And Again He Began to Teach
Week of Sexagesima Third Wednesday of the Year II Mark 4:1-20 Behold, the Sower Went Out to Sow Our Lord presents four situations to those...
Girded by Angels
“If Saint Thomas had not been victorious when his chastity was in peril, it is very probable that the Church would never have had her...
Christ Made Me His Own
In the fall of 2006 the Holy Father gave five General Audiences on Saint Paul the Apostle. These five teachings are a marvelous preparation for...
Conversi ad Dominum
In the context of yesterday’s General Audience, the Holy Father spoke not only of the Vultus Christi, the Face of Christ, but also of turning...
Thank you, Holy Father!
“One cannot contemplate Mary without being attracted by Christ and one cannot look at Christ without immediately perceiving the presence of Mary.” I am profoundly...
Saint Agnes, Virgin and Martyr
1 Corinthians 1:26-31 Psalm 22: 1b-3a, 4, 5, 6 Matthew 13:44-46 A Winter Constellation The wintertime liturgy sparkles with a constellation of virgin martyrs and...
Our Lady of Sion
“I cannot explain it. All I know is, that I entered the church knowing nothing, and I left it seeing clearly.” (Marie–Alphonse Ratisbonne) Today, January...
And Never to Despair of God’s Mercy
Saturday of the 1st Week of the Year II 1 Samuel 9: 1-4. 17-19; 10, 1a Psalm 20: 2-3, 4-5, 6-7 (R. 2a) Mark 2:...
Mais, priez, mes enfants!
January 17th is the feast of Our Lady of Pontmain, also called Our Mother of Hope. During my retreat last October at the Benedictine Monastery...
The Votive Mass of Saint Joseph
On this first Wednesday after the Octave of the Epiphany, I will celebrate a Votive Mass of Saint Joseph. (Votive Masses are celebrations in honour...
Hastening to the Cross
Wednesday of the 1st Week of the Year II 1 Samuel 3: 1-10, 19-20 Psalm 39: 2 and 5, 7-8a, 8b-9, 10 (R. 8a and...
Banneux: Seventy-Five Years
The Other Marian Jubilee in 2008 2008 is the Jubilee Year of Lourdes: 150 years since the apparitions to Saint Bernadette. 2008 also marks the...
The Communion of the Saints
For bedtime reading over the weekend in New Hampshire, I chose Maurice and Thérèse, The Story of a Love, by Bishop Patrick Ahern. The following...
Saint John Neumann and the Quarant’Ore
An Adorer of the Blessed Sacrament Saint John Nepomucene Neumann (1811–1860), Bishop of Philadelphia from 1852–1860, was graced with an intense devotion to Our Lord...
Sed quid invenientibus?
Among the Cistercians A tender and burning love for the Holy Name of Jesus found expression in the lyrical preaching of Saint Bernard and the...
Pope Benedict XVI on Saint Basil the Great
For this feast of Saints Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen: Part I of the Holy Father’s teaching on Saint Basil, given on 4 July...
Adoro Te Devote, Latens Deitas
Caesar van Everdingen painted this magnificent Holy Family in 1660. Saint Joseph, with the open book of the Scriptures on his lap, appears absorbed by...
Nunc dimittis servum tuum, Domine
The Fifth Day in the Octave of the Nativity of the Lord 1 John 2:3-11 Luke 2:22-35 The Child Jesus, Priest and Victim The very...
Urbi et Orbi
Christmas Message ‘Urbi et Orbi’ of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI “A holy day has dawned upon us. Come you nations and adore the Lord....
In principio erat Verbum
Last night, in his Christmas homily, Pope Benedict XVI said, “In the stable of Bethlehem, the very town where it had all begun, the Davidic...