One of the Parables of the Kingdom of God is that of the tiny mustard seed that grows into the largest of shrubs. What can this parable mean for growth in our church today which appears to be contracting, not growing, at least in the...
[dropcaps type='normal' font_size='100' color='' background_color='' border_color='']T[/dropcaps]he African martyrs add another page to the martyrology – the Church’s roll of honor – an occasion both of mourning and of joy. This is a page worthy in every way to be added to the annals of that Africa of...
Bonaventure reflects on the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the meaning of the blood and water flowing from the side of Christ crucified (John 19:34), the living water of sacramental grace coming from the loving heart of the Savior. He reflects especially on several lines...
Ambrose reflects on the Virgin Mary's Visitation of her cousin Elizabeth as recounted by the evangelist Luke in the first chapter of his Gospel. The Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary is the second joyful mystery of the rosary....
Jesus did not arrive on the scene to patch up an old system. He is the bridegroom who turns water into wine and makes all things new....
The following is from a letter that St. Teresa of Calcutta (Mother Teresa) wrote to the religious sisters in the community she founded, the Missionaries of Charity. [dropcaps type='normal' font_size='100' color='' background_color='' border_color='']I[/dropcaps] worry some of you still have not really met Jesus—one-to-one— you and Jesus...
San Bernardino of Siena (a.k.a. St. Bernadine of Siena) was a great Franciscan preacher from Tuscany who died in 1444. He was very successful at fostering devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus....
Bede the Venerable, one of the greatest Christian writers of the early Middle Ages, here reflects on the Magnificat, the Canticle of the Blessed Virgin Mary proclaimed during her visitation of her cousin Elizabeth and sung every night in the Church's evening prayer, part of...
Trinity Sunday celebrates the Church's faith in the triune God, one God in three persons. This doctrine has baffled people for 2,000 years. Given that it is so hard to accept, why bother with it? What difference does the trinitarian dogma really make to how...
An explanation of the spiritual gifts and charisms of the Holy Spirit and how they relate to Pentecost and the sacraments. [dropcaps type='normal' font_size='100' color='' background_color='' border_color='']O[/dropcaps]ne of the achievements of Vatican II was a renewed appreciation of the Holy Spirit’s activity in all aspects of Christian...