Many of us probably wonder, “why has the Lord Jesus chosen me to be His disciple? I have lots of baggage; I have so many wounds.” The truth is that many of the Lord’s disciples were like us: they were men and women with a “history,” with scars from wounds inflicted by self and/or by […]
Our Own St. Monicas:
St. Monica: One of the most beloved saints down through the ages. Why is this humble mother from North Africa so well known and loved? For many years, Monica prayed fervently for the conversion of her husband, Patricius, who was a pagan, and for that of her son, Augustine, who flirted with the Manichean heresy […]
Mary Magdalen: Apostle to the Apostles
One of the great women saints is St. Mary Magdalene (feast day: July 22nd). There is a good deal of confusion about her, and a good deal that we definitely know about her. First, what we know for certain about this great saint: she was from the town of Magdala, on the Sea of Galilee […]
Loving Christ above all Others
This Sunday’s Gospel (13th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A) has the Lord Jesus telling us that “He who loves father or mother more than me, is not worthy of me. He who loves son or daughter more than me, is not worthy of me.” We might wonder how love for a family member could […]
Divine Mercy Sunday in a time of Plague
One of the very special graces that the Lord Jesus promised to St. Faustina for the “Feast of Mercy” is a “complete remission of sins and punishments” for those who will receive Holy Communion in the state of grace (several passages mention going to Confession in preparation for this Holy Communion) with “complete trust” in […]
Viral Retreat
At a time when many of our normal activities have been shut down, or have been modified due to the need for “social distancing,” we might be asking if things will ever “get back to normal,” or how soon they will do so. Maybe we should be asking another question: “How can I turn this […]
Prayer for the Dead – Insights from the Maronite Church
In the Western Church, our special day of prayer for the deceased is All Souls Day, which occurs every year on November 2nd, the day following All Saints Day. In the Maronite Rite of the Catholic Church (which is part of the ancient Rite from Antioch, where “the disciples were first called Christians”), the last […]
Significance of Our Lady of Guadalupe
The Aztec Empire was one of the bloodiest and most diabolical societies of the ancient world. The two main Aztec “gods” were “Lord of the Dark” and “Hummingbird Wizard,” and both of them demanded human sacrifice — and on a massive scale. In one festival in the year 1487 (as recorded by Aztec historians), over […]
Grief to Grace
Early in September, I traveled to Newark, New Jersey, to participate in a “Grief to Grace” retreat. This retreat was written by Dr. Theresa Burke, the founder of Rachel’s Vineyard retreats for healing the wounds of abortion, but Grief to Grace has a different focus — healing the wounds of sexual abuse. I became interested […]
Corpus Christi Sunday
This Sunday, we celebrate the great feast of “Corpus Christi,” now called the “Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ.” When this feast was begun, in the 13th century, it was partially begun as a rebuke to the heresy of Berengarius, who was the first person in the history of Christianity to deny the […]
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