previously performed analyses with the instruments seemed to have been distorted by an electromagnetic disturbance.”
The website uCatholic speculates that this electromagnetic field may lend credence to one theory that the Shroud of Turin was created by an impossibly strong electromagnetic burst.
So maybe the Resurrection left behind an electromagnetic field?
Here are links to stories by National Geographic whose photographers were allowed to chronicle the restoration of the tomb of Christ:
Joan's Rome 