United Around the Fatima Message
We just returned from a beautiful pilgrimage to Fatima. The past eight days were spent with the members of the Apostolate for Family Consecration who are celebrating the 50th anniversary of their founding. We congratulate them and are honored to have shared this time with them. We appreciate that they came to us to organize […]
Saint Joseph from the Beginning
by Catherine Moran and Barb Ernster St. Joseph in Sacred Scripture is only briefly mentioned in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. He is a silent figure, never quoted, and yet he was the guardian, provider and protector of Jesus and Mary. Very little is known of him, yet people all over world turn to […]
Politics and the Catholic Conscience
One month into his second term as President of the United States, Donald Trump has, as he promised, hit the ground running. A whirlwind of initiatives, executive orders and legislative presentations has put into motion a redefinition of the status quo. More accurately an attempted elimination of it. Most will agree that government needs to go on a diet as costs and bureaucratic choke points have exploded and are a burden to the economy and invasive to working class people. Some worry that needed programs will not survive. Some see the breakneck pace of these changes as onerous; others are applauding it.
Sister Lucia was a Martyr to Daily Duty
If there is anything we can learn from Venerable Sister Lucia, it is heroic patience and perseverance, which she embraced fully as each day unfolded – one to the next – until her death at age 97 on Feb. 13, 2005. As we celebrate the 20th anniversary of her holy passing, Lucia is a good reminder of how to become a saint through what she called “the long, hard road of martyrdom that has to do with daily living.”
Blue Army on the March
As we gathered under the towering presence of the Washington Monument, the excitement of the Pro-Life Marchers was palpable. For many in our country it seemed that the great pro-life victory achieved by the overturning of Roe vs Wade in 2022 marked the end of the Pro-Life movement on the national stage. But nothing could be further from the truth. Our drive to transform the culture of death into a truly pro-life generation and to end the victimization of the most innocent in our society has only increased, as political support and a great awareness of the sanctity of life continues to spread. Listening to the Vice President of the United States address the captivated crowd we could feel the winds of change stirring above our nation’s capital.
The Holy Year Has Arrived! The Jubilee of Hope and the Centennial of the First Saturday Devotion
We welcome 2025 in a special way. The Holy Father has declared a Holy Jubilee Year dedicated to the virtue and message of hope. At the same time, we also commemorate the 100th anniversary of the apparitions in Pontevedra, Spain where Our Lady gave us the First Saturdays devotion. It is no coincidence that the Holy Year and this great anniversary come together in this special year. The message of Fatima was first presented to us by an angel who laid the foundation of this spirituality by calling for pardon through the adoration of Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. Eight years later, the last surviving seer, Sr. Lucia, was given the formula for obtaining mercy and hastening the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart promised at Fatima. Eucharistic devotion is at the forefront of this devotion. How appropriate that this unique convergence comes only one year after the great year of the Eucharistic Revival.
Our Lady’s Smile
The innumerable pilgrimages by my father’s cousin sparked a desire in me to travel as a pilgrim. Fatima would be my first encounter with an overseas pilgrimage. It was a dream come true!
My father’s cousin had been there seven times. Always, always he lavished us with gifts upon his return. On one occasion he brought each of my siblings a statuette of Our Lady of Fatima. We treasured them dearly!
When Christmas Preparations Truly Matter
It all began the day after Thanksgiving, on Black Friday. Navigating the sales and offers for material goods, many of which will be discarded the next day I was buried in the confusion of the season which hadn’t even started yet. The police were on high alert as the potential for violent clashes at retail outlets across the country was high.
The Hope of Advent
I held it together until the morning after our beloved family puppy had gone missing. Up until then, I was all action: printing “lost dog” flyers, helping my husband canvass neighborhoods where she’d last been seen, and consoling our three children who were understandably yearning to find her.
Extra, Extra! Read All About It – In More Ways Than One
Times change. The institutions that seemed to be enduring without extinction are, in fact, showing a new face. The free press is a necessary piece of the social political structure in a democratic representative society. Newspapers and broadcast news were traditionally the trusted sources of information, and a window to the events of the world. Everything evolves, and as change can be unnerving to some, it must be looked at as inevitable and, in some cases, exciting. I remember the big three networks as the only source of major broadcast news, with a few local channels in large cities. Cable TV and talk radio began the downward spiral of influence for these legacy institutions. The introduction of the news channels with their 24-hour cycle brought constant coverage which also led to fatigue.
