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 […]
Archives for 2017
Maronite Prayer in honor of the Holy Angels
I recently came across a beautiful prayer relating to the Holy Angels in the Maronite Catholic Divine Liturgy: “Glory to you, O Radiant Light. You brought joy to the world by your incarnation and gave light to all in heaven and on earth with your spiritual light. We praise you with the angels in heaven. […]
Bishop Choby, a Spiritual Father to our Confraternity
Bishop David Choby, the 11th Bishop of Nashville, passed into eternal life on Saturday, June 3, 2017. He was a true spiritual father to the Confraternity of Our Lady of Mercy. When I first had the inspiration (during a Eucharistic Holy Hour, while preaching a Rosary Novena) to start a spiritual confraternity (a spiritual family) […]
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 […]
Mysteries of the Holy Triduum — Holy Thursday
The Holy Triduum (Three Days) of Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter is the holiest time of the Christian year. How can we enter more deeply into the mysteries of the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Our Lord during this sacred time? Holy Thursday is when the Church celebrates the solemn memorial of the Last […]
Importance of Silence
In our modern world, we are literally surrounded by noise. We have the sounds of computers, printers, radio, music, television, cars — you name it, we are surrounded by constant sounds. But we need silence in order to hear the “still, small voice, ” the “tiny, whispering sound” — the voice of God. Without silence, […]
St. Anthony of Egypt
The Church celebrates the feast day of St. Anthony of Egypt on January 17th. St. Anthony is called the “Father of Monasticism,” and is seen as the one of the great men known as the “Desert Fathers.” Anthony was born into a wealthy family, but after the death of his parents, he heard the call […]