In prayer, the Church turns toward Almighty God; accordingly, prayers are part of the Church’s liturgical action. Sacramentals “always include a prayer, often accompanied by a specific sign, such as the laying on of hands, the sign of the cross, or the sprinkling of holy water (which recalls Baptism).” At this point, a first and
No saint has escaped temptation. Three times was the Master of them all tempted by the evil one — in the desert, on the high mountain, on the pinnacle of the Temple. The devil was beaten then; but the devil never learns from his defeats. He keeps on in the hope that if nine hundred
The unexpected death of a loved one is the hardest for people to deal with, particularly when the person is in seemingly good health and there was no warning to prepare the survivors. The more involved this person was in your life, the bigger the void that needs to be filled when he is not
Aurelius Augustinus, who is considered by most to be the greatest Father of the Church, was born on November 13, 354 A.D., in Numidia at Tagaste. The product of a classical education, Augustine spent many formative years espousing the truth of Manichaeism and Neoplatonism as he taught rhetoric in Milan. But in 387, he was
Below is one miracle recounted through the intercession of St. Therese. On March 3, 1972, Nogent-le-Roi’s firefighters took me to the hospital in Dreux after I fell off a horse. I had lost consciousness, and my scalp was bleeding profusely. Two days later, I was still unconscious. My condition had worsened, and an ambulance drove
There is something in the name of Jesus that is awesome and fascinating. Hence, the quiver of an intercessor cannot be complete without it. The name of Jesus is the seat of authority. St. Paul highlights the power that is intrinsically connected with this name when he says: “Therefore God has highly exalted Him and
God’s Mercy Gives Us the Strength to Cope with Life The young Church, after the Holy Spirit descended upon the apostles on the first Pentecost, experienced joy and apprehension. The joy came from the fact that the men and women gathered in the Upper Room, some 120, were afraid until the extraordinary event. Jesus of
Love of God The more we love God, the more we will grow in holiness. And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord.” (Luke 1:46) Greatest Virtue and Commandment As we grow in the theological virtues, we grow in sanctifying grace. Having covered the virtues of faith and hope in the last chapter, we now
Fathers of the Church and Theologians The Fathers of the Church and approved theologians have addressed the Church’s serious concern that due respect be paid to the Most Blessed Sacrament, that souls not fall into the sin of sacrilege by receiving the Body and Blood of Christ unworthily, and that scandal not be given to
IT SEEMS TO me we are always struggling to be born. Some days, when I kiss the altar, I’m Mary adoring her slain Lord. Other days, I arrive as Judas in the night. Either way, He still insists on dying for me. The altar is our Bethlehem, a cradle holding an infant already pressed into
