Archive for April 2022
The School of Calvary & the Necessity of the Cross
Stop. Be still. Calm the mind for a moment; allow the striking, jarring, chilling words of the God-man to sink deeply into your soul: “And he that taketh not up his cross, and followeth me, is not worthy of me” (Mt 10:38). “And calling the multitude together with his disciplines, he said to them: If…
Read MoreZeal for Souls
To love Jesus Christ is to love the souls redeemed by the Blood of Jesus Christ. We can, then, judge of Gerard’s zeal for the salvation of souls by the seraphic ardor that consumed him for our Divine Saviour. In his resolutions, we read the following beautiful words: “O my God, may I convert as…
Read MoreHope and the Interior Life
“Casting all your solicitude upon Him for He hath care of you.” -St. Petr., Ep. I., c. V., v. 7 “Blessed is the man who hopes in the Lord,” says the Holy Spirit. The weakness of our souls is often attributable to lukewarmness in regard to the Christian virtue of hope. Hold fast to this…
Read MoreWe Are At War with Agents of the Devil
In 1949 the Englishman George Orwell wrote a book titled 1984. It was about life in a totalitarian state; life under a government that held total control over peoples’ lives. Orwell invented terms used in the book that resonate today: Big Brother, doublethink, thought-crime, Newspeak. The main character in the book worked for the Ministry…
Read MoreHomeschooling for Heaven’s Sake
“The loveliest masterpiece of the Heart of God is the heart of a mother.” – St. Therese of Lisieux After having eight babies in 13 years and homeschooling for a good 10, I am convinced that even world-class jugglers can’t hold a candle to homeschooling mamas. Catch this screenshot (in words) of a typical homeschooling…
Read MoreDivine Mercy Sunday and St. Faustina’s Message
This Sunday, April 24, 2022, is Divine Mercy Sunday, given to us by Saint Faustina Kowalska, by the pope who canonized her, and by their Lord Jesus. In a personal moment of divine inspiration or plain dumb luck (more likely in my case), I grabbed her famous Diary to check if she had any revelations…
Read MoreHe Who Was Dead Has Risen
The Lord is risen, alleluia, alleluia! He is risen indeed, alleluia, alleluia! One of my favorite places in all the earth is the empty tomb of Jesus, the Messiah. I have been privileged to have been there numerous times. I once had the singular grace to concelebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass with Raymond…
Read MoreWhen Christ Our Pasch was Sacrificed
“When Christ our Pasch was sacrificed” – Over the course of the 40 days of Eastertide, this phrase will recur again and again during Mass when the Easter Preface is prayed. These words cannot but draw us back to the Epistle read on Easter Sunday from St Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians (5:7-8) which…
Read MoreThe Resurrection of Our Lord
I beheld the soul of Our Lord between two Angels who were in the attire of warriors: it was bright, luminous, and resplendent as the sun at midday; it penetrated the rock, touched the Sacred Body, passed into it, and the two were instantaneously united, and became as one. I then saw the limbs move,…
Read MoreEaster Meditation: Christ Was Made Sin for Us
“The joy being set before Him, He endured the cross.” -Hebrews 12:2 When the Divine Word offered Himself to redeem mankind, there were before Him two ways of redemption – the one of joy and glory, the other of pains and insults. It was His will, not only by His coming to deliver man from…
Read MoreSermon for Good Friday on the Passion of Christ
Sermon for Good Friday, March 25, 1622, concerning the brass serpent which saved the Israelites, the sinlessness of Christ, the manner in which He redeemed us, the two natures of Christ and our three “natures,” Our Lord as Savior, how our salvation comes from looking upon our Savior, Our Lord’s seven last words, His prayer…
Read MoreHoly Thursday Meditation on the Blessed Eucharist
At length the long-looked-for day came. At the Last Supper Jesus took bread and blessed and gave to His disciples and said: “Take ye and eat, for this is My body.” Then taking the chalice, He gave thanks and gave to them, saying, “Drink ye all of this, for this is My Blood of the…
Read MoreThe Chalice Used at the Last Supper
The chalice which the Apostles brought from Veronica’s house was wonderful and mysterious in its appearance. It had been kept a long time in the temple among other precious objects of great antiquity, the use and origin of which had been forgotten. The same has been in some degree the case in the Christian Church,…
Read MoreThe Sufferings of Christ According to the Shroud of Turin
The Case For Authenticity The historical and scientific evidence related thus far provide incontrovertible data for the authenticity of the Shroud. In subsequent Shroud research, the following pathologists have made significant contributions: Dr. Bucklin, who was involved with STURP and is also deputy medical examiner for the county of Los Angeles; Dr. Frederick T. Zugibe,…
Read MoreOn the Last Things
Try to imagine the one thing in this world that is most worth knowing – by everyone. The thing that is most worth having. Something the sheer longing for which could never be dismissed merely as a function of time or space, tribe or temperament. Is there a sentient being around who has not felt…
Read MorePrayers More Than Tears: On Devotion to the Holy Souls
The comforting dogma of our faith of prayer for the holy souls in purgatory remains at the same time awe-inspiring and a deep consolation to all of us who strive to live in the mystery of the Lord Jesus Christ. We should renew our faith in keeping with the spirit of the liturgical texts to…
Read MoreThe Excellence of Abandonment to God
Abandonment is the virtue of virtues; it is the cream of charity, the fragrance of humility, the sweetness of patience, and the fruit of perseverance. Great is this virtue, and worthy of being practiced by the beloved children of God. “My Father,” says our good Savior on the cross, “into Thy hands I commend my…
Read MoreLenten Meditation on the Cross
To many this seems a hard saying: “Deny thyself, take up thy cross, and follow Jesus” (Matt. 16:24). But it will be much harder to hear that last word: “Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire” (Matt. 25:41). For they who now willingly hear and follow the word of the cross shall not then…
Read MoreOn the Effects of Holy Communion
I am sure, dear Reader, that if you would once begin the practice of frequent Communion in order to please Our Lord, you would continue it in order to please yourself. I will now proceed to make good this assertion by showing the great and admirable effects which this Bread of the Strong produces in…
Read MorePatience in Temptation
“Our adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion, goeth about seeking whom he may devour.” -1 Peter 5:8 Do we enjoy the inestimable blessing of being in the state of grace? Have we succeeded in casting out from our hearts the enemy of our souls? Then let us be prepared to encounter a fierce combat,…
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