The Knotty Entanglements of Sin
The two Collects given us by the liturgy this week — the first in the Extraordinary Form, and the second in the Ordinary Form —...
Mary, the Virgin Who Leadeth the Lamb
Listening to Saint Bernard at Matins in the pre-dawn darkness, I was moved by his meditation on the obedience of the Son to the Virgin...
Our Lady of Mercy
Marian Orders and Institutes Our Blessed Lady is at the origin of any number of Orders, religious institutes, and monasteries. Very often she appeared, entrusting...
Papal Angelus from Lourdes
I thank the Holy Father for this marvelous Angelus message. The heart of it — or the word that resonated most strongly within me —...
Mariological Teachings of Pope Benedict XVI
The Mariological teachings of the Holy Father are, more often than not, enshrined in carefully crafted homilies. He delights us both by the delicacy of...
If the Hurricanes of Temptation Rise Against Thee
The picture is a detail of Corrado Giaquinto’s Nascita della Vergine (1732). His Maria Bambina is one of the loveliest I have ever seen. Saint...
The Earlier Mysteries of the Blessed Virgin Mary
For some years now, especially around the Marian feasts of September 8th, September 12th, November 21st, and December 8th, I have prayed my rosary while...
All Things New and Better
Mary Coredemptrix I thrilled to the passage from Saint Bernard that I read this morning at Matins of the Saturday Office of the Blessed Virgin...
After First Vespers of Midsummer Day
Oh, the joy of First Vespers of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist: a glorious set of antiphons and (in the monastic Office) an...
Our Lady, Help of Christians and Hope of China
A Day of Prayer for the Church in China On Pentecost 2007, Pope Benedict XVI, addressed a letter to the bishops, priests, religious, and lay...
La Madonna di Pompei
The Supplica May 8th is the Feast of Our Lady of Pompei. In Italy and in places all over the globe the feast will be...
Trentotto anni di messa!
For The Reverend Monsignor Arthur B. Calkins on the 38th Anniversary of His Ordination to the Holy Priesthood: The Holy Spirit will honour Mary and,...
Our Lady of America
A very dear priest friend and I were discussing the place given to the Blessed Virgin Mary during the Holy Father’s recent Apostolic Journey to...
Setting An Example
Yesterday was the First Saturday of the month of May. Our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI gave an edifying example of pastoral zeal to all...
Living the “Totus Tuus”
Totus tuus ego sum et omnia mea Tua sunt. Accipio te in mea omnia. Praebe mihi cor Tuum, Maria. I am all thine, and all...
Verba vitae aeternae habes
Third Saturday of Paschaltide Acts 9:31-42 John 6:60-69 Paschaltide With Mary There is a particular grace attached to the celebration of these Saturdays of the...
Keeping Company With Mary
Another Joseph Reading the Martyrology this morning I discovered that today is the dies natalis of Saint Hermann Joseph, one of my cherished heavenly friends...
And the First Saturday
The Marian Dimension of the Death of John Paul II In speaking last week of the holy death of the Servant of God John Paul...
Beata Maria in Resurrectione Domini
In how many places will the Mass of Beata Maria in Resurrectione Domini be celebrated tomorrow? The proper texts of the Mass are found in...
A First Saturday
Was anyone else struck by the Holy Father’s allusion, in today’s Regina Caeli message, to the “Marian dimension” of Pope John Paul II’s death on...