The Mercy of God to the Penitent

from St. Maximus the Confessor

God's will is to save us, and nothing pleases him more than our coming back to him with true repen­tance. The heralds of truth and the ministers…

Jesus, Man of Sorrows, those drops of Blood that flow down Your Face, those deep gashes caused by the thorns that cir­cle Your holy head, make You dearer to me than if Your forehead shone with pre­cious stones.…

THE TRIUMPH OF CHRIST THROUGH THE EUCHARIST

Christus vincit, regnat,  imperat; ab omni malo plemem suam defendat.

Christ conquers, He reigns, He commands. May He de­fend His people from all evil.

Pope Sixtus V had these words engraved on…

Ave Maria! The most common time to make or remake the St. Louis de Montfort 33 days of preparation for Marian Consecration is February 20th-March 25th. Now this year March 25th is in Easter week and will be…

O Immaculata, Queen of Heaven and earth,

refuge of sinners and our most loving Mother,

God has willed to entrust the entire order of mercy to you.

I, (name), a repentant sinner, cast myself at your feet,

humbly…

Greater love has no man than this,

that a man lay down his life for his friends. (Jn. 15:13)

I dare say that God in His omnipotence could not give more; in His wisdom, He knew not how to…

In 1947 Mother Teresa was shown a vision in three parts. In the first scene she saw the painful plight of the poor and the yet greater inner poverty that was hidden beneath their material poverty…they were reaching out to…

Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you that kill the prophets and stone those who are sent to you! How often have I longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you refused! (Mt.23:37)

SAINT MARY MAGDALEN

 A meditation from St. Peter Julian Eymard

Jesus loved .. Mary. (Jn.11:5)

SAINT MARY MAGDALEN was the privileged friend of Jesus. She served Him with her wealth and accompanied Him everywhere. She honored His humanity magnificently…

First Sorrow of Mary - The prophecy of Simeon

(Luke 2:22-35) When the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought Him up to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord. Now there…

Blessed José: teen martyr of the 20th century The 80th anniversary of the death of one of my heroes is coming up on Feb. 10. Blessed José Sanchez del Rio was martyred during the persecution of Catholics that…

MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS
BENEDICT XVI
FOR LENT 2008

"Christ made Himself poor for you" (2 Cor 8,9)

Dear Brothers and Sisters!

1. Each year, Lent offers us a providential opportunity to deepen the meaning and value of our Christian lives, and it…

O loving Pelican! O Jesu Lord! Unclean I am but cleanse me in Thy Blood; Of which a single drop, for sinners spilt, Can purge the entire world from all its guilt . (St. Thomas Aquinas)

0 loving Pelican!…

The Son of God is the first-born of many brothers. Although by nature He is the only-begotten, by grace He has joined many to Himself and made them one with Him. For to those who receive Him He…

Dearest Jesus: You loved me from all eternity, therefore you created me.

You loved me after You created me, therefore You became Man for me.

You loved me after You became man for me, therefore you lived and…

There has been somewhere around 46 MILLION abortions in the United States in the past 35 years. Such a figure is hard to fathom. And so it follows that millions of women and others have been affected by…

"I call heaven and earth to record this day against you,

that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing:

therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live."

On January 21st the Church celebrates the memorial of St. Agnes, virgin and martyr. She came from a noble Roman family and was about thirteen years old when she suffered martyrdom. She was tortured and beheaded. Her name…

"But pray, my children. God will hear you in a short time.

My Son allows Himself to be moved by compassion."   

She was dressed in a star-studded robe of dark blue with slippers of the same colour. A black…

The Curse of Broadmindedness

(Fulton J. Sheen: Moods and Truths-1932)

"The Catholic Church intolerant." That simple thought, like a yellow-fever sign, is supposed to be the one solid reason which should frighten away any one who might be…

And behold a voice from heaven saying:

This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. (Mt.3:17)

(Is.42:1) Behold, my servant, whom I uphold; my chosen, in whom my soul delights.

God the Father: (Mt. 17:5) from the…

From the swashbucklers garrisoned in his hometown in Sicily, the young Philip Latini learned a dubious skill-immensely popular in the 17th century-swordsmanship.

Indeed, he acquired the reputation of being the best blade in Sicily.

But after mortally wounding his opponent…

SOME OF THE GRACES AND FRUITS TO BE DERIVED FROM DEVOUT ATTENDANCE AT HOLY MASS:

1. For your salvation, God the Father sends His beloved Son down from Heaven.

2. For your salvation, the Holy Spirit changes bread and…

And going into the dwelling, they found the Child there with His Mother, Mary,

and fell down to worship Him. (Mt. 2:11)

We also kneel down before Jesus,

most especially our God 'hidden' in the most Holy Eucharist.

It is often mentioned that…

A doorkeeper with a great faith caused a huge Basilica to honor St. Joseph to be built!

At 25 Alfred Bessette applied to join the Congregation of the Holy Cross but was refused due to poor health, but when…

This incredible holy bishop did so many wonderful things but one of my favorite stories concerns the promotion of the 40 Hours Devotion of Adoration of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.

At the time of his episcopate there was…

The Holy Eucharist was the focal point of Elizabeth’s conversion.

After witnessing the widespread and warm devotion to the Eucharist during her stay in Italy, she found herself inextricably drawn to the Blessed Sacrament. After her first Communion,…

Jesus, Name above all names:

Beautiful Savior, Living Word Emmanuel,

God is with us: Blessed Redeemer, glorious Lord

Lift high the cross, the love of Christ proclaim,
Till all the world adore His sacred Name.

VENERATION OF THE HOLY NAME:

The veneration…

Let us celebrate the motherhood of the Virgin Mary;

let us worship her Son, Christ the Lord.

(Liturgy of the Hours)

Mary has looked upon the face of the Incarnate God.

In one glance she has read there voluminous wonders of…

"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men of good will." (Lk. 2:14)

MEDITATION

At Bethlehem the angels announced two things: Glory to God and peace to men; the one corresponds to the other. No…

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O precious Lord, once born for us

in stable small and poor;

be born again within our hearts,

and there let us adore.

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As once our Savior thou didst come,

both Man and God divine,

so now thou…

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.

Several years ago a priest friend of mine wrote the following mediation while setting up his manger scene and I…

The Blessed Virgin chosen from eternity:  Her vocation.

We are now very close to Christmas. The prophecy of Isaiah is now about to be fulfilled: the maiden is with child and will soon give birth to a son whom…

Joseph's mission:

And Jacob was the father of Joseph the husband of Mary,

of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ.

Among the Jews, as among other peoples of nomadic origin, the genealogical tree was of vital…

Neither Advent nor the tomb is Christ's final rest in the world. He rests in the midst of the world now, in the Host. He is as silent, as secret and hidden, in the Host as He was…

The Lord has shown his great mercy. Enkindle in your hearts ardent desires and burning wishes for Our Lord to come to you in the virtue of his charity, love of the Father, and of every human being.…

As we prepare for Christmas:

THE GREAT ANTIPHONS

The public prayers of the Church consist not only of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass but also of the Divine Office, the prayers of the priests' Breviary. The Office was…

The following is an excerpt from Advent of the Heart: Seasonal Sermons and Prison Writings by Alfred Delp, S.J., priest and martyr.

This is from a wartime Christmas midnight Mass in 1942.

The meaning of our Christian holy days…

Our Lady is Queen of the Seraphic (Franciscan) Order

Feast Day is December 15th  

Saint Francis' Greetings to the Blessed Virgin:
 
Hail, Lady and Queen,  holy Mary, Mother of God,
Virgin who became the Church,
chosen by the Father in heaven,
consecrated by His…

 Some of the words of Our Lady to St. Juan Diego:

Know for certain, littlest of my sons, that I am the perfect and perpetual Virgin Mary, Mother of the True God through Whom everything lives, the Lord of…

I haven't much to be proud of! It is true that the Lord loves to choose what is feeble and rejected, in order to show that it is by His grace acting through our weakness, that we are…

From Pope Benedict XVI on December 8, 2006

O Mary, Immaculate Virgin, again this year, with filial love, we meet at the foot of your image to renew to you the homage of the Christian commu­nity and of…

Prayer to Jesus Living in Mary

O Jesus living in Mary:

Come and live in Thy servants,

In the spirit of Thy holiness,

In the fullness of Thy power,

In the perfection of Thy ways,

In the truth of Thy virtues,

In the fellowship of…

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The infant Christ is the whole Christ. Christ was not more God, more Christ, more man, on the Cross than He was in His Mother's womb. His first tear, His first smile, His first breath, His first pulsation…

A cry from the heart: My God, if You exist, make Your existance known to me!

from Bl. Charles de Foucauld before his conversion

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As soon as I believed there was a God, I understood I could do nothing…

Daily Miraculous Medal Prayer of St. Maximilian Kolbe:

O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to you,

and for all who do not have recourse to you, especially the enemies of the Church

and…

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Crown Him with many crowns, the Lamb upon His throne.

Hark! How the heavenly anthem drowns all music but its own.

Awake, my soul, and sing of Him who died for thee,

And hail Him as thy matchless…

VIVA CRISTO REY!

"I am ready to give my life for souls, but I want nothing for myself.  All that I want is to lead them to God.  If I kept anything for myself, I should be a thief,…