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Articles of Faith | All Saints Day: A Celebration of God’s Family

On November 1st the Church celebrates all her holy ones in heaven, known and unknown, with the feast of All Saints. The solemnity originally began in the 4th century to commemorate all the Christian martyrs killed during those centuries of brutal persecution before Christianity was legalized. There were so many martyrs that a separate feast day could not be given to each one individually, yet, the Church did not want to leave any martyr without proper veneration. A common feast day developed and was usually celebrated in the Easter season. In the 8th century Pope Gregory III consecrated a chapel in St. Peter’s Basilica to all the saints and moved the feast day to November 1st. The feast of All Saints is a Holy Day of Obligation. For more about this great feast - a celebration of God's family - please click on the image. Peace be with you!

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Saints Alive! | St. Fiacre

One of the most popular saints of medieval France, Fiacre (Fiachra in Irish) was actually born in Ireland near the end of the 6th century. Many churches have been dedicated to him throughout France. He is the patron of gardeners and florists. He is also the patron saint of Parisian cab drivers. French cabs are called fiacres because the first coaches for hire parked near the Hotel Saint-Fiacre.

For more about this saint, please click on the image.

Peace be with you!

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Gospel Reflections | The Passion of Saint John the Baptist (Mk 6:17-29)

Today the Universal Church celebrates the Memorial of the Passion of St. John the Baptist. In the sixth chapter of Mark's Gospel we encounter John the Baptist, martyr and bold witness to truth and life.

As we read in today's Magnificat, "John put his trust in the Word of God he had been sent to preach, and not in the princes, whom he offended by his commitment to the truth. He defeated the power of evil not by violence but by his self-surrender to God's will (Magnificat, Aug 29, 2020; http://www.magnificat.net).

For more about this great saint, and for a brief and interesting reflection on today's Gospel reading, please click on the image.

Peace be with you!

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Saints Alive! | St. Augustine of Hippo

Born in North Africa in the mid-4th century to a pagan father and Christian mother, his early life was filled with worldly attractions, lust for women, and pagan philosophies. He credits his mother's fervent prayer for his eventual conversion. Saint Augustine of Hippo is considered one of the most influential saints and theologians to have ever lived, one whose writings are widely read to this very day

For more about this great saint, preeminent among theologians and philosophers, Doctor of the Church, please click on the image.

Peace be with you!

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Mary | Prayer of Consecration

Many saints through the ages have had a special devotion to the Blessed Mother and consecrated their lives to Jesus through Mary; most recent and notable: Saint Louis de Montfort, Saint Maximilian Kolbe, Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta, and Saint John Paul II, to name a few. In Catholic teachings, consecration to Mary does not diminish or substitute the love of God, but enhances it, for all consecration is ultimately made to God.

Throughout his pontificate Pope John Paul II taught us that such a devotion to Mary, in an act of Marian consecration, is to entrust all of one's being through, with, and in the Virgin Mother. His episcopal motto, Totus Tuus, from the Latin meaning "all yours," is the example of giving oneself to Jesus totally, wholeheartedly, and unreservedly through, with, and in his mother whose lifeblood he shared with her; and through the Paschal Mystery, in this Mystery of Faith - the Eucharist - he shares with the whole human race.

For the Reason2bCatholic Prayer of Consecration, to Jesus through Mary, on this Feast of the Memorial of the Queenship of Mary, please click on the image.

Peace be with you!

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Mary | Queen of Heaven

Each year on August 22nd the Catholic Church celebrates a memorial feast recognizing the Virgin Mary as Queen of Heaven. This, like all other Marian feasts, reminds us that we can turn to Mary in every need, counting on her intercession and and mediation.

For more about the Queenship of Mary and saints who had a special devotion to the Blessed Virgin, please click on the image.

Peace be with you!

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Wit & Wisdom | Katherine Ocello: Such a Time As This

Katherine Ocello is a mother, wife, faithful lay Catholic, and blogger in her spare time. Her words from a week ago resonate today and will likely do so in the days, months, and years ahead.

Hers is a message so many faithful Catholics need to hear today. We need not be discouraged at the state of affairs; rather, as Katherine wisely says, let's look to the saints - these holy men and women of our Catholic tradition - as an example of what we, ourselves, are each called upon to do each day.

For Katherine's poignant message, used with the generous permission of the author, please click on the image. Peace be with you!

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Christian Poetry | Encountering the Storms

For those who've been to sea, to sea in open waters far from land, and who have encountered storms at sea face-to-face with the fury and force of nature, it is then that you recognize how powerless you are in the vast expanse of the water that surrounds you. You are at the mercy of the destructive force of winds and wave. In the Psalms we read an image of such force that causes men to cry out to their Lord in their distress. Such is it with the storms of life. Some storms can be seen from a distance closing in. Other storms are upon us suddenly, like a fearsome squall. It's said the sea can make a man see the face of his God. In such moments of intense helplessness a man knows he's entered the limits of his own power and is at the mercy of God. We see this relationship of Man, God, and Mercy on display in this Edward Hopper poem, and from the Psalmist in the Book of Psalms (Ps 107). Click on the image. I hope you will enjoy. Peace be with you!

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Wit & Wisdom | St. Francis of Assisi: Light Overcomes Darkness

Born Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone, St. Francis of Assisi, informally named as Francesco, was an Italian Catholic friar, deacon and preacher. He founded the men's Order of Friars Minor, the women's Order of Saint Clare, and the Third Order of Saint Francis. Busy in his lifetime tending to the work of God as an instrument of God's peace, he is a saint for a troubled world. For more from this great saint, and for a prayer for peace, please click on the image. Peace be with you!

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Catholics Come Home | Fallen Away Catholics

The story of the Prodigal Son, as we encounter in the Gospel of Luke (15:11-32), is one of the most poignant in all of Christian literature. Sadly, there are many Catholics today who have fallen away from their baptismal faith. Each has a story of his own. Yet, by the sacramental power of their baptism there remains a call unanswered - the yearning of a Father desiring the return of his child to the home of his baptismal birth. For more about this post, and for a 2 min video expressing the tender mercy that awaits at home in love's embrace, click on the image. Our father in heaven wants us home. He wants you home. If you’ve been away from the Church for one day, or for a lifetime, come home. Your family misses you. Peace be with you!

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Saints Alive! | St. Louis IX of France

Louis IX, commonly known as Saint Louis or Louis the Saint, is the only King of France to be canonized in the Catholic Church. Louis was crowned in Reims at the age of 12, following the death of his father Louis VIII; his mother, Blanche of Castile, ruled the kingdom as regent until he reached maturity. For more about this saint, please click on the image.

Peace be with you!