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)

Every year the Catholic Church meditates on the brutal tortures that Jesus Christ underwent on the day that He died; however, it seems ironic that the commemoration of a barbaric trial, and crucifixion would be called “good”. Would it not be more appropriate to call this day, “Horrific Friday”? For this is what happened on that original day: Jesus was arrested and imprisoned; a crown of thorns was pounded into His head; He was mocked, spat upon, and beaten; He was taken to trial; was scourged to the limit on the back, shoulders and legs; He was forced to shoulder one of wooden beams that He was to die on, and He had to carry it publicly through the streets of what is now Via Dolorosa (the Way of Sorrows); He fell three times; He was stripped of His clothes; He was nailed hand and foot to the cross; vinegar was pressed to His lips; and once He did die, His heart was pierced by a lance. Again, what is good about any of this?

Some consider that it is good because the Passion had three main ends: more...

Jesus Christ gave the Divine Mercy Chaplet and prayers to Saint Faustina Kowlaska, a polish nun, in a vision in order to encourage participation in His Mercy. Jesus asks that mercy be exercised as proof of love for Him.

There are three ways to practice mercy: by deed, by word, and by prayer. The Corporeal and Spiritual Works of Mercy are commonly accepted list of deeds and words of mercy to imitate. Their origins are found throughout the Scriptures and from innate human every day decency:

Corporeal Works of Mercy: feed the hungry; give drink to the thirsty; clothe the naked; shelter the homeless; comfort the prisoners; visit the sick; bury the dead.

Spiritual Works of Mercy: teach the ignorant; pray for the living & dead; correct sinners; counsel those in doubt; console the sorrowful; bear wrongs patiently; forgive wrongs willingly. more...

Palm Sunday is a day to honor Jesus as the Christ, that is, the Jewish Messianic King. It commemorates the day when Jesus rode through the streets on a borrowed donkey and the Jewish people spread palm branches and their garments before Him in homage. This signified their acceptance that their long-awaited prophecy was in the process of being fulfilled.

“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion. Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Lo, your king comes to you ; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on an ass, on a colt the foal of an ass.” (Zechariah 9:9) more...

When we look at a crucifix, Jesus’s body often looks fairly clean. We see a white or tan body with five obvious wounds: crown of thorns, pierced side, pierced hands and feet. There might be some drips of blood to emphasis the violence of the crucifixion. Missing mostly likely are the marks from the scourging on His back, shoulders, and legs. These wounds are assumed— being well known from the Scriptures (John 19:1; Matthew 27:26)— and artistically avoided, despite the fact that the scourging accounts for most of the wounds that Jesus received. Traditionally, it is held that Jesus suffered from 5,480 wounds (as revealed to St. Bridget of Sweden). Among these, there is one wound that is not often promulgated. This wound is on Christ’s shoulder:

“It is related in the annals of Clairvaux that St. Bernard asked Our Lord which was His greatest unrecorded suffering, and He answered: "I had on My Shoulder while I bore My Cross on the Way of Sorrows, a grievous Wound which was more painful than the others, and which is not recorded by men. Honor this Wound with thy devotion, and I will grant thee whatsoever thou does ask through its virtue and merit. And in regard to all those who shall venerate this wound, I will remit to them all their venial sins, and will no longer remember their mortal sins.” more...

“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...