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ACI Prensa Staff, Jul 9, 2025 / 20:19 pm (CNA).

In an atmosphere of deep recollection and sadness, but also of hope, the funeral of Portuguese soccer players Diogo Jota of the Liverpool Football Club and his brother André Silva, who died last Thursday in a traffic accident in Zamora, Spain, was held on July 5. Jota's marriage to Rute Cardoso had been solemnized in the Church just 11 days prior. They have three children.

At the funeral, which took place in the town of Gondomar's main church on the outskirts of Porto, Portugal, the coffins were brought in as the church bells rang. The funeral was attended by several of Jota's teammates, including Liverpool F.C. captain Virgil van Dijk, Andy Robertson, Argentine Alexis MacAllister, Uruguayan Darwin Nuñez and coach Arne Slot.

Father Alípio Germano Barbosa, who was the pastor of the church in Gondomar for more than 18 years and who gave Diogo and André their First Communion, fondly recalled the time the brothers were part of his parish community.

"I lived here for 18 and a half years, and closely followed the human and Christian growth of these two young men, with great affection for them and their family," the priest who attended the funeral told AP.

"They were very well-behaved, humble, and courageous boys. In fact, following in the steps of their parents and grandparents, they were deeply connected to the local community and, naturally, participated in community life, the sacraments, Christian fellowship, and communion," Germano added.

Roberto Martínez, coach of the Portuguese national football team, told the press at the funeral: "These are very sad days, as you can imagine, but today we have shown that we are a large and united family."

"We are Portugal, and it was essential for us to be together and the world will be united, and his spirit will be with us forever. Thank you so much for your messages, for your support, and for everything we have received from all over the world. It means a lot, and today we are all a football family," he emphasized.

The bishop of Porto's homily at the brothers' funeral

The funeral Mass for Diogo Jota and his brother André Silva was celebrated by the bishop of Porto, Manuel Linda, who first addressed the children of the late Liverpool player who did not attend the funeral:

"Right now you're suffering immensely. Or maybe you're not, because you don't even realize the tragedy that has befallen your family. You will become aware of it later. And it will be terrible. But I will pray to Jesus for you."

"The one who suffers deeply," the prelate continued, "is your mother, Rute. She is heartbroken! Likewise, your grandparents, Isabel and Joaquim, and the rest of your family. Seeing before you a coffin containing the remains of a son must be the ultimate torment. But when it's not just one coffin, but two, belonging to two brothers... there are no words."

"We are here to say that we too suffer greatly," the bishop continued, "We are here with you emotionally…Yes, tears! It's human! It would be a shame for us if we didn't."

Linda encouraged having "faith and hope in the resurrection." "This communion of life is achieved through baptism and good works…Your father, Diogo, was married in the Church 11 days before he died."

After highlighting the importance of sports, the bishop of Porto said that "while it's sad to see an adult cry, it's even more painful when it's a child… I send a special greeting to your mother, your grandparents, and other family members. I am with you. Jesus is also with you."

Liverpool F.C.'s tribute to Diogo Jota

In addition to retiring Diogo Jota's number 20 jersey, the Liverpool F.C. chartered a plane to accommodate those members who wished to travel to the funeral in Portugal.

This was confirmed by the Portuguese newspaper Record. Liverpool will keep Diogo Jota's contract in force and will pay his salary and all bonuses to his family.

The club decided to pay out the remaining two years of Diogo Jota's contract, meaning his widow, Rute Cardoso—whom he had married in the Church just 11 days before his death—and his three young children will receive the corresponding sum of more than €17 million ($19.9M)

English journalist Tom Harrington also said on X that Liverpool will establish a fund for the children of Diogo Jota and Rute Cardoso, specifically for their education.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jul 9, 2025 / 18:25 pm (CNA).

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has confirmed that the Catholic Church will not endorse political candidates for public office in any elections, despite a tax code change that has opened the door for houses of worship to make such endorsements.

On July 7, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) signed a court agreement to allow churches and other houses of worship to endorse candidates without risking their tax-exempt status. This reversed a 70-year ban that was in place based on the IRS' interpretation of the "Johnson Amendment," which prohibits nonprofits in the tax bracket from engaging in political campaigns.

USCCB Director of Public Affairs Chieko Noguchi, however, released a statement this week to announce that the Catholic Church will not be endorsing political candidates, even if the tax code allows it.

"The IRS was addressing a specific case, and it doesn't change how the Catholic Church engages in public debate," Noguchi said.

"The Church seeks to help Catholics form their conscience in the Gospel so they might discern which candidates and policies would advance the common good," she added. "The Catholic Church maintains its stance of not endorsing or opposing political candidates."

Noguchi told CNA that if an individual member of the clergy were to endorse a candidate, "this is a matter that is best handled by the local bishop."

Christopher Check, the president of Catholic Answers, told CNA that the USCCB's decision to avoid endorsements is "a wise one for our time and place."

"The Church is not one of several political organizations or NGOs [nongovernmental organizations] competing for public opinion on the cultural and civic playing fields," Check added. "She is the primary and divine institution through which all that public activity must be understood."

Check pointed out that avoiding endorsements is consistent with the 1983 Code of Canon Law, which he explained "[prohibits] clergy from engaging in active participation in political parties except in cases where the rights of the Church are threatened or the 'promotion of the common good requires it,' and then only in the judgment of 'competent ecclesiastical authority.'"

There have been situations historically in which clergy rightly engaged in political campaigns, such as when Marxist parties in some countries sought to "eradicate the Church," according to Check. Yet he also cautioned that there have been times in which members of the clergy have "misled the faithful" by involving themselves in campaigns.

"Today in the United States, neither political party offers a platform that would serve as a foundation for a true home for faithful Catholics," Check said. "As such, the obligation for the clergy and the episcopacy to form the consciences of the faithful rightly is especially critical. It is in this realm that the Church, who very much in a sense is above partisan politics, is called to operate."

Susan Hanssen, a history professor at the University of Dallas (a Catholic institution), told CNA she believes the IRS policy to not penalize churches for political endorsements is "wise" but said the USCCB commitment to not endorse candidates "is also prudent."

"The IRS policy is wise to leave broad leeway to religious leaders to offer guidance, even on political matters that could shape the moral and cultural atmosphere within which religious life takes place," Hanssen said.

Hanssen added that the Church hierarchy and the clergy can still be vocal on political issues that implicate Church teaching, noting that they "should give clear principles of action" but that "it is the moral responsibility of the laity to potentially apply those principles." 

She added that clergy should also help correct Catholic politicians whose policies do not conform to "the principles of natural law, for example, with regard to abortion, parental rights over their children's education and medical care, euthanasia, and same-sex marriage." 

"Thus their action would be appropriately pastoral, rather than political — a concern for souls," Hanssen said.

Ryan Tucker, senior counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom, told CNA that the IRS decision could still have an impact on churches that do not endorse candidates, saying those entities have a "constitutional right to speak freely" and the IRS change ensures "they can do so more boldly" now.

"The government shouldn't be able to threaten a church with financial penalties based on a requirement that the church self-censor and surrender its constitutionally protected freedom," he said. "Pastors and clergy members have been engaged in matters of the day that affect the members of their church body since our founding."

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London, England, Jul 9, 2025 / 18:55 pm (CNA).

For the first time in modern history, the apostolic nuncio to the United Kingdom has celebrated Mass in England's most celebrated Anglican cathedral.

On Monday, July 7, which marked the feast of the Translation of St. Thomas Becket, Archbishop Miguel Maury Buendía celebrated the holy sacrifice of the Mass at Canterbury Cathedral with hundreds in attendance, including the Vatican's cricket team.

During his homily, Maury Buendía said: "This Mass of pilgrimage takes place within the context of the jubilee year. It highlights the Christian life as a spiritual journey, moving through life's trials and joys with hope anchored in Christ. Having traveled as pilgrims today, we do more than just honor a figure from history."

He continued: "The stained-glass windows all around us illustrate the many miracles attributed to St. Thomas in the medieval period. This should be a living story, too. Our world, today as then, is in need of hope. We come in this jubilee year as 'pilgrims of hope' to be inspired by St. Thomas' holiness and his courageous witness to Christ and his Church."

Those in attendance on Monday also received a plenary indulgence because of the jubilee year and its customs.

While it is traditional for the Catholic Parish of St. Thomas of Canterbury to celebrate Mass at the cathedral every year on July 7, this is the first time the apostolic nuncio has presided.

St. Thomas Becket served as archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 until he was murdered in 1170 by supporters of King Henry II, who clashed with Thomas over his defense of the Church and its rights.

Thomas was canonized soon after his death by Pope Alexander III and in 1220 his body was translated, or moved, from the cathedral's crypt to the shrine behind the altar. It is believed that a papal legate was present at the time.

The crypt was destroyed by Henry VIII in 1538 in an attempt to suppress allegiance to St. Thomas Becket.

In correspondence with CNA on Wednesday, July 9, Father David Palmer, a member of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham (and a former Anglican priest), reflected on the significance of the event.

"Canterbury Cathedral is often referred to as the home of Anglicanism, the mother Church of the Anglican Communion. This obscures the fact that it is also (and originally) the mother Church of Catholicism in England. The seat of St. Augustine of Canterbury, the first archbishop of Canterbury, sent by Pope Gregory to bring the (Roman) Catholic faith to the 'Angles,'" he said.

"For those of us who have made the journey from Anglicanism back to Rome this is an event of special significance and joy."

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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jul 9, 2025 / 11:07 am (CNA).

In celebration of the Catholic Church's jubilee year, hundreds of pilgrims have traveled by boat to the Norwegian island of Selja to honor the feast day of St. Sunniva, Norway's only recognized female saint.

On July 8, the feast day of St. Sunniva, Catholics from multiple countries arrived at Selja, an island just off the west coast of Norway. The faithful gathered to recognize the ninth-century Irish princess whose martyrdom inspired Norway's first Benedictine monastery and eventually its first diocese.

Oslo Coadjutor Bishop Fredrik Hansen told "EWTN News Nightly" that the island was "where the cross of Christ first arrived in our nation and in our country. So to be here is to celebrate our history, the development of Christianity, the coming of Catholicism to our country."

"We use it now as part of our buildup to the anniversary in 2030, 1,000 years of evangelization," Hansen said.

The island was home to the Selja Abbey before it was abandoned in 1537 amid the Protestant Reformation. The island is now a shrine to St. Sunniva that attracts pilgrims from across the globe.

Selja is one of many Catholic pilgrimage sites welcoming the faithful during the 2025 Jubilee Year of Hope.

"It felt logical, I think, for all the Catholic bishops in Norway to designate this as a site of pilgrimage, a jubilee site for people to come and to refresh their faith," Hansen said. 

The celebration on the island began with prayer as the pilgrims walked the trail from the harbor to the ruins of the monastery, where they celebrated Mass. The faithful also learned more about St. Sunniva's life and legacy.

According to legend, Sunniva was born in Ireland but left after her father's death. She had rejected a pagan suitor who in turn threatened to destroy her land and oppress her people. The future saint left with a number of other refugees and traveled on a boat that had no sail; the legend claims that they let the current and wind take them where God intended, eventually making it to Selja.

Newly ordained Oslo priest Father Mathias Ledum, a frequent pilgrim to Selja, told "EWTN News Nightly" how Sunniva's story was an inspiration to him when he was discerning his vocation.

"I came here on the pilgrimage, and I just felt the intercession of Sunniva very strongly for my vocation, and given her story, going from Ireland and setting out in a boat without any oars, without any sails, and just letting God take control," Ledum said.

Once Sunniva arrived on the island, she and the others took shelter in a cave to escape abuse from enemies they encountered. Ledum said the refugees "prayed to God to be spared from this. And then the cave fell down on top of them. So they died."

Many years later, according to tradition, a light was witnessed in the same cave Sunnivia once hid and died in. It is said to have spread over the whole island. Many said the cave and the relics within it had an inexplicable but pleasant fragrance.

"There were signs that … these were holy people," Ledum said. "And then this place became the seat of the first diocese in Norway. Her relics were here. The seed was planted, and you could see … the living faith of Norwegians today."

"It's such a great pleasure to be here and to seek their intercession … and to continue to pray for the conversion of Norway," the priest said.

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CNA Staff, Jul 9, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

Seven Weeks Coffee, an American, pro-life coffee brand, announced July 7 that it has now donated $1 million to pro-life organizations.

Founded in 2021 by Anton Krecic, the coffee company has combined direct-trade specialty coffee with pro-life values. Ten percent of the profit of each coffee bag sold is donated to pro-life organizations, specifically pregnancy resource centers.

"When my wife and I founded Seven Weeks Coffee, the skeptics doubted Americans would support a values-based company. They were wrong," Krecic said in a press release. "We are so blessed to have gone on this journey with our customers, raising money for pro-life causes."

During its time in business, Seven Weeks Coffee has donated to over 1,000 pregnancy resource centers in all 50 states, paid for ultrasounds for pregnant mothers in unwanted pregnancies, and estimates that it has helped save over 9,000 lives.

Women from across the country have written to the pro-life coffee company thanking it for its support.

"When I found out I was pregnant, I didn't know what to do. I was scared, alone, and abortion felt like the only option. But the pregnancy center offered me a free ultrasound — and I saw my baby's heartbeat. That changed everything," one mother wrote to Seven Weeks Coffee after the company paid for her ultrasound.

In an interview with "EWTN Pro-Life Weekly" in 2023, Krecic discussed how he originally wanted to work in politics but ended up running a coffee company instead. He explained that he moved to Washington, D.C., "with a passion just to get involved in the political process" but that he also has always had "a very big heart for the pro-life movement."

After visiting a pregnancy care center several years ago, the experience made a lasting impact on him, which led to his idea to start a pro-life coffee company.

"There really was no pro-life coffee company around that I really saw making a kind of a national impact … I was like, 'There's a mission here and there's an impact that we can have,'" he recalled.

While trying to come up with a name for the business, Krecic's wife asked him when a baby in utero was the size of a coffee bean. After doing some research, Krecic found that a baby in utero is the size of a coffee bean at seven weeks. Additionally, this is also when a baby's heartbeat is clearly detectable during an ultrasound.

"So I was like, 'That is the name. That's what we're going to call the company,'" he recalled.

In its first year alone, 2022 — which was also the year Roe v. Wade was overturned — Seven Weeks Coffee donated over $50,000 to more than 250 pregnancy resource centers.

"God has blessed us more than we could have ever imagined," Krecic said.

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Houston, Texas, Jul 8, 2025 / 17:51 pm (CNA).

The faith communities of the Texas Hill Country flood victims are rallying in support of the families with Masses, rosaries, and memorial services. 

The Fourth of July flood disaster near the central Texas town of Kerrville, where the Guadalupe River rose 35 feet in the early morning hours, has claimed over 100 lives so far, including more than 30 young children, with many more still unaccounted for.

Especially affected was Camp Mystic, the 100-year-old Christian girls' camp in Hunt, Texas. At least 27 campers there perished, with several more, including a counselor, not yet recovered.

Over the last few days, schools and churches in Houston, where many current and former Camp Mystic families reside, have held prayer services and Masses for the victims and their families.

In an email, Father Sean Horrigan, pastor of St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church, asked the community for prayers for the family of Anna Margaret Bellows, 8, a parishioner who was one of the 27 girls who died in the flood.

He said funeral details were forthcoming.

St. John Vianney Church held a memorial Mass on Monday, July 7, for Molly DeWitt, another of the young girls who passed away.

A filled-to-overflowing memorial service for Camp Mystic families took place on July 7 at the Church of St. John the Divine, an Episcopal church with deep ties to the camp. Buried there is Anne Eastland Spears, former Camp Mystic chairman of the board and mother of camp director Dick Eastland, who lost his life while rescuing campers from the flood.

The ministers spoke of Jesus' love for his children, especially when they suffer. St. John's rector, Rev. Leigh Spruill, encouraged those in mourning to "have hope. Keep talking to God … He may seem absent now, but he hears everything and he is present."

Youth ministry director Rev. Sutton Lowe referred to the Gospel story of Jairus and his little girl, who died and whom Jesus raised from the dead. 

"When we die, Jesus is there to touch us and say 'arise,' and there is new life beyond our imagining," he said.

Rev. Libby Garfield told mourners that "there is a path forward that is lined with the life and death and resurrection of Jesus."

After the service, Camp Mystic alumnae of all ages gathered on the lawn north of the church, forming a large circle in the grass and singing camp songs, many of which were Christian hymns. 

Ashley Emshoff, an alumna who spoke to CNA after the memorial, told CNA that the camp forges bonds between campers that are lifelong and are "as strong as family." 

Mystic alumna and St. John parishioner Alafair Hotze told CNA the Eastland family, who run the camp, became like family to generations of campers.

Emshoff and Hotze said that many Camp Mystic alumnae are so eager for their daughters to become part of the Mystic community that they write to the camp as soon as they find out they are pregnant with girls. The Eastlands respond with a Camp Mystic infant onesie for their newborn and a letter of congratulations (along with a place on the waitlist). 

Hotze said that Dick Eastland's death, while tragic, aligned perfectly with the man he was: "He taught us to be selfless and love as Christ loves," Hotze said.

"He died as he had lived," Hotze said: "Giving his life for those he loved."

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CNA Staff, Jul 8, 2025 / 13:54 pm (CNA).

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) this week backed off a decades-old rule first established during the Eisenhower administration, declaring for the first time since the 1950s that churches and other nonprofits can openly endorse political candidates without risking their tax-exempt status.

The order resolves a lawsuit launched in August 2024 by a coalition of religious broadcasters, one that challenged the 1954 Johnson Amendment, which says that 501(c)(3) nonprofits may not "participate in or intervene in" political campaigns.

Advocates have argued that the rule shields the nonprofit industry from caustic politics. The National Religious Broadcasters, meanwhile, said in its suit that the tax rule punished churches by "silenc[ing] their speech while providing no realistic alternative for operating in any other fashion."

In a filing on Monday with the U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of Texas, the IRS agreed with the religious broadcasters in that "communications internal to a house of worship, between the house of worship and its congregation, in connection with religious services" do not run afoul of the amendment's prohibition on "participating in" campaigns.

The rule "imposes a substantial burden on plaintiffs' free exercise of religion," the filing states.

The document points to numerous nonprofits that are allowed to opine on political candidacies even as churches remain barred from doing so. The Johnson Amendment is "not a neutral rule of general applicability," it says.

Religious entities "cannot fulfill their spiritual duties to teach the full counsel of the Word of God if they fail to address such issues and to inform their listeners how the views of various political candidates compare to the Bible's position on such matters," it states.

The Monday filing asked the court to accept the agreement, which will bar the IRS from enforcing the rule. The court accepted the decision shortly after its filing.

The National Religious Broadcasters did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.

President Donald Trump said at the 2017 National Prayer Breakfast that he aspired to "get rid of and totally destroy the Johnson Amendment and allow our representatives of faith to speak freely and without fear of retribution."

When proposed in 1954, the Johnson Amendment was passed with no debate, according to the congressional record.

A 2017 effort in the House of Representatives to repeal the amendment died at committee.

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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jul 8, 2025 / 14:24 pm (CNA).

A federal judge has temporarily blocked the government's effort to defund Planned Parenthood by ordering President Donald Trump's administration to continue funding to the nation's largest abortion provider for at least the next 14 days.

The court order, signed by Judge Indira Talwani, partially halts a provision in the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" that would have cut off Medicaid reimbursements for certain organizations that perform abortions. Trump signed the bill on Friday, July 4, after it passed both chambers of Congress with support from most Republicans and no Democrats.

Planned Parenthood Federation of America sued the administration just three days after Trump signed the bill into law and asked the court to issue a temporary restraining order blocking enforcement against the organization while its litigation continues. Talwani signed the order on the same day.

In a statement shortly after the order was signed, Planned Parenthood thanked the judge for acting quickly "to block this unconstitutional law attacking Planned Parenthood providers and patients."

According to the statement, Planned Parenthood staffers had "been forced to turn away patients who use Medicaid to get basic sexual and reproductive health care."

The lawsuit asserts the defunding effort targets Planned Parenthood "for punishment" and that even though the organization isn't singled out by name, it is "the target of the law." 

It claims the bill denies Planned Parenthood equal protection under the law and that the network has been targeted because of "its unique role in providing abortions and advocating for abortion rights and access across the country."

In a statement provided to CNA, a White House official did not get into specific legal arguments but stated that the provision to defund organizations that perform abortion is in line with public opinion.

"The Trump administration is ending the forced use of federal taxpayer dollars to fund or promote elective abortion — a commonsense position that the overwhelming majority of Americans agree with," the official said.

Katie Glenn Daniel, the director of legal affairs and policy counsel at Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, told CNA that Planned Parenthood's lawsuit is "brazen defiance of elected leaders, both the president and Congress, who had every right to act on the will of the people to stop forced taxpayer funding of Big Abortion."

"Before the ink was even dry on President Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act, abortion giant Planned Parenthood ran to court to protect their cash flow of over $2 million a day from American taxpayers, and an activist federal judge obliged by ordering the spigot turned back on," Glenn Daniel added.

Glenn Daniel thanked the Trump administration for "standing firm on principle" and accused Planned Parenthood of trying to "run out the clock and rake in every last tax dollar they can."

"We're confident [the Trump administration] will prevail and the abortion industry's last-ditch money grab will fail," she said.

Under long-standing federal law, taxpayer money cannot be used to fund most abortions. Federal funds have historically still covered non-abortive services at abortion clinics through Medicaid reimbursements.

Planned Parenthood's annual report for July 2023 to June 2024 disclosed that the abortion network received nearly $800 million in taxpayer funding in that period, which accounted for almost 40% of its total revenue. A large portion of these funds come from state and federal Medicaid reimbursements.

Pro-life organizations for decades have urged the federal government and state governments to end all taxpayer funds for organizations that perform abortions. The legislation signed by Trump halts federal Medicaid reimbursements to those organizations for one year, but activists hope to make the policy shift permanent.

The issue came before the Supreme Court in its last term after South Carolina halted state-level Medicaid reimbursement funding for Planned Parenthood South Atlantic facilities. Two patients who received non-abortive services at those facilities sued the state, claiming that the policy violated their right to receive services at the provider of their choosing.

In a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court sided with South Carolina, finding that the patients did not have a legal right to sue. However, the current case against the federal government is distinctly different because the abortion network — rather than the patients — filed the lawsuit on different grounds.

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ACI Prensa Staff, Jul 8, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).

With the arrival of summer in the Northern Hemisphere, many people take a vacation, a period of rest away from their routine but also a unique opportunity to reconnect with their faith.

A bishop, a mother, and a priest shared some tips from their own experiences for "sanctifying vacations" and evangelizing at vacation spots.

1. Take time to connect with God.

Speaking with ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish-language news partner, the bishop of Matamoros-Reynosa in Mexico, Eugenio Lira, emphasized that summer is a time of rest to "recreate" ourselves, that is, to "completely renew ourselves."

The prelate thus advised "dedicating time to prayer and contemplation" to "connect" with God and "better see the great gifts he gives us," being aware "that we are unconditionally and infinitely loved."

In this context, the Mexican bishop invited the faithful to value more and be aware that "we must responsibly care for our lives." He also advised dedicating time to reading good books, "talking with family and friends, and doing something for others, such as evangelizing, going on a mission trip, visiting the sick, prisoners, a retirement home or a nursing home."

Lira even encouraged people to use social media to "share a Gospel message that conveys faith, love, and hope. We can always do something to improve and help make the lives of others better."

2. Strengthen family ties.

Leticia Sánchez de León lives in Rome with her husband and four children. Although she studied law in Madrid, she has been working in strategic communications since 2016. She currently has a blog on family communication and education and moderates family counseling courses.

Sánchez de León shared several tips for "living a Christian summer, healthy, joyful, generous with others, where God is found in the small details and where all family members can recharge to return to their daily routine in September.

For the mother, by putting these small things into practice, "we will go deeper into what it means for the family to be a domestic church in the midst of the society of our time and from which the individual can set out to build a more just, more welcoming, more peaceful, more convivial, and more deeply human humanity."

First, she advised strengthening family ties and rediscovering "harmony" among family members: "During vacation, we have more time to relate face-to-face with our spouse and our children and to listen more closely," she said.

To this end, Sánchez de León emphasized, it can be very helpful to "pray for them before the vacation begins." She also encouraged spouses to maintain good communication and maintain harmony between them, since "on vacation people often get upset." 

She also encouraged them to enjoy simple family plans: "Those memories will remain firmly fixed in their hearts, and tomorrow, what they will remember about what it is to be a family will be those plans together, where everyone had a voice, where everyone could choose, where everyone did things for each other."

3. Instill detachment and generosity.

Sánchez de León also noted that sometimes we have a "distorted idea of ??vacation." She consequently reminded everyone that vacation is a time "to instill some values ??that we struggle to transmit during the year, due to the lack of downtime."

In this sense, she highlighted two family values: detachment and generosity. Although during vacation "rules and schedules are relaxed," she advised parents to say "no" from time to time, so that their children appreciate things more. "The virtues of detachment and austerity are not very fashionable these days and therefore attract a lot of attention when seen in other people," she noted.

"In families," she added, "everyone has to pitch in and collaborate, always assigning small tasks appropriate to their age and helping them if we see they aren't capable or need a push: taking out the trash, unloading the dishwasher, setting the table, watering the plants, emptying the beach bag, hanging up swimsuits, etc."

4. Take a vacation, but with God.

All of these ideas, Sánchez de León clarified, "really stem from the intention to live out our vacation with a Christian sense of purpose," since "everything is deeply connected to our life with God."

"How are we going to give meaning to vacation, plans, and moments of connection if we are distracted from the ultimate meaning of our lives? How can we bring Jesus to others during vacation if we don't have him within us and within our summer home, between the beach towels and bags of potato chips?" she asked.

"God also wants to be with us in the summer. He wants us to enjoy ourselves, and he wants to see us enjoying ourselves with him. God wants to be in our family plans and in the ice cream drippings on our children's T-shirts; we can share everything with him," she pointed out.

To achieve this, she advised "not forgetting the small spiritual or devotional practices" that are usually practiced during the academic year, such as praying the rosary, some spiritual reading, the Angelus at noon, or saying grace before meals.

"By practicing these things, we elevate our souls to God and can give thanks for what we are receiving this summer. Vacation is also a great opportunity to pray more serenely, dive into reading, and deepen our relationship with God," she affirmed.

Finally, the mother of four noted that, "if we maintain this harmony, we will also be more able to look upon others better, help them, serve them, overcome friction, and have more patience. Putting God into our daily lives will help us live a more Christian summer that will give us rest and deeply fill our souls. We will also be creating unforgettable memories for ourselves to continue building upon in the years to come."

5. Preach by example.

Father Héctor Razo, an Opus Dei Mexican priest, pointed out in a conversation with ACI Prensa that evangelization during vacation "can be done through one's own life and one's own example of a life lived united with Jesus."

"Sometimes we Christians can think that changing the world in which we live — this world that is increasingly secularized — is a feat that would take years, or perhaps centuries, when in reality that is not the case," he explained.

He thus invited the faithful to reflect on the early Christians: "They had everything against them, and yet they managed to convert an entire society from pagan to Christian. How did they do it? By their example, because they belonged to Christ and that person had changed their hearts."

In this regard, he recalled St. Josemaría Escrivá, "the saint who would preach the universal call to holiness through ordinary life," who summed it up in one sentence: Know Jesus Christ, make him known, take him everywhere. That is, "be so in love with Christ that it becomes so natural for us to speak about him to those around us."

To achieve this, he encouraged Catholics to "live our own faith wherever we are, without shame. If we say grace at home, we should also do so when we are on vacation with our friends and relatives."

"Teach your children that God deserves a place even during vacations, by going to Sunday Mass and perhaps one more day during the week. By praying the rosary as a family a couple of days a week, with the intention of praying for something special and involving everyone in that prayer; that is, by having each child lead a mystery," Razo suggested.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

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http://www.myspiritfm.com/news?blogid=8838&view=post&articleid=286802&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jul 8, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

At just 19 years old, Austin Baron is taking college classes, competing on sports reality television, making handmade dog toys, and raising tens of thousands of dollars to feed the hungry. How does he do it all? According to him, it's all thanks to "the gifts God's given" him.

Baron is a rising sophomore at the University of Notre Dame and the founder of Knot Perfect, a nonprofit that has provided more than 100,000 meals to children and families across the globe. He is now using his participation on NBC's reality television show "American Ninja Warrior" to help expand his outreach.

Discovering his mission

Baron was first moved to feed the hungry when he was 12 years old and volunteered at his parish, St. Theresa Catholic Church in Ashburn, Virginia, to pack meals for Cross Catholic Outreach's food distribution ministry You(th) vs. Hunger. 

"I learned that a billion people go to bed hungry each night," Baron told CNA. "The meals I was packing with my own hands would be the only food for someone else to eat."

"That really inspired me to want to do something to help them. Billion is a big number, and I decided that I wanted to start collecting donations because that would be a way that we could pack more meals and feed more people."

Baron began collecting donations and gave them to a number of organizations that help provide meals but primarily to You(th) vs. Hunger. In order to "excite people and to encourage them to donate," he said, he decided to turn it into a fun experience by giving those who donated a handmade dog toy.

"I love animals — especially dogs," Baron said. "And around the same time that I wanted to start feeding the hungry, I started making dog toys. I watched videos to learn how to make them." Since then, Baron has made more than 1,500 knotted dog toys.

Around the time of the pandemic, it became more challenging for Baron to collect cash donations, so at 16 years old, with the help of his parents and brothers, Baron turned his project into a nonprofit that could collect online donations. He named the organization Knot Perfect to represent both the knotted toys and the imperfect world where hunger is an issue across the globe.

Using 'American Ninja Warrior' to feed the hungry 

After starting Knot Perfect, Baron had an inspiring rock-climbing experience that sparked his next big move.

"I went rock climbing on a cliff over the Atlantic Ocean, and I really had a wonderful experience doing that. And then ... around the same time I was doing that, I started watching '[American] Ninja Warrior.'" 

"American Ninja Warrior" is a sports-competition reality show that features athletes from around the country who compete on "the most difficult obstacle courses." Participants compete for the fastest time and race to get a "button push" — pressing the buzzer at the end of the course indicating they completed the obstacle without falling off. 

After watching the series, Baron "went to a 'Ninja Warrior' gym to train and to try the obstacles that were on the show, and [I] just really fell in love with the sport, and especially the ninja community."

"Everyone was super supportive, even though we're all competing against each other on the course. Everyone helps each other and shares their tips and encourages them on all the obstacles … then a friend suggested that I apply for the show."

"I didn't know if I was going to get in," Baron said. "[But] I feel like God really blessed me with the opportunity to be on the show and to use it to advocate for an end to world hunger and to encourage other people to do good in the world."

Baron heard back that he was accepted for Season 15 of the show. In 2023, he participated and made it to the semifinal round. (Approximately 40,000 of the meals provided by Knot Perfect were a direct result of Baron's appearance on "American Ninja Warrior.")

Baron was invited to rejoin the show for Season 17, which is taking place in Las Vegas this summer. So far he has been a fierce competitor, hitting his first buzzer on the June 2 episode, which advanced him to the upcoming July 14 semifinals.

Wearing a shirt that says "Ninja Fighting Hunger" on the episode, Baron said he is "dedicating [his] summer to being the hands and feet of Christ for the 1 billion people around the world who go to bed hungry each night." 

Knot Perfect's next steps

As much as Baron enjoys the course and community of "American Ninja Warrior," he said, "The whole reason I go on the show is to advocate for world hunger … As a result of being on the season this year, we're trying to pack our 1-millionth meal as a community in northern Virginia. It's our 10-year anniversary of packing meals, and we have a big goal of hitting that million-meal mark."

The anniversary marks a milestone for You(th) vs. Hunger, and Baron said he hopes "American Ninja Warrior" can help the Catholic community reach its goal, as a donation of just $10 allows the organization to feed 30 people.

"My mission of feeding the hungry, starting a nonprofit, and then going to the University of Notre Dame and competing on ['American Ninja Warrior'], I just felt that God has really blessed me with this opportunity," Baron said. "I felt his hands, him walking me, and helping me throughout it."

As he heads into his sophomore year, Baron will continue to study business analytics to continue his nonprofit and its mission after he graduates. He recently received two grants totaling $1,650 to help him reach his donation goals. 

He was also selected as the Virginia Young Man of the Year by the Knights of Columbus in 2024 for his work. But he gives all the credit to God. 

"I'm so grateful to God for the gifts he's given me and to use it to do something good for other people. I couldn't have done any of this without him," Baron said. "It's him, not me. I'm so grateful to him for that."

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