“When something distasteful or unpleasant comes your way, remember Christ crucified and be silent”. Faith becomes a flame of charity, stronger than death. It is the seed and fruit of resurrection: “Do not think of any other thing,” writes the Saint in a moment of trial, “but that God ordains all, and where there is[…]
Year: 2019
Strength in Weakness
My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness. (2 Cor 12:9) I have always been intrigued by the meaning of these words by which Our Lord assures the Apostle Paul of the assistance of His grace and the power of this grace at work not only in him but if we[…]
He loves, He hopes, He waits. Our Lord prefers to wait Himself for the sinner for years rather than keep us waiting an instant. (Saint Maria Goretti, Virgin and Martyr, +1902)
Maria Goretti and the Destructive Effects of Lust
It was a day much like today, a hot, humid and sweltering July 6th in the year of our Lord 1902, in a small farming town in the fetid area outside of Rome, when a young girl – she had not yet attained full womanhood – of not-yet twelve years old was viciously stabbed fourteen[…]
Barnabites, Civil Wars and Confusing Synods
Saint Anthony Zaccaria (+1539), from noble lineage in late-renaissance Italy, first studied medicine, then for the priesthood, adopting a life of great discipline and zeal, founding the ‘Barnabites’, inspired by the teachings of Saint Paul the Apostle, dedicated to renewing the Church and rooting out abuses. Hmm. He also popularized the ‘Forty Hours Devotion’ of[…]
Consider your calling, dearest brothers; if we wish to think carefully about it we shall see readily enough that its basis demands that we who have set out to follow, admittedly from afar, the footsteps of the holy apostles and the other soldiers of Christ…Such a leader should not be served by faint-hearted troops, nor[…]
The Eucharist and Gratitude
And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Col 3:17) As a beginning student of ancient Greek, I was amazed to find out that the original Greek word for “gratitude” is Eucharistia. Whenever our Lord and[…]
The Patronage of Saints
When the Church canonizes some of her faithful as ‘saints’, she is declaring that they lived a Christian life more perfectly, practising charity in an ‘heroic’ way, and this is done for two reasons: First, so that they may act as exemplars for the rest of us on how to live a Christian life more[…]
I urge you with all the strength of my soul to approach the Eucharist Table as often as possible. Feed on this Bread of the Angels from which you will draw the strength to fight inner struggles….When you are totally consumed by the Eucharistic fire, then you will be able more consciously to thank God,[…]
We have seen with our own eyes and touched with our hands the Word who is life. What we have seen and heard we are telling you concerning that life which dwelt with the Father and was made visible to us. (Saint John, Evangelist and Apostle)