5 Things to Know About First Saturday


The requirements of the First Saturday devotion in making reparation are simple: Go to confession, receive Holy Communion, pray a five-decade Rosary AND spend an additional 15 minutes with Mary, meditating on the other mysteries of the Rosary. The purpose of the First Saturday devotion is to make reparation for the sins against the Immaculate Heart, […]
Why I’m Devoted to the Brown Scapular


By Gene Zannetti Growing up, the Brown Scapular was a concept that I knew of but did not fully understand. It was part of my Catholic heritage, an item known to carry a profound promise: those who died clothed in this scapular would be spared the eternal fires. Despite this, my own devotion had been […]
The Value of a Soul


The Value of a Soul Having been through the deaths of several close relatives and friends this year, it made me think of the value of a soul. Although these dear people are gone, their souls live on and the veil between this life and the next feels much thinner. What was consistent in each […]
Separation of Church and State is an Impossibility


By David M. Carollo – Kennedy v. Nixon My earliest recollection of politics goes back to 1960 when John Kennedy faced Richard Nixon in the presidential race. The overwhelming subject seemed to be the fact that one candidate was Catholic, the first in the history of the nation. As a young child, I had no […]
Astounding Things!: How the Midday Sun Danced at Fatima


An excerpt of Avelino de Almeida’s firsthand account of the Miracle of the Sun, published on October 15th, 1917, in O Século’s daily edition Translated by John Nahrgang OURÉM (PORTUGAL), October 13th Upon disembarking, after a delayed trip, at around four o’clock in the afternoon at Chão de Maçãs station in Ourém, where religious people […]
The Fatima Message Overcomes the Predicted ‘End’


By David M. Carollo – The Day the Earth Stood Still Twenty-three years ago, I spent the new year in Rome leading a group of choir children and parents/chaperones on a pilgrimage. The choir sang at several venues coinciding with the welcoming of the new year – a new century, a new millennium. As the […]
“Keep Me Company”


By Lawrence Maginot – As we grow closer to the 100th anniversary of the request for the First Saturday Devotion by Our Lady of Fatima in 2025, many people remain confused about how to carry it out, especially the request for fifteen minutes of meditation in addition to the five-decade Rosary. This time of meditation […]
It is All for Our Lady


By Barb Ernster and Larry Maginot – Venerable Sister Lucia! The news that Sister Lucia was declared “venerable on June 22 this year did not come as a surprise. Her cause was opened in 2008 and the diocesan inquiry, which required the examination of thousands of documents, her personal diary of 2,000 pages and interviews […]
Aligning Our Hearts with the Sacred Heart of Jesus


by Donal Anthony Foley – Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus June is dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, an opportunity for a renewal of our devotion to Christ under the image and reality of His divine-human Heart. Devotion to the Sacred Heart calls us to go to the deepest part of our […]
First Saturdays Help Us Renew and Retain the Spirit of Mary


By Barb Ernster – First Saturdays Devotion: A Call from Our Lady Amid the four things Sister Lucia identified as Our Lady’s request at Fatima, the First Saturdays devotion was intended to be a monthly renewal of our “yes” to Mary and a way to help us continue to fulfill the other requests. The most […]