The Expectation of the Blessed Virgin Mary and other Advent feasts
by Donal Anthony Foley – While Advent is principally a time of preparation for the coming of Jesus Christ into the world 2,000 years ago, we also find, in a secondary sense, a focus on the person and role of Our Lady. This becomes clear if we examine some of the Marian feast days, which […]
The O Antiphons – Expressions of Messianic hope
by Donal Anthony Foley – As Christmas Day approaches, it’s good to adopt the mind and spirit of the Church in anticipation of this great and festive event. One way we can do this is by following the Mass readings of the days from Dec. 17 to 25 and by reflecting on what are known […]
Our Lady of Guadalupe – a loving mother for us all
by Donal Anthony Foley – As we celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe on Sunday, Dec. 12, we will also commemorate the third Sunday of Advent, also known as “Gaudete Sunday.” Gaudete is Latin for “Rejoice” and the entrance antiphon for the Mass of the day reminds us that we are called to […]
The Holy House USA honors the home of Mary of Nazareth
The Holy House USA at the Blue Army Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima in Washington, N.J., is an exact replica of the Holy House of Loreto in Italy. It is one of several replicas in the world, and the only one to have an actual stone from the Holy House of Loreto, in Italy. […]
St. Joseph leads us back to Nazareth
by Barb Ernster – Editor’s Note: Portions of this article are taken from Sign of Her Heart by John M. Haffert. The family is the foundation of society. As no chain is stronger than its links, society is no stronger than the permanent unity of the families of which it is composed. Every irreligious force […]
November helps us focus on gratitude
by David Carollo – The whole month of November is focused on gratitude. On Nov. 1, we honor All Saints, those who have been found worthy to stand before the Lord and whose lives are models for us. Many are well-known as the Church has canonized them. Many more lived quiet lives sanctified by grace, […]
Keep Christ in your children’s Chrismas
by Michaelyn Hein – My children are big Elf on the Shelf fans. Every year, at the beginning of Advent, the elf “magically” returns from the North Pole to keep an eye on the children’s behavior until Christmas. As in the children’s book of the same name, the elf reports to Santa Claus each evening […]
The Eucharist: A central part of the Fatima apparitions
by Father James L.P. Miara – His Excellency Joao Pereira Venancio, who was bishop of the Diocese of Leiria-Fatima from 1958 – 1968, when asked to summarize the message of Fatima, said: “Fatima is reparation, reparation, reparation and especially Eucharistic Reparation.” Fatima is very Eucharistic. This is evident when one visits the sanctuary in Portugal, […]
Remembering our war veterans
by Susan Tassone – The month of November is dedicated to the holy souls in purgatory. There is great wisdom in the Church giving us this month. Our charity and gratitude not only demand we pray for the holy souls, but our faith requires our prayers to help them join the house of the Lord. […]
Teaching kids about purgatory
by Michaelyn Hein – “Okay, kids,” I said as I turned the calendar from October to November, “time for us to seriously up our game in praying for the souls in purgatory.” I anticipated the need to explain why exactly we suddenly needed to improve our prayers for the dead. Instead, I was surprised to […]
