The Texas Catholic Herald

July 9, 2019

Building marriage, family life for a better society, world

Living in a modern culture that challenges the fundamentals of morality dramatically impacts the health of marriage and family life, also called the “Domestic Church.” While Church doctrine does not change with the times, supporting ministries must improve and implement real responses, strategies, and goals to help the faithful create a better society and world.

July 9, 2019

‘Bright and gifted’ youth minister dies in car accident

A “bright and gifted” youth minister Katarina Goitz of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston died June 24 in Illinois when her car was rear-ended as she was enroute to Chicago O’Hare Airport after attending a University of Notre Dame event.

July 9, 2019

50 years on, moon landing still inspires wonder

When Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong gingerly stepped onto the surface of the moon and beckoned to Mission Control at NASA’s Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Houston on July 20, 1969, millions across the world watched in suspense.

July 9, 2019

As it is in Heaven: Understanding the grim realities of space flight

Long before first Apollo mission, the hopeful 1967 launch practice marred by a tragic fire that killed all three astronauts, the journey to space flight has always been treacherous.

July 9, 2019

Catching the stars: Houston Passionist priest and astrophotographer captures heavenly views

Sometimes Father Joe Barbieri, C.P., finds himself in the dead of night, surrounded by silence in prayer as the stars and planets twirl above him, far above the Earth — light years, actually — then he clicks the shutter button. Another image of the celestial skies. Then another. Then another. Eventually, he can piece the images together to fashion the earthly view of galaxies hundreds of thousands of light years away.

July 9, 2019

MORENO: St. John Paul II - Faith and reason are united

It’s been nearly 21 years since the promulgation of the landmark encyclical “Fides et Ratio” by now St. John Paul II. The pope wrote in the encyclical’s opening statement: “Faith and reason are like two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth; and God has placed in the human heart a desire to know the truth — in a word, to know himself — so that, by knowing and loving God, men and women may also come to the fullness of truth about themselves.”

July 9, 2019

LOCKETT: In His Light - Harnessing the ‘Drum Major Instinct’

Feb. 4, 2019, marked the 51st anniversary of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivering his powerful “Drum Major Instinct” sermon. His discourse was delivered at Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church exactly two months before his assassination and would come to be his last sermon delivered at the church he shepherded.

July 9, 2019

ADAMS: The moon landing, science and faith

Each generation has a special event or moment which can shape its understanding of their world. For Randy Adams, one of those events is about to celebrate its 50th anniversary: The Apollo 11 Moon Landing.

July 9, 2019

Signs of Apollo: Vatican Observatory shows Church’s long history with the moon

At the Vatican Observatory in Castel Gandolfo near Rome, Brother Robert Macke, S.J., finds his work as the Curator of Meteorites for the Vatican Observatory — formally founded in 1891 by Pope Leo XIII — allows him to, as the Jesuit saying goes, “find God in all things.”

July 9, 2019

Mapping with the stars: Nuns instrumental in Vatican celestial survey

Of the many momentous or menial tasks women religious perform, one of the better-kept secrets has been the role of four Sisters of the Holy Child Mary who were part of a global effort to make a complete map and catalog of the starry skies.