In your last letter, you told a compelling and heartbreaking story detailing how your rights as a traditionalist Catholic were curtailed. Not only are the prelates who persecuted you wrong, but as shepherds of the flock, they made a foolish decision to stamp you out in an age when faithful Catholic communities like yours are […]
ISDEGERDES, Son of Sapor III., put a stop to the cruel persecutions against the Christians in Persia, which had been begun by Sapor II. Thus, the Church had enjoyed twelve years’ peace in that kingdom, when in 420 it was disturbed by the indiscreet zeal of Abdas, a Christian bishop. He burned down the Pyræum, or […]
A King, A Victim, A Priest A king, A victim, A priest, A king accused, A victim scourged, A priest condemned, A king crowned and robed, A victim beaten and humiliated, A priest on the altar of the Cross, O Anointed One, O Crucified One, O Holy One, Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done. […]
On Wednesday, March 25, in the Church the Annunciation, Pope Francis celebrated the Incarnation as Archangel Gabriel visited the humble Maiden of Nazareth and announced she would conceive and give birth to the Son of God. The pope incorporated this feast day into his Wednesday address as he continued his course of catechesis on the family because, with Joseph, Jesus […]
The Visitation refers to the time when Mary, receiving the news from the angel Gabriel that she was going to become the mother of Jesus as well as that her cousin Elizabeth was going to have a baby, rushed to her elder cousin’s side. Gifts of the Visitation by Denise Bossert (Ave Maria Press, 2015) […]
JOHN made, while still young, such progress in learning that he was called the Scholastic. At the age of sixteen he turned from the brilliant future which lay before him, and retired to Mt. Sinai, where he put himself under the direction of a holy monk. Never was novice more fervent, more unrelaxing in his […]
KING SAPOR, of Persia, in the eighteenth year of his reign, raised a bloody persecution against the Christians, and laid waste their churches and monasteries, Jonas and Barachisius, two brothers of the city Beth-Asa, hearing that several Christians lay under sentence of death at Hubaham, went thither to encourage and serve them. Nine of that […]
Lessons without end, at once lofty and hallowing, might be deduced from the triumphant entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem, celebrated by the Church on this day. We limit ourselves, however, to considering the event under one aspect merely in order to draw therefrom a moral lesson for our spiritual instruction. Our Lord enters Jerusalem, […]
We now come to the Sunday with a split personality. It starts with an upbeat gospel recounting Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. It is a festive affair, complete with a parade route strewn with palm branches instead of ticker tape. But we quickly progress to the stark reading of Jesus’ passion, bearable only because we […]
ST. GONTRAN was the King of Burgundy (present day east-central France) from 561 to 593. Gontran was the second surviving son of King Clotaire, and the grandson of Frankish King Clovis I and St. Clotilda. His brother Charibert reigned at Paris, and Sigebert in Ostrasia. When compelled to take up arms against his ambitious brothers […]
In an animated and unusually packed budget meeting this week, UN member states gave the go ahead to special benefits for any UN staff in same-sex legal arrangements. A proposal of Russia in the General Assembly fell well short reversing the Secretary General’s unilateral decision last June extending benefits of marriage to any UN staff […]
TILL he was twenty-five, John worked as a carpenter with his father. Then feeling a call from God, he left the world and committed himself to a holy solitary in the desert. His master tried his spirit by many unreasonable commands, bidding him roll the hard rocks, tend dead trees, and the like. John obeyed […]
The old grocery store in my neighborhood is closing next month. Boy, does that make me sad. The family-owned store has been a staple in our community for more than 50 years. Its simple, spartan interior is a snapshot into the past, the way grocery stores were in the ’60s and ’70s — like the […]
Home is where… no one is. That seems to be the modern trend. City dwellers lead hectic lives, our suburbs are “bedroom communities”, and the talent of the next generation is quickly fleeing small rural towns. Our homes are empty for far too many hours of the day, and this trend has been steadily reshaping […]
ST. LUDGER was born in Friesland (northern Netherlands) about the year 743. His father, a nobleman of the first rank, at the child’s own request, committed him very young to the care of St. Gregory, the disciple of St. Boniface, and his successors in the government of the see of Utrecht. Gregory educated him in […]
Quietly Sitting in Adoration “Go to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament and simply let Him Love you” St. JohnPaul II Kneeling or Quietly sitting in Adoration Yielding and passive and prayerful- there is that. Yet, so much is astir For with the faintest, softest “Yes” He comes to you! His heart bursting with love Radiating […]
Sitting in Adoration “Go to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament and simply let Him Love you” St. JohnPaul II Kneeling or Quietly sitting in Adoration Yielding and passive and prayerful- there is that. Yet, so much is astir For with the faintest, softest “Yes” He comes to you! His heart bursting with love Radiating His […]
Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion Mass Readings: 1st Reading: Isaiah 50:4-7 2nd Reading: Philippians 2:6-11 Responsorial: Psalm 22:8-9, 17-20, 23-24 Gospel: Mark 14:1–15:47 Following Jesus’ Example of Self-sacrifice and Compassion Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! (Mark 11:9) When artists talk about contrast, they’re referring to the […]
Mothers are by far the most beautiful creatures in the world. There is nothing more beautiful than a mother. There has never been a beauty pageant winner more beautiful than a pregnant woman. A pregnant woman glows with the grace of God. She is one with God. Her love has borne fruit with the life […]
Not long ago, I did an exercise in which four words were listed horizontally and I had to rank them as they applied to me by giving a “4” to the one most descriptive of myself down to “1” for the least descriptive of me. For example, the first list of words was: independent, compassionate, […]
Anne Roback Morse gave an address on March 13, 2015 at the United Nations surrounding the Commission on the Status of Women at a panel titled, “Coerced Sterilizations, Abortions, and Reproductive Rights.” The following remarks are based on excerpts from that address. Last November, 83 women were sterilized in a matter of hours at a […]
Vincent Van Gogh’s career as a painter began when he was 27 years old and lasted a brief ten years, ending with his suicide. His works are, perhaps, better known than those of any other painter and yet during his lifetime he was virtually unknown. He suffered from mental illness.[1] His mental illness drove his […]
