DECEMBER 2015: MONTH OF DIVINE INFANCY

December, the month of Divine Infancy, celebrates the divinity and humanity of Jesus Christ.  The pairing of words in this title is a reflection of the mystery of Jesus' nature. We each are one person with one nature. However, Jesus is one person with two natures. He is fully God and fully man, that is, He is 100% God and %100 man, not 50/50, or any other percentage.  Jesus' Incarnation is one of the most important moments in history and its memorial is prepared for in the liturgical season of Advent, a four week anticipation. more...

NOVEMBER 2015: MONTH OF SOULS IN PURGATORY

November, the month of Souls in Purgatory, is dedicated to all the souls who have died, but have not yet been admitted into Heaven.  Jesus' Incarnation, Death, and Resurrection, allowed for admittance into Heaven, but because of "free will" every person can chose whether they want to be with God.  Every moment in life is the opportunity to say yes or no to this.  When someone dies, Jesus looks at his/her life and sees how much they loved Him. If they didn't love Him, He lets them continue in that choice and allows them to go to Hell. If they loved Him perfectly, He allows them to abide in Heaven. If they loved Him, but imperfectly, in His Mercy He allows them to enter Purgatory where the imperfect love is made perfect through purging. Purgatory is a tempory state and will pass away. It is a place of Mercy. more...

OCTOBER 2015: MONTH OF THE HOLY ROSARY

October, the month of the Holy Rosary, celebrates the spiritual beauty of the Rosary, emphasizing the need for prayer, fasting and sacrifice. The Rosary is a prayer. The rosary (notice lowercase) is a tool for this specific prayer.  The Rosary is a Christocentric setting for Lectio Divina, that is, a meditation on the Life of Christ, particularly His Ministry, Passion, Death and Resurrection. The Rosary is the prayer of the saints, and has a is easy to pray. It offers hope and healing.

Oct. 1: St. Therese Lisieux 

Oct. 2: St. Leger

Oct. 3: St. Menna

Oct. 4: Twenty - Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, St. Francis of Assisi, more...

SEPTEMBER 2015: MONTH OF OUR LADY OF SORROWS

September, the month of Our Lady of Sorrows, remembers the suffering of Mary, Jesus' Mother. There are seven sorrows, seven afflictions that pierced her heart. Catholics commonly reflect upon each and they say daily one Our Father and seven Hail Mary's for each.

• The Prophecy of Simeon. (Luke 2:34–35)
• The Flight into Egypt. (Matthew 2:13)
• The loss of the child Jesus in the Temple. (Luke 2:43–45)
• Mary meets Jesus on the way to Calvary.
• Jesus dies on the cross. (John 19:25)
• The piercing of the side of Jesus, and Mary's receiving the body of Jesus in her arms. (Matthew 27:57–59)
• The body of Jesus is placed in the tomb. (John 19:40–42)

“Our souls are restless until they find their rest in Thee.” - St. Augustine

Life isn’t easy. Each one of us has difficulties that we must work through in order to reach a place of peace and joy— which ultimately, is happiness. On our own, we can wander around in the desert, say for 40 years, as did the ancient Israelites, or we can follow the maps as received via the Church.

The Rosary being one of these maps will give us graces to persevere, the ability to find solutions to the challenges we face, and will help us reach our goals much sooner. By praying the Rosary, we are making an act of faith that no matter what happens, we will trust in God, do our best, live out our calling, and thus, serve God and others, fulfilling the twofold commandment of love: love God and your neighbor. more...

Most people recognize a rosary when they see one. It is a popular Catholic symbol, but many may not be aware of what a rosary really is for, and why it is important to Catholics.

The word, rosary, comes from the Latin, rosarium, which means crown of roses. It is a bouquet that Catholics give to Mary as they participate in her life with a focus on her Son, Jesus Christ. The Rosary is a prayer, more specifically, a meditation, where Catholics get to know the Son by loving the Mother.

“The Rosary is essentially a contemplative prayer, which requires "tranquillity of rhythm or even a mental lingering which encourages the faithful to meditate on the mysteries of the Lord's life”.” more...