Mary – Blessed Mary We know Her by many names. She is the Queen of Peace, the Mystical Rose, the Mother of God. Blessed Mary’s many names have been sacredly bestowed following one of her miraculous apparitions or a miracle she granted. Her names have also been revealed through a timely message given to us, as she did at Fatima. In Latin America the Blessed Mother is also known as “La Conquista” or the Mother of the Conquered. Michelangelo’s Pieta depicts her as “Mater Dolorosa” or Madre Dolorosa. Here we see Her suffering as She holds the body of Jesus after his Crucifixion. I call her Blessed Mary, Holy Mother – and use the words given us in the Magnificat: “For hold, henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.” The Litany of Loreto This beautiful prayer venerates the Blessed Mother by her many holy names. It…
With summer officially starting, now is a great time to put your “to-get-done” checklist together. You might be thinking about the list of family activities that get prioritized on your calendar each year. Although that list is really important, it is not the one I am referring to here. After all, almost everything on the family calendar typically gets done as planned. The whole family rallies behind making sure nothing gets missed. The annual block party, visits to the town pool and beach outings all get the attention they deserve. The list I am referring to is the one containing the things you are thinking about doing just for yourself. Despite your best efforts, these activities often get shelved to make room for everything else. Time passes and before you know it, the opportunity is gone. So if you haven’t started writing your own…
It sure does feel like our questions for God are growing beyond measure. I’ve lost count. News headlines leave us wondering if we really are living in such times. And yet we know the answer – we are. It’s all true. New York Governor’s recent law passage is very real. Gripped by it, we watched in disbelief that it came with applause. Decisions like these make us look to God for answers. It can’t be explained. Recently a terrible fire in my neighborhood took the life of a child and grandmother. A small candle sparked this senseless tragedy. Looking into our own lives, perhaps uncertainty is taking space there too. There has to be good news somewhere. Right? Sure there is. But often times it’s really hard to find. That part of us seeking to bring a thankful heart into…
Candlemas Day coming on February 2 marks the very first time when Blessed Mary and Joseph bring Jesus into the holy temple. Forty days have passed since His birth. Mary enters full of joy seeking to receive her new Mother blessing. Joseph as always, is at her side. Anna looks on lovingly at the child Mary holds in her arms. All of a sudden the prayerful silence is broken. The loud cry of an old man’s voice echoes throughout the temple. “Where is He?” “Where is the Child so that I may behold him?” Old Simeon was waiting inside the temple for years. But this day was different. Something wonderful was taking place not far from where he sat. The sounds of a Child fill his heart with magnificent splendor. The infant Jesus. He goes from room to room frantically searching for where the…
As we live through all the uncertainty in our world, we can be strengthened by our Lord’s prayers. In John 17:9 Christ prayed to his Father saying “I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. 13 “I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. 14 I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. 15 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. 16 The Lord prayed for those whom God gave him. His lambs. Those who hear…
