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"Lord, in your great love, answer me."

96 "Lord, in your great love, answer me." p{ margin:10px 0; padding:0; } table{ border-collapse:collapse; } h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6{ display:block; margin:0; padding:0; } img,a img{ border:0; height:auto; outline:none; text-decoration:none; } body,#bodyTable,#bodyCell{ height:100%; margin:0; padding:0; width:100%; } .mcnPreviewText{ display:none !important; } #outlook a{ padding:0; } img{ -ms-interpolation-mode:bicubic; } table{ mso-table-lspace:0pt; mso-table-rspace:0pt; } .ReadMsgBody{ width:100%; } .ExternalClass{ width:100%; } p,a,li,td,blockquote{ mso-line-height-rule:exactly; } a[href^=tel],a[href^=sms]{ color:inherit; cursor:default; text-decoration:none; } p,a,li,td,body,table,blockquote{ -ms-text-size-adjust:100%; -webkit-text-size-adjust:100%; } .ExternalClass,.ExternalClass p,.ExternalClass td,.ExternalClass div,.ExternalClass span,.ExternalClass font{ line-height:100%; } a[x-apple-data-detectors]{ color:inherit !important; text-decoration:none !important; font-size:inherit !important; 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line-height:150% !important; } } @media only screen and (max-width: 480px){ .headerContainer .mcnTextContent,.headerContainer .mcnTextContent p{ font-size:16px !important; line-height:150% !important; } } @media only screen and (max-width: 480px){ .bodyContainer .mcnTextContent,.bodyContainer .mcnTextContent p{ font-size:16px !important; line-height:150% !important; } } @media only screen and (max-width: 480px){ .footerContainer .mcnTextContent,.footerContainer .mcnTextContent p{ font-size:14px !important; line-height:150% !important; } } the DCC Weekly 💙
Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time
  • RECONCILIATION | Goodson Prayer Room | 10:00 a.m.
  • SUNDAY MASS | Goodson Chapel | 11:00 a.m.
  • RECONCILIATION | Duke Chapel | 7:00 p.m.
  • SUNDAY MASS | Duke Chapel | 8:00 p.m.
Monday
  • DAILY MASS | Falcone-Arena House Chapel | 12:00 p.m.
Wednesday
  • DAILY MASS | Falcone-Arena House Chapel | 6:30 p.m.
  • ADORATION & CONFESSION | Falcone-Arena House Chapel | 7:00 p.m.
Thursday
  • DAILY MASS | Falcone-Arena House Chapel | 5:30 p.m.
Friday
  • DAILY MASS | Falcone-Arena House Chapel | 5:30 p.m.
Be sure to check our Google Calendar and/or GroupMe/WhatsApp messages for events throughout the week.

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Change in Sunday Confession Schedule: There will be no Confession opportunities before the 8pm Mass on July 5 and July 12 and possibly  before the 11am Mass on those Sundays. 

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If you are studying abroad this fall, spring, or for the full academic year, take a moment to let us know where you'll be studying and the best way to reach you while you're abroad. Keeping in touch helps us share updates from the Duke Catholic Center, pray for you during your travels, and ensure you remain part of our community no matter where you are in the world.

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Now is the time to make plans to join us for Ignite 2026! This weekend is a welcome retreat from the start of the academic year - a beautiful opportunity to grow in community and faith. Save the date and plan to join us September 4-6, 2026, on the beautiful coast of North Carolina!

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Interested in having an AMAZING tour guide in the Eternal City? Our very own Fr. Juan José will be in Rome during Fall Break (Oct. 9-13, 2026) and you are invited to join him! If you're studying abroad this fall or want to use the break in classes to travel, this is a wonderful opportunity to experience Rome with an 'expert.' 

Interested? Let us know so we can get some preliminary plans in place! 

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Come with the Duke Catholic Center to Seoul for World Youth Day 2027!

Experience the global Church firsthand amidst the unique and vibrant story of Catholicism in Korea. From remarkable saints, bustling markets, and moving shrines to Mass with the Pope, join millions of Catholic young people at World Youth Day.


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Make your first-year a Transformational Experience at Duke! 

 As you begin your journey at Duke, you don't have to navigate it alone. At the Duke Catholic Center, you'll find a community rooted in faith, friendship, and belonging—a place where you can grow spiritually while building meaningful relationships that will support you throughout your college years.

There are a few opportunities during O-Week where students can learn more about the DCC and meet with the ministry team.

Learn more about these events and register at catholic.duke.edu/first-year.

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Pope Leo XIV’s recent pastoral visit to Spain inspired hundreds of thousands of people. Many came away moved by his words and witness, sensing a desire to take their faith more seriously. Inspiration is a gift, but it naturally leads to a question: “What do I do now? Where do I start?”

It’s a great question, and one we should be able to answer. If I had to recommend one realistic starting point for most young adults, it would be this: commit to thirty minutes of daily prayer, participate faithfully in Sunday Mass, and go to confession regularly.

The goal is not to do everything at once. The goal is consistency. A simple prayer routine practiced faithfully over months and years will bear far more fruit than an ambitious plan abandoned after a few weeks.

Daily Mass

Daily Mass seems to be one of the most effective ways to grow deeper in our faith. It guarantees contact with Sacred Scripture, and if we are in a state of grace, we can receive Communion. Hopefully, the words the priest shares in the homily edify, encourage, and nourish us spiritually. Arriving a few minutes early and staying a few minutes afterward helps us to receive more spiritual fruit from the experience. I like it because even when we are distracted, we are sure to be growing.

Rosary

This is an example of vocal prayer – praying with our lips with pre-fabricated prayers – that has a deep tradition within Christianity. The Rosary invites us to meditate on the mysteries of Christ’s life, so it serves as a constant anchoring of our spiritual lives in the Word of God. It invites Mary to accompany us on the path of holiness. St. Bernard of Clairvaux coined the phrase, de Maria numquam satis (you can never get enough of Mary), and I am inclined to agree.

Lectio Divina

Taking Sacred Scripture in hand each day and praying with it opens a powerful path to transformation. By reading, meditating on, and applying God’s word to our lives, we gradually learn to think with God’s mind and conform our lives to his will. Down through the centuries, this has been a preferred mode of prayer for the saints.

Adoration

“Eucharistic adoration” refers to spending time in front of the consecrated host. Jesus is truly there, either in the tabernacle or solemnly exposed in the monstrance. Spending time in front of the Eucharistic Lord always bears fruit, even when we do not immediately perceive it. Pope John Paul II would speak frequently of his experience of the Eucharist. He tried to communicate some of his own devotion to the faithful in his Encyclical Letter, Ecclesia de Eucharistia.

It is pleasant to spend time with him, to lie close to his breast like the Beloved Disciple (cf. Jn 13:25) and to feel the infinite love present in his heart. If in our time Christians must be distinguished above all by the “art of prayer”,48 how can we not feel a renewed need to spend time in spiritual converse, in silent adoration, in heartfelt love before Christ present in the Most Holy Sacrament? (Pope Saint John Paul II, Ecclesia de Eucharistia, 25).

Our time in front of the Blessed Sacrament can be flexible. We might apply some of the other spiritual practices, such as lectio divina or praying the rosary. We may also simply rest in silence before the Lord, pouring out our hearts before him and leaving silent spaces for him to speak to us.

Examination of Conscience

Before we go to confession, we try to examine our consciences to see how we have failed to correspond to God’s love. We repent of the evil we have committed, and we go before God’s representative to ask for pardon and peace. The practice of examination of conscience can be fruitful in other moments as well. I like to examine my conscience every day. It helps me to see what is going on in my life, hopefully before I go too far off the rails.

Getting Started

All of these practices have borne fruit in the lives of countless saints and ordinary Christians. Of them, daily Mass has had the greatest impact on my own spiritual life. If I wanted to start tomorrow, I would look for how many daily Masses I can fit into my weekly schedule, then assign the other spiritual practices to the remaining days.

There are obviously many more things we could do to jumpstart our spiritual lives. Some people would suggest that we need to spend much more than 30 minutes a day. I suggest starting with 30 minutes, and then talking to a mentor in the spiritual life before increasing the daily commitment. I have seen too many people try to take on longer commitments, only to fail and end up doing nothing to take care of their spiritual lives. 30 minutes might not seem like much, but over the course of a year it adds up to over 180 hours. If that is 180 hours more than last year, you can be sure it is going to affect your spiritual life.

The important thing is to start and persevere. God does not ask us to become saints overnight. He simply asks us to meet him each day. Thirty minutes may not seem like much, but over time those small daily encounters can transform an entire life.

Read more from Fr. Nicholas by subscribing to his blog, Beyond the Pew, on Substack.


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"What started as a weekend retreat changed the way I see my faith."

For many students, retreats and pilgrimages are where faith becomes personal. Away from the pressures of classes and schedules, they find space to pray, encounter Christ, and build a community that lasts long after graduation.

Your generosity helps make these experiences possible for Duke students.

As we approach the end of our fiscal year, consider making a gift to support the retreats and pilgrimages that continue to transform lives.

catholic.duke.edu/give
Have an event you want us to promote? Submit an event form here.
Duke Catholic Center
Box 90976
Durham, NC 27708

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