My Reason to Believe: A Eucharistic Poem
We are called to be Christ’s Light to the world and to spread the Gospel to all, unabashedly. The Holy Spirit gives us the courage and wisdom to do this, if we but allow Him in our hearts. Lo! Think also on the graces Our Lord gives us each time we receive Him in Holy Communion, to go and spread the one true Faith to all we encounter! The heart of our Faith, the Source and Summit of all we’ve been given, is Our Lord, Himself. He gave Himself on the Cross and in a perpetual re-presentation of His Sacrifice, He gives Himself to us each Holy Communion. We may be tempted by others to think we can believe as we wish, and that this is our truth. But remember this, dear sisters in Christ. Christ has given us the Truth, we don’t make something true because we believe it to be so. We don’t make the Body and Blood of our Lord exist because we believe it to be true. He did this for us, and because of that, we believe.
What but as bread, This appears to be
Is You, Lord, it’s truly Thee
It is You, Lord, I now receive
This is true, not just because I believe
My belief cannot create
Can’t sew a seed, give man a mate
Can’t fashion out of dust
One who knows You, merciful and just
Alone, I am capable of but sin
Despite this belief I hold within
No, my belief doth not make You to be
Nor do You exist because You, I see
To You alone this glory belongs
To be praised in all earthly songs
It is You Who instills this Faith in me
You, Who inspires my will to believe
(Danielle Erwin is a Catholic wife, a homeschooling mother of 5, and she loves writing poetry whenever the Holy Spirit inspires her! She has published a book of poetry she wrote after her miscarriages (Holding On: Poems on Coping With Loss After Miscarriage ) and a book of poetry on the Catholic Faith (Something More: Poetic Moments With God ).
Saint Kateri , Canada’s Protectress
This was the title given to Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, by Pope Benedict XVI, when he canonized her on October 28th, 2012, along with six others, in Saint Peter’ Square (she had been beatified by Pope John Paul II back in 1980). With Saint Joseph as our protector, along with the Canadian martyrs, we seem to[…]Continue reading→
Remembering Father Alphonse de Valk
(Today marks the sixth anniversary of the death of Father Alphonse de Valk, C.S.B., a faithful, courageous and indefatigable Basilian priest, pro-life-and-family apostle, and the founder of Catholic Insight magazine. Here is what we wrote those on his entering into eternity five years ago, as we continue to remember him in our prayers and thoughts)[…]Continue reading→
My Name is Bernadette
April 16th is a propitious day, for besides the anniversary of Father de Valk’s death, who founded Catholic Insight in its print form decades ago, and the commemoration of the ‘two Benedicts’, mentioned in accompanying posts, today we also recall Saint Bernadette Soubirous, the young visionary to whom the Virgin Mary appeared numerous times at[…]Continue reading→
Canonizing Sister Faustina and Divine Mercy
HOMILY OF THE HOLY FATHER MASS IN ST PETER’S SQUARE FOR THE CANONIZATION OF SR MARY FAUSTINA KOWALSKA Sunday, 30 April 2000 1. “Confitemini Domino quoniam bonus, quoniam in saeculum misericordia eius”; “Give thanks to the Lord for he is good; his steadfast love endures for ever” (Ps 118: 1). So the Church sings on the Octave of[…]Continue reading→
Divine Mercy Sunday – An Echo of Every Mass
Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe’… ‘My Lord and my God!’ (Jn. 20:18)). Today is Divine Mercy Sunday, and as we celebrate the end of the Easter Octave, we contemplate the wounded side of our Saviour, the Church’s source of life. On Good Friday in the[…]Continue reading→
Saint Stanislaus of Szczepanów
We celebrate Saint Stanislaus today (+ April 11, 1079), in light of this Easter Octave, a bishop and martyr who accepted the episcopacy only at the direct order of Pope Alexander II. He proved a wise and courageous leader of his flock, put to death by his own king, Boleslaus, for rebuking the monarch’s ‘immoral[…]Continue reading→
First Holy Communion: Sermon from May 16, 1943
Here is a sermon from the good old days by +Rev. Msgr. Vincent Nicholas Foy (August 14, 1915 – March 13, 2017), from 1943. Readers may recall that Pope Saint Pius X, by the decree Quam Singulari in 1910, lowered the customary age of reception of Holy Communion – after the rigours of the plague[…]Continue reading→
In the Glorious Light of Easter, Alleluia!
Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory (Col. 3:3-4). The Resurrection of Our Lord and Saviour[…]Continue reading→
An Ancient Homily for Holy Saturday
The time between Good Friday and Easter Sunday is one of waiting, in silence, as the world wonders – anticipates – what will happen, after the death of Christ. We re-live this time each year in the anamnesis of our liturgy, and in turn look forward to the glorious re-creation of all things at the[…]Continue reading→
Europe’s Long Descent
(As we meditate on this day on Christ’s burial, and His descent into hell, it is fitting to ponder here with contributor Peter Marcus how the world seems to be heading there as well. The difference is that, although God cannot ‘redeem’ hell, nor those therein, He can and did redeem the world. There is[…]Continue reading→