The Rosary is particularly effective in enabling us to receive the graces which come from God and a most excellent way by which we can cooperate with those graces - all through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Consider the Rosary Miracles of Austria after WW II and the Miracle Bridge in Quebec (1879). Both St. Anthony Mary Claret and St. Teresa have much to teach us about prayer and the Rosary.
Never forget God’s sweet presence, as do the greater part of men. Speak to God as often as you can for He wishes that you to speak with Him. Pray in trials, in joys, after a fault, and in doubts. Let prayer be the first thing you do when you awake and the last thought as you retire for the night. Pray for your neighbor. In mental prayer make again and again acts of contrition, love of God, and oblation of self. Above all, ardently long for Heaven in your prayer. If you wish to make spiritual progress, foster a devotion [...]
The testimony of John the Baptist confirms the prophecies: the time has come. His identity is questioned by the Sanhedrin and the Pharisees challenge his authority to baptize. Who are you? God IS. He is the abyss of all goodness. God is everything and man is nothing. Yet God has made us to be something in Christ. Only in Him can we 'find ourselves' and realize our true end.
Paul’s parents died and his brother-in-law defrauded him. He retreated into the desert. In the silence of a cave he saw clearly the vanities of this world. Paul lived a life of simplicity and peace, supported only by the providence of God. Many years later his solitude was discovered by St. Anthony, who witnessed his miraculous death. Every disciple must detach from the deceit and dangers of the world to follow Christ. Yet living with Christ is eternal life — beginning here and now. May the example of the saints be a constant help and encouragement to us.
When Jesus sends His disciples, He tells them the task will not be easy and they should expect suffering. Yet He will give them the strength to endure and bear testimony before jew and gentile. St. Francis’ sent friars on mission into lands seized by muslims. Their witness inspired the great St. Anthony, Pope Marcellus I rejected a false mercy and insisted man make reparation for sin. He was in turn exiled and killed by the State. Today’s heroic saints provide powerful models for us to imitate and invoke.
Hope in the Desert. Fr. John Lovell interviews David Rodríguez. They discuss the Feast of St. Joseph, Our Lady of Sorrows, Marian apparitions, and how the most significant events in human history have taken placed on March 25.
The testimony of St. John the Baptist fulfills the prophecies and confirms that the Messiah has come. The religious authorities want to ascertain his identity. Is he the Christ, Elias, the Prophet? He does not deny his identity or dissimulate. He is the voice crying in the wilderness. Each one of us can only know our true identity in Christ. It is only by God’s grace and favor (baptism) that we are children of God.
The Church transcends time and space: triumphant in Heaven, suffering in Purgatory, and militant on Earth. Jesus is the center of the Church and it is He who unites it. Members of the Church can honor and help one another because of the charity of Christ and the power of His grace. Far too often we only think of the Church in terms of this world and goods and values of this world. For those on earth, our duty is to fight the enemies of our soul and grow in God’s grace. Our goal must be to save our soul and [...]
St. Hilary (~310-368 A.D.) is known as the 'Hammer of Arians' and the 'Athanasius of the West'. Born of pagan parents, he received an excellent education which led him into the Church. Contrary to his desire, he was consecrated bishop of Poitiers (Gaul). He was persecuted and exiled for faithfully defending the doctrine of the Trinity and Christ's divinity. St. Hilary insisted that if the Church made friends with the world then it was doomed. Yet where the Church holds fast to true doctrine, that is where she flourishes. How clearly we see the truth of his prophetic words today! Pray [...]
The feasts of Christmastide emphasize Jesus as our Savior, Teacher, and King. St. John, whom we honor on December 27, was the son of Zebedee and Salome and brother of James. He was the youngest apostle, the disciple whom Jesus loved - because of his purity. St. John was the only Apostle at the foot of the Cross. Our Lord entrusted His own Mother to him. St. John teaches us what it means to love. God’s love for us should be the foundation of our life, our most firm conviction motivating all we do. St. John’s gospel is the most ‘theological’ [...]
