December 2022 - TAN Direction - Catholic Spiritual Direction From the Saints and Faithful Modern Authors

A Child is Born

Msgr. Aloysius F. Coogan

The message of Christmas is the greatest story ever told: “a Child is born to us, and a son is given to us” (Isaiah 9:6).

Meditating on the Nativity

Fr. William Saunders

While our own nativity scene may be more elaborate than that of St. Francis, we ought to meditate on the various figures and elements. Most

A Christmas Sermon: Part II

St. Augustine of Hippo

I am going to say something that will please you, my very dear brethren. There are three states of life pursued by the members of

A Christmas Sermon: Part I

St. Augustine of Hippo

Today, the birthday of our Lord Jesus Christ has dawned in festive splendor for us. It is His birthday, the day on which the Eternal

The Nativity through the Eyes of St. Joseph and Our Lady

Dr. Paul Thigpen

The following excerpt came from various approved mystics as compiled by Dr. Paul Thigpen. When Mary told Joseph that her time was drawing near and

The Coming of the Divine Infant

St. Francis de Sales

Saint Francis de Sales spoke the following words in a Christmas Eve Sermon on December 24, 1613. The below sermon is presented in a shorter

Advent Calls Us to Silence: Part II

Pope Benedict XVI

Pope Benedict XVI continues his previous discourse on silence by focusing on the importance of expectation. Another fundamental element of Advent is expectation, an expectation

Advent Calls Us to Silence: Part I

Pope Benedict XVI

In the biblical Reading we have just heard, taken from the First Letter to the Thessalonians, the Apostle Paul invites us to prepare for “the

Miracles of the Daily Rosary

St. Dominic

BLANCHE OF CASTILLE, Queen of France, was deeply grieved because twelve years after her marriage she was still childless. When Saint Dominic went to see

The Fourth Week of Advent: The Silent Invitation

Msgr. Aloysius F. Coogan

This story of the Annunciation is related not a one-time occurrence in human history, but repeats many times throughout the ages. Indeed, it happens as

The Humility of St. John the Baptist

St. Francis de Sales

As the great St. Ambrose says, truly one must be clothed and armed on all sides with humility if one wishes to enter into the

St. Teresa of Avila’s Five Steps of Meditation

Fr. Peter Thomas Rorhbach, OCD

We have outlined five general steps in St. Teresa’s method of meditation: 1. Preparation: It is difficult to launch into prayer from the midst of

Dark Night of the Soul: The Imperfection of Beginners

St. John of the Cross

SOULS begin to enter the dark night when God is drawing them out of the state of beginners, which is that of those who meditate

The Third of Week of Advent: Gaudete!

Msgr. Aloysius F. Coogan

The first word of the Mass of Gaudete Sunday, read in every Catholic church this morning, sounds the keynote of our faith. It is the

The Visions of St. Juan Diego

Joan Carroll Cruz

THE FIRST VISION When Juan Diego, a fifty-five-year-old Indian who lived five miles north of Mexico City, was hurrying on Tepeyac Hill to attend Mass

On Interior Conversation

Thomas à Kempis

Meditation: Prepare thy heart for this thy Spouse, that he may…dwell in thee. The kingdom of God is within you – LUKE XVII. 21, saith

Discourse on Mary’s Immaculate Conception

St. Alphonsus Liguori

How becoming it was that each of the Three Divine Persons should preserve Mary from Original Sin Great indeed was the injury entailed on Adam

Escape from Communism: the Bella Dodd Conversion Story

Mary Nicholas, MD and Paul Kengor, PHD

Meeting Sheen: Recovery and Reconciliation In her June 1953 public testimony, Bella Dodd informed counselor Robert Kunzig and the congressmen on his committee, “I only