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The Rule of God and the God of Rulers

We saw the new motion picture “Reagan” last week. It brought me back to the time of my own political coming of age in the 1970s. The first presidential election in which I participated was in 1976. The United States was reeling from the disruption of both a presidential and vice-presidential resignation. The country was in the hands of two appointed men in the executive branch of our nation. In 1972, by an overwhelming majority, Richard Nixon and Spiro Agnew were reelected. Two years later, Gerald Ford and Nelson Rockefeller held the offices of president and vice-president. The political and social turmoil of the time was redefining the United States.

David M. Carollo September 27, 2024 No Comments

Pray, Hope and Sleep Peacefully in the Arms of God

We were sitting having dinner the other evening. Outside on the deck on a patio chair was one of our neighborhood cats. She was curled up, peacefully asleep, unaware of the turmoil that defines our present day. I commented to my wife that this reminds me of the Scripture passage when Our Lord states:

“Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one hour to his life?” (Mt 6:26)

David M. Carollo August 29, 2024 No Comments

A Sign from Our Lady? News from the Pilgrim Virgin Tours

There have been a number of reports of supernatural manifestations stemming from the International Pilgrim Virgin Statue of Our Lady of Fatima, during her visitations to parishes, particularly in the dioceses of Youngstown, OH this past week, and Rockville Center, NY in May.

David M. Carollo August 12, 2024 No Comments

In Memoriam: Father Charles Fanelli

On July 17, 2024, the World Apostolate of Fatima USA/Our Lady’s Blue Army lost a long time member when Fr. Charles Fanelli passed away.

David M. Carollo August 2, 2024 No Comments

Heroic Forgiveness and the Sacraments

Last month I was in Krakow, Poland, with my wife, who is Polish-born. We arranged and accompanied the Magnificat Choir from St. John Cantius Parish in Chicago on their sacred music pilgrimage. While there, we attended Sunday morning Mass at beautiful St. Mary’s Basilica. For his homily, the priest read the letter from the Polish Bishop’s conference decrying the attempts by the European Union to mandate the legalization of non-Catholic practices such as abortion across the region. All this, of course, to bring the country out of the “dark ages” of Christian morality! As the bishops stated in that letter, “true democracy is for everyone to have the right to life.” Do these efforts to impose a secular rule on society sound familiar? Evil is everywhere and never rests. The extent of this can never be underestimated.

David M. Carollo July 26, 2024 No Comments

Finding Fatima Through The Lord of the Rings: Part 2 – Through the Fires

As I established in the first part of this series, Catholic author J.R.R. Tolkien discouraged his audience from reading The Lord of the Rings as an allegory. This doesn’t mean that similarities between his fantasy and Catholicism shouldn’t be made, though. In fact, doing so only serves to strengthen our understanding of our Faith.

Elizabeth Turello July 12, 2024 No Comments

Man’s Search for Peace

There is much news today that point to the rumblings of war. Pope Francis noted two years ago that we are living through a “third World War,” one that is being fought piecemeal, referring to the Russian/Ukraine conflict. Since Oct. 7, 2023 – the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary – we have watched the destruction unfold in the Israel/Gaza conflict, and the ideological divide unfold in this country, threatening civil peace here. The upcoming election looms large, and both sides of the political spectrum threaten that the other side will destroy democracy in this country. Anxiety levels are at an all-time high.

Barb Ernster July 3, 2024 No Comments

Direction of a Just Nation

Liberty and freedom in a disordered world are often misunderstood. The American experiment has been one of great accomplishments and great dichotomies. The underlying foundation of our national identity has been self-determination. Detractors will argue that the words in the Declaration of Independence “that all men are created equal” falls short when we acknowledge that slavery was allowed in several states. The practice, in fact, pre-dated the 1776 Revolution and much blood was shed correcting this injustice. A truly just nation corrects itself.

David M. Carollo June 21, 2024 No Comments

Mary Calls Us To Deep and Abiding Prayer

Prayer is the mainstay of the Christian and Catholic life and so it isn’t surprising to see how, once the Fatima children had experienced the awesomeness and power of the angel of Fatima and the beauty and goodness of Our Lady, they increasingly devoted their lives to prayer.

Donal Anthony Foley June 18, 2024 No Comments

A Smaller, More Spiritual Church is Emerging

As we honor the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Friday and Saturday, I am heartened by the great mission given to Lucia dos Santos at Fatima in 1917, to establish devotion to the Immaculate Heart throughout the world, and that Jesus desired this devotion to be placed next to devotion to His Sacred Heart.

Barb Ernster June 6, 2024 No Comments