Prayer: The First Means of Repentance and Key to a good Lent When St. John Chrysostom (d. 407 AD) preached in Antioch (Syria) about repentance, he recommended several practices which have their origin in the Old Testament, and have been used by Christians for the last 2,000 years. These practices are important for our entire […]
Conversion of St. Paul
Who would have ever expected that the man who supervised the murder of St. Stephen, the first martyrdom of a Christian, would have ever become a Christian himself? Yet one day, on the road to Damascus on a mission of persecution, Saul of Tarsus had a vision and heard a voice: “Saul, Saul, why are […]
“Rejoice in the Lord always!” Celebrating Gaudete Sunday
The holy season of Advent is a time of preparation and waiting — preparation for the coming of Christ our Savior, and waiting with anticipation the joy of His coming. We prepare our hearts for three comings of our Savior: His first coming as a little child — we prepare to celebrate Christmas, not as […]
Mary at the Foot of the Cross
On September 15th, the Catholic Church honored Mary as “Our Lady of Sorrows.” When we are suffering, and especially when we are grieving the death of a loved one, such as the loss of an unborn child through abortion, miscarriage or stillbirth, we can join our sorrows with those of Mary at the foot of […]
Special Grace of Divine Mercy Sunday
In the Diary of St. Faustina, Divine Mercy in My Soul, the Lord Jesus said that He would give special graces on the Feast of Mercy, the Octave Sunday of Easter. On that day, Our Lord promises that those who have been to the Sacrament of Confession (and, of course, made a good confession of […]
Reaching out in Love:
When we have received a gift, especially a precious gift like healing, our first response should be gratitude. Great gratitude to Our Lord Jesus Christ, the giver of healing. But our second response should be to want to share the gift with others. A wonderful Irish priest and missionary, Fr. Robert Bradshaw, once said that […]
Three “American” Saints
During this first week of January, the Catholic Church in the United States honors three saints who, at least for part of their lives, lived in our nation. St. Elizabeth Ann Seton is honored on January 4th. She was raised Episcopalian, but converted to Catholicism as an adult. She was a wife and mother of […]
Ancient Saints, and their Relevance today
This last week of August, the Catholic Church honors several saints of the early Church — St. John the Baptist and St. Augustine of Hippo — but what do ancient saints have to teach us today in our post-modern world? St. John the Baptist was the forerunner of Jesus Christ (as well as his cousin) and […]
Daily Examination of Conscience
One of the most basic truths of the spiritual life is the importance of making a daily examination of conscience. As members of the Confraternity of Our Lady of Mercy, we strive to do this each night before going to bed. Why is the examination so important? It is for the sake of self-knowledge — […]
Mysteries of the Holy Triduum — Good Friday
Good Friday is a day on which Catholics have traditionally spent extra time in prayer and contemplation of the Passion and Death of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. For many of us, the sacred time of “the Three Hours” (Noon until 3:00 PM) is a time of silence and reflection — because these are […]
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