That God's love is ever present to us is of no doubt. The question is, what are we doing to receive it? It is only by daily turning away from self-absorption that we can become absorbed in the love of God that is continually poured out upon us by his son, Jesus Christ. When going [...]
In Mary’s body, we see the total gift of God’s grace in raising and glorifying our lowly bodies to that “lofty goal” unattainable by our own efforts. All the evil which eats up our bodies—our diseases, discomforts, lusts, and addictions—will be trampled upon not by abandoning the body, but by glorifying it. As a child, [...]
Vivaldi's music draws our attention to divine mysteries unknown to Socrates, overlooked by the Scribes and Pharisees, and difficult even for Christ’s disciples to grasp. It offers us valuable assistance as we advance virtue by virtue to the brightness of the saints, pointing us to the sources of heavenly aid without which even the mightiest [...]
England’s triumph in the World Cup had nothing to do with the prayers of the Virgin, nor was Our Lady of Guadalupe failing to answer the prayers of those Mexicans who sought her intercession on Mexico’s behalf. If their prayers were answered, it might have been in the form of the gentlest of reproofs to [...]
In the month of May the Church honors Mary as the queen of Heaven. Why this title? To understand, we first need to look to God; specifically, to the second person of the Trinity, Jesus Christ. Since our Lord is God, he is of course omnipotent, omnipresent, and infinite. However, we can also call him [...]
God searches for every soul like the Lover searches for his Beloved in the Garden. The soul of the believer is the beautiful daughter, lovely like Jerusalem. As God walked in paradise with Adam, so he now dwells in the believer through grace. Before I entered the Order, I had the privilege of spending an [...]
The Feast of the Annunciation is placed in the midst of Lent as an oasis in the desert. Just as the Lord did not leave the Israelites without food and drink for their forty years in the exodus from Egypt, he does not leave us empty-handed in our fast. Along the way, we are blessed [...]
Today Christians of all stripes are responding in defense of the embattled family, but our eventual success will be enabled by the image of the Madonna, the Mother of God, especially as the "Stabat Mater," the Mother standing beneath the cross of her bruised and broken Son, suffering more than any other human creature has [...]
Today, I recognize every American celebrating December 8 as a Holy Day honoring the faith, humility, and love of Mary, mother of Jesus and one of the greatest figures in the Bible. On the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, Catholics celebrate what they believe to be Mary’s freedom from original sin as the mother of [...]
Before dawn on a crisp November morning several years ago, I woke up, quickly got dressed, and headed outside. My Dad and I drove a short distance to a nearby field and got out of the car. He told me to walk slowly and quietly through the marsh until we arrived at our destination. We [...]
The shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham attracts 250,000 pilgrims every year. Truly it can be said, in the heavenly light of the shrine’s resurrection, that the Queen has returned. One of the most exciting fruits of the spirit of Walsingham is the new and dynamic Community of Our Lady of Walsingham. Bitter, bitter oh [...]
Our Blessed Mother wants nothing more for us than to have a true relationship with her Son. In the current storm of misinformation, our Lady acts as a shield to protect the orthodoxy of our faith that keeps our eyes and hearts fixed on Christ. After a previous attempt, I wish to promote another title for [...]
[Jesus] went down with [Joseph and Mary] and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them; and his mother kept all these things in her heart. (Luke 2:51) If you ever find yourself walking around the side chapels in the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, you may come across various depictions of the four Gospel writers. And [...]
Medieval man gave blue to Our Lady as her color. She rescued it from its barbarian captivity and elevated it for all the world to see. Devotion to her gave rise to a rich civilization full of the vitality and color the ancient pagans lacked. Most people imagine that antiquity was much like our own [...]