"What made me happiest when I left the world was the thought that I would be able to go to communion often, because I had been permitted to go only rarely up to then. I would have been the happiest person in the world if I had been able to receive more often, and spend the night alone before the Blessed Sacrament. I was so unafraid that even though in most things I was very timid, I would not even think of my fears as soon as I was in this place of my delight. The eve of communion da...

Mass Readings: May 31

VISITING PRIVILEGES

"When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leapt in her womb. Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit." –Luke 1:41

On this feast of the Visitation, the Lord reveals to us that even infants in the womb can receive the Holy Spirit by the Lord's sovereign power (Lk 1:15). Old women can receive the Spirit merely by hearing the greeting of a Spirit-...

It is not medieval, but biblical for a Christian to realize when considering the sacrament, that we are given the bodily Self of the Lord... that we are given the possibility of addressing ourselves in faith and love, in adoration and acceptance, to that Lord bodily present to us... It is actually plain heresy to say (in theory and hence in practice) that Jesus Christ in the Sacrament of the altar is not to be honored with an external cult of adoration... that exposition is to be re...

Mass Readings: May 30

NEXT WITNESS

"You must bear witness as well." –John 15:27

The Holy Spirit witnesses on Jesus' behalf (Jn 15:26), and we must do the same. The world is wrong about Jesus, and the Holy Spirit is calling us to the witness stand to prove this (Jn 16:8). Our testimony will convict the world on three counts – that it is wrong about sin, justice, and condemnation (Jn 16:...

The Eucharist has an extraordinary potential for bringing about personal and global transformation. If ever it is vitalized into being a sacrament of communion through effective personal sharing, it can successfully challenge the comfortable cultural values most people blindly accept. If Christians ever begin to practice what Jesus has taught and exemplified when he took, blessed, broke and gave bread to be distributed, many of the world's problems would be solved at both personal a...

Mass Readings: May 29

THE WORLD READS YOUR HEART

"Sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts." –1 Peter 3:15, RNAB

Moments after I heard the above passage from the second reading proclaimed at Mass, the priest announced the Gospel reading, and everyone traced the sign of the cross on their hearts, as well as their foreheads and lips. Everyone at Mass was asking the L...

To a spiritual daughter, who marvelled at seeing him standing for over two hours at the altar, with his wounded and swollen feet, Padre Pio said: "I cannot get tired, because when I celebrate holy Mass I am not standing, but hanging on the cross together with Jesus, and I suffer inadequately all that Jesus suffered on the cross, as much as is possible for a human creature. The Lord has deigned to associate me with the great work of human redemption, and this despite my every demerit,...

Mass Readings: May 28

PLAN B

"They next traveled through Phrygia and Galatian territory, because they had been prevented by the Holy Spirit from preaching the message in the province of Asia." –Acts 16:6

The Holy Spirit is Lord (2 Cor 3:17, 18). The Holy Spirit, being God, gives orders to us (see Acts 8:29ff) rather than taking orders from us. Paul and his fellow missionaries had to go to Gal...

All of these questions are very real to me; they constantly beg for an answer. Oh, yes, I have had answers, but it seems that they don't last very long in my quickly changing world. The Eucharist gives meaning to my being in the world, but as the world changes, does the Eucharist continue to give it meaning? I have read many books about the Eucharist. They were written ten, twenty, thirty, even forty years ago. Although they contain many deep insights, they no longer help me to exper...

Mass Readings: May 27

HOW TO KNOW GOD WELL

"It is the decision of the Holy Spirit, and ours too." –Acts 15:28

Do you know God well enough to say what His decisions are? The way to know the Lord is first to become His slave. In this state, you do not know what the Lord is doing (Jn 15:15). Later, however, He will call you His friend after having made known to you all that He has heard from G...

Not only has Our Lord seen fit to speak to some of His saints from the Eucharist, but it has also pleased Him to favor certain of His saints by appearing to them within the consecrated Host. In this way He has rewarded their devotion, strengthened them in trials and crowned their virtue.

One recipient of such favors was St. Philip Neri, who is the founder of the Congregation of the Oratory. St. Philip often employed a gentle jest to veil the miracles that constantly surrounded him....

Mass Readings: May 26

JESUS, JOY, AND US

"All this I tell you that My joy may be yours and your joy may be complete." –John 15:11

Jesus offers us His complete joy. The question is: do we really want Jesus' type of joy, that is, "complete joy," or would we rather have a cheap, temporary joy? To answer that question, let's look at what constitutes Jesus' joy:

• Jesus finds "joy" when we faithfully ...

KIRKUK, Iraq (Catholic  Online) - Last Friday,  a 29 year old Christian husband and father of three children was kidnapped by Islamic militants in Iraq. A ransom of the equivalent of $100,000 US was demanded.

On Monday, May 16, 2011, his mutilated body, showing signs of extreme torture was found by a bridge. His head had been severed and his eyes had been gouged out.

The heroic Archbishop of Kirkuk, Louis Sako, praised the heroism of this Christian man and the continuing strength and fa...

In beginning his account of the Passion of Our Lord, St. John says: "Jesus, having loved His own who were in the world, loved them to the end," which means, not that He loved them only up to death but as much as He could love them. And how did He love them? By leaving them this divine gift through which He gives Himself to us and so begins on earth the blessed union that will continue in Heaven. If you could only understand the value of one Holy Communion! A single Communion should ...

Mass Readings: May 25

TO YIELD FRUIT, YIELD

"The fruitful ones He trims clean to increase their yield." –John 15:2

Disciples of Jesus bear a lot of fruit, and they can grow weary. They need energy, because they are consumed as they live out their calling. A major battleground of a veteran disciple is the temptation to invest time in people or things they enjoy, which "give them life" and re-energi...

I have a friend who is impressed by what the world calls "powerful" and "successful" people. Imagine, if he had the gift of faith, how he would be attracted to the chapel to be in the presence of and be influenced by the One from Whom all power flows, the very Source of Life. In the Powerful Presence, I am made aware of my own utter powerlessness: I did not choose to live; I did not choose my parents or the Age in which I live; I cannot prolong my life here indefinitely, and I do no...

Mass Readings: May 24

COME-BACKS

"I go away for a while, and I come back to you." –John 14:28

Jesus went away for a while when He was crucified and put to death. Then He came back when He rose from the dead.

Jesus went away for a longer while when He ascended into heaven. He will come back at the end of the world to take us with Him.

Paul went back into Lystra (Acts 14:20) after its people had s...

Weekly reception of the Eucharist was customary already in apostolic times. In the Didache, the faithful are admonished that, "having come together on the Lord's Day, you are to break bread and give thanks, after you have confessed your sins, so that your sacrifice might be undefiled. But anyone who is estranged from his friend should not join us, until both have become reconciled, lest your sacrifice be polluted." Equally clear is the description of the Sunday morning service given ...

Mass Readings: May 23

"SEEK, AND YOU WILL FIND" (Mt 7:7)

"Lord, why is it that You will reveal Yourself to us and not to the world?" –John 14:22

Jesus had told His disciples the world would not accept His revelation (Jn 14:17), but He would reveal Himself to His disciples (Jn 14:21). His disciple Jude asked Jesus why He would reveal Himself to the disciples, but not to the world (Jn 14:22)...

During Lent of the year 1443, in Cascia, St. James of the Marches, a great preacher of his day, gave a very personal, passionate sermon on our Lord to the nuns. Rita was so taken by the sermon that she returned to the monastery and began to pray, with all her heart and soul, before a fresco of Jesus crucified. As she humbly asked for a part of His suffering on the Cross, admitting that she was unworthy to share His full Passion on Calvary, a thorn fell from the beloved head of our S...

Mass Readings: May 22

BODY-BUILDING

"Look around among your own number, brothers, for seven men acknowledged to be deeply spiritual and prudent, and we shall appoint them to this task. This will permit us to concentrate on prayer and the ministry of the word." –Acts 6:3-4

When priests are truly priests, we need more deacons. When deacons are truly deacons, it helps...

A very beautiful experience in Hawaii shows the great and indiscriminate love of Jesus. In one of our healing services, Father Kevin walked down the aisle processing with the Blessed Sacrament. I stood at the microphone praying for healing as they focused on Jesus. A young Catholic woman had brought a Mormon friend with her. The Mormon girl had deformed hands. They had hoped we would pray with the girl. To their great surprise we were not praying individually with people, but we bro...

Mass Readings: May 21

TRIUNE LOVE

"Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me?" –John 14:10

• If we really know Jesus, we know His Father also (Jn 14:7).
• If we see Jesus, we see the Father (Jn 14:9).
• The Father is in Jesus, and Jesus is in the Father (Jn 14:10).
• The words of Jesus are from His Father (Jn 14:10).
• The words and works of Jesus are to help us believe that the Fat...

St. Bernardine of Siena remarks that men remember more continually and love more tenderly the signs of love which are shown to them in the hour of death. Hence it is the custom that friends, when about to die, leave to those persons whom they have loved some gift, such as a garment or a ring, as a memorial of their affection. But what hast Thou, O my Jesus, left us, when quitting this world, in memory of Thy love? Not, indeed, a garment or a ring, but Thine own body, Thy blood, Thy s...

Mass Readings: May 20

PLACEMENT AGENCY

"I am indeed going to prepare a place for you." –John 14:3

Many times throughout our lives we have told people: "Do not let your hearts be troubled" (Jn 14:1). We've followed this word of encouragement with such words as: "Cheer up," "Things will get better," or even "I'll pray for you." After Jesus told us not to be troubled, He said something different. He...

GRAND RAPIDS, MI--With less than a month before the so-called "American Catholic Council" (ACC) convenes in Detroit on Pentecost weekend, their recent press release continues to betray a disconnect from the authoritative teachings of Vatican II-in whose "spirit" they claim to act.

In a May 10 press release titled "Catholics Speak Out in Nationwide Listening Sessions," ACC said this of the nearly 100 sessions held nationwide in preparation for the gathering:

 "From the perspective of th...

Let no one, therefore, approach this wondrous Table without reverent devotion and fervent love, without true penitence or without remembering his redemption. For it is the pure Lamb that is eaten in the unleavened bread... Approach the Lord's Supper, the table of wholeness and holiness, child of faith, in such a way that at the end you may enter into the wedding feast of the Lamb...There we shall be filled with the abundance of God's house; then we shall behold the King of Glory and...

Mass Readings: May 19

"THE MINISTRY OF RECONCILIATION" (2 Cor 5:18)

"There John left them and returned to Jerusalem." –Acts 13:13

John Mark left Paul and Barnabas at the beginning of the first missionary journey. Later, John Mark regretted his decision and wanted to go on the second missionary journey. "But Paul insisted that, as he had deserted them at Pamphylia, refusing to join th...

VATICAN CITY (Catholic Online) - On July 7, 2007, Pope Benedict XVI issued "Motu Propio" (on his own authority) an Apostolic Letter on the celebration of the Roman Rite according to the Missal of 1962, entitled Summorum Pontificum. Along with the letter the Pope wrote a personal letter to all the Catholic Bishops throughout the world. This apostolic letter was intended to open up the celebration of what is now called the "extraordinary form" of the Roman Liturgy (sometimes called the "...

It was one of the more uncomfortable moments in my life.

Outside of St. John the Evangelist Cathedral in Milwaukee, where I, as archbishop, was celebrating Sunday Mass on an otherwise magnificent Wisconsin autumn day, were a couple dozen very vocal protestors, representing some off-brand denomination, shouting vicious chants and holding hateful signs with words I thought had gone the way of burning-crosses and white hoods.

This frenzied group, taunting the peo...

Recently, a priest-historian told us, the early Church would not have lasted the first hundred years if it were not for the Eucharist. The Eucharist is the strength of our Church. And yet, we were told by a theologian that the Eucharist is not necessary for our salvation. Far be it from us to doubt him, but one thing we know, it sure is necessary for our survival! We derive nourishment from the Eucharist; we derive life's blood. The Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ is food for...

Mass Readings: May 18

THE FAST LANE

"They were engaged in the liturgy of the Lord and were fasting...the Holy Spirit spoke to them: 'Set apart Barnabas and Saul for Me to do the work for which I have called them.'" –Acts 13:2

The leaders of the church of Antioch called a communal fast, which resulted in the first missionary journey (Acts 13:2-3). The prophet Joel also proclaimed a communal fast...

St. Pascal Baylon experienced many unusual receptions of the Eucharist. As a Franciscan lay brother, Pascal served his community in a number of lowly positions. He performed many miracles–so many, in fact, that during the consistory that heard the case for his canonization, the number of miracles recounted prompted a cardinal to cry out, "The like has never been seen!"

As an adolescent, Pascal was entrusted with the care of his father's sheep. While on the mountainside, he would ...

Mass Readings: May 17

"I DO"

"You refuse to believe because you are not My sheep. My sheep hear My voice. I know them." –John 10:26-27

Many people are waiting for God to reveal Himself to them by doing great works or giving them special spiritual experiences. However, the Lord has already revealed Himself through His incarnation, death, and resurrection. He has loved us faithfully and perfectly ...

There are so many advantages in making a holy hour in the presence of Our Lord. As He was about to suffer, Jesus Himself asked His apostles to watch one hour with Him (Matthew 26:40)...

We all need direction, focus, and a good sense of our priorities. The holy hour gives us ample opportunity to listen to God. The voice of the Spirit is a gentle one. It is not easily heard amid the clamor of daily routine. An hour spent in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament enables us to keep a b...

Mass Readings: May 16

"WITHOUT ANY HINDRANCE WHATEVER"(Acts 28:31)

"Who was I to be able to hinder God?" –Acts 11:17, RNAB

St. Peter asks an excellent question: "Who was I to be able to hinder God?" (Acts 11:17) It's God's plan to work through people like St. Peter and like you and me. It's a great mystery that God, Who is all-powerful, would put Himself in such a position that we humans h...

Since ordination in 1956, I have spent one-third of my priesthood in administration on the national or diocesan level and two-thirds of it in parish ministry. Just as the Eucharist and eucharistic people were so influential in leading me to the altar, I credit those same factors for the fact that I am still an active priest today.

Extended prayer before the reserved Presence on a regular basis, ideally each day, but actually about 90% of the time, has been an essential lifeline. Wh...

Mass Readings: May 15

CHURCH WORKERS

"The one who enters through the gate is shepherd of the sheep." –John 10:2

The sheepfold is the Church. We must enter the Church through the Gate, that is, Jesus (Jn 10:7). We must also enter ministry in the Church through Jesus. This not only means that all members and ministers in the Church must be baptized. It also means we all mu...

One day as St. Bernard was about to say Mass in the church of St. Ambrose at Milan, the people brought to the church a lady of high rank who had been sick for many years. She had lost her sight, her hearing and her speech, and her tongue had become so long that it protruded out of her mouth. St. Bernard, having exhorted the people to join him in praying for her, began to celebrate Mass, and as often as he made the Sign of the Cross over the Host, he made it over the sick woman also. ...

Mass Readings: May 14

THE SKELETON CREW

"The choice fell to Matthias, who was added to the eleven apostles." –Acts 1:26

During the first Pentecost novena, Jesus' disciples "devoted themselves to constant prayer" (Acts 1:14). As they prayed, they realized they had to bring out some skeletons from their closets. They needed to sift through Judas' betrayal of Jesus, their abandonment of Jes...

Feast of Our Lady of Fatima

On arriving at the Cova da Iria, near the holm oak, moved by some interior impulse, I asked the people to shut their umbrellas. We began to say the Rosary and shortly after we saw the reflection of the light and after that Our Lady on the holm oak.

What do you want from me?

I want to tell you to have a chapel built here in my honour. I am the Queen of the Holy Rosary. Continue praying the Rosary daily. The war is coming to an end and the soldiers will...

Mass Readings: May 13

STRAIGHT STREET IS MAIN STREET

"Go at once to Straight Street." –Acts 9:11

The Bible mentions thousands of proper names for cities, countries, and territories, but I know of only one street that Scripture names. The Lord told Ananias to go to Straight Street. This may be more than an incidental detail, for Ananias not only went to Straight Street but straight to a leader in ...

Active participation in the Mass, intelligent and humble reception of the Blessed Sacrament with a pure heart and the desire of perfect charity–these are the great remedies for the resentment and disunity that are spread by materialism. Here in this greatest of sacraments we can find the medicine that will purify our hearts from the contagion which they inevitably contract in a world that does not know God.

But in order to protect ourselves still more, to strengthen our position ...

Mass Readings: May 12

EVERY MASS IS SUNDAY

"This is the bread that comes down from heaven for a man to eat and never die." –John 6:50

We are in the middle of celebrating the Easter season, what St. Athanasius called the "fifty-day Sunday." We are very excited because Jesus has risen from the dead and has promised to raise us also. Death, which previously had cast its shadow over life, no ...

VATICAN CITY (Catholic Online) - Mary Ann Glendon, the Learned Hand Professor of Law at Harvard University, served as U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican and was appointed by Blessed John Paul II as the President of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences which he founded in 1994.  She enjoys global respect for her intelligence, eloquence and distinguished record of public service. She is a faithful Catholic who has defended the Church without compromise for many years and a Pro-Life Champ...

Then one day, I made a "fatal blunder"–I decided that it was time for me to go to Mass on my own... I slipped quietly into the basement chapel for daily Mass. I wasn't sure what to expect... I took a seat as an observer in the back pew.

All of a sudden lots of ordinary people began coming in off the streets–rank-and-file type folks. They came in, genuflected, knelt and prayed. Their simple but sincere devotion was impressive.

Then a bell rang and a priest walked out toward the...

Mass Readings: May 11

BLESSED ARE THOSE PERSECUTED...

"That day saw the beginning of a great persecution of the church in Jerusalem." –Acts 8:1

Jesus says the persecuted are happy and the kingdom of God is theirs (Mt 5:10). We should be glad and rejoice if insulted, persecuted, or slandered because of our faith in Jesus (Mt 5:11-12). "Happy are you when you are insulted for the sake of Christ, for...

VATICAN CITY (Catholic Online) - Last week the Pontifical Biblical Commission gathered in Rome for a plenary session under the theme of "Inspiration and Truth of the Bible."  Pope Benedict XVI sent a letter to Cardinal William Levada, the President of the Commission, to encourage the participants. He quoted from his apostolic exhortation on the Word of God (Verbum Domini) written on September 30, 2010, the Feast of St. Jerome. He wrote, "an interpretation of the sacred writings that ne...

CHESAPEAKE, Va. (Catholic Online) - It is Mothers Day and our hearts and minds turn to the woman who gave us life and showed us the beauty of steadfast love throughout our lives. Homes are filled with celebrations and gifts are given to express the profound gratitude we all feel for our mother. On this day I am always drawn to reflect on one of the last gifts the Lord gave to us before his total gift of Himself on the Cross, the gift of a mother. And, not just any mother, but His own Mo...

The Blessed Sacrament attracts the saints in certain wonderful ways: while on the other hand the saints have sometimes the power to attract the Blessed Sacrament... It is because of this that we read so often in the lives of the saints that our Lord has appeared to them in such or such a form, and most often in the guise of an infant... Our Lord appeared as a child to St. Ida three times successively, and each time greater than before, and she was deluged with joy for forty days. St....

Mass Readings: May 10

LIFE WITH JESUS

"I Myself am the Bread of Life." –John 6:35

I received a note yesterday from my mother. She mentioned that she had visited the parish of my teenage years, which I attended over thirty years ago. At that time, the parish had just erected a new building, offered many programs, and consisted of a large number of families. After moving out of state, I'...

Some narrators say it happened in 1246 and others that it took place in 1226. There lived in the village of Santarem (Portugal) a poor woman whose life was made miserable by her unfaithful husband. Weary of so much unhappiness, she decided to consult a sorceress who promised the woman that all her difficulties would disappear if she would bring her a consecrated Host. After great hesitation, the poor woman decided to commit the sacrilege. After being heard in confession at the Church...

Mass Readings: May 9

"WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR?" (Jn 1:38)

"Though princes meet and talk against me, Your servant meditates on Your statutes." –Psalm 119:23

Stephen did the work of God, believing in the One He sent (Jn 6:29). Because Stephen was looking for Jesus, he was able to persevere and concentrate on what was happening in heaven rather than on earth (Col 3:2), even though powe...

Perhaps the most amazing phenomenon in the modern world is the existence of the perfectly incorrupt and life-like body of the holy Maronite monk, St. Charbel Makhlouf, who was born on May 8, 1828, in the village of Biqa-Kafra in the high mountains of Northern Lebanon... Having received a thorough theological education at seminaries conducted by his order, he was ordained a priest on July 23, 1859 and was assigned to the Monastery of St. Maroun, where he spent sixteen years in the pr...

Mass Readings: May 8

EMMAUS MASS

"Were not our hearts burning inside us?" –Luke 24:32

The pattern used by Jesus in the Emmaus walk is the pattern of the Mass: Notice the sequence of events Jesus uses as He walks to Emmaus with His disciples and then stays with them afterward. The Church follows the same pattern to this very day in the Mass:

1. Liturgy of the Word. ...

VATICAN CITY, (Catholic Online) - On Wednesday Pope Benedict XVI began a new catechetical series for the faithful who gather in St. Peter's Square. Since the beginning of his papacy these instructions have been a source of inspiration and growth. His series on Christian saints brought them to life in order to inspire new saints for our time. Now, this man of deep prayer begins a "School of Prayer" for the faithful. It is time for all of us to enroll and tuition is free!

This Pope/profes...

The early Christians took the greatest care to conceal the doctrine as well as the celebration of the holy mysteries from pagans and even from catechumens. This was done out of reverence and awe; also as a precaution, to prevent the uninitiated and uninstructed from being present at divine worship, which could have given rise to misconceptions and brought down on them persecution. They were well aware that the teaching of the cross was unto the Jews a stumbling-block, unto the Genti...

Mass Readings: May 7

RISE TO THE OCCASION

"Look around among your own number, brothers, for seven men acknowledged to be deeply spiritual and prudent." –Acts 6:3

"The community of believers," which was "of one heart and one mind" (Acts 4:32), was in danger of dividing. "The ones who spoke Greek complained that their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution of food, as compared...

Before his First Communion, Dominic Savio made four promises... 1) I will go often to confession and I will go to Holy Communion as often as I am allowed. 2) I will try to give Sundays and holy days completely to God. 3) My best friends will be Jesus and Mary. 4) Death, but not sin.

Don Bosco and the boys at the Oratory had been anxiously awaiting word of Dominic. His father's letter arrived; it began, "With my heart full of grief I send you this sad news. Dominic, my dear son and y...

Mass Readings: May 6

WHIPPED OR CREAM?

"The Sanhedrin called in the apostles and had them whipped." –Acts 5:40

You start a Bible study at work, and people are coming to Jesus. Then the boss calls you into his office. He says your witness to Jesus is a violation of company policy, suspends you without pay for a week, and tells you the next offense will result in your termination. You've just ...

When I grant you the grace of devotion, give thanks to God, not because you deserve to enjoy it, but because I have had mercy on you. And if you feel no devotion, but suffer dryness of soul, persevere in prayer, sigh, and knock (Matt. 7: 7; Luke 11: 9); persist until you merit to receive some crumb or drop of saving grace. You have need of Me; I have no need of you (2 Macc 14: 35.). You do not come to sanctify Me, but I come to sanctify and raise you. You come in order to be hallowe...

Mass Readings: May 5

THE OBEDIENT REBEL

"We testify to this. So too does the Holy Spirit, Whom God has given to those that obey Him." –Acts 5:32

We Christians rejoice (see Ps 40:9) in living lives of obedience (1 Pt 1:2). We realize that "whoever disobeys the Son will not see life, but must endure the wrath of God" (Jn 3:36). We especially realize that if we truly love Jesus, we will obey ...

Religiously-active Catholics are those who report attending Ma...

The patient in the first case was a man in Lisbon, Portugal, who suffered from Parkinson's disease. As the creeping paralysis rose from his lower limbs, advancing closer and closer to the heart, the patient was plunged into deep melancholy. His wife pleaded with him repeatedly to go to another Marian Shrine like Lourdes which was only ninety miles away. One day, in mockery, because he knew that, like himself, his attending physician did not believe in miracles, he said to his wife in...

Mass Readings: May 4

DARKNESS TO LIGHT

"He who acts in truth comes into the light, to make clear that his deeds are done in God." –John 3:21

The apostles, when released from prison, didn't run away in order to save themselves from future danger and legal trouble. No, they placed their trust in God and obeyed His command to teach in the Temple (Acts 5:20-21). Many heard the Good News as a result of...

We who hold faithful to what the Roman Catholic Church teaches, believe that Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, is truly present in the Most Holy Eucharist.  We believe it on the words of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who promised to give us His flesh to eat and blood to drink, at the lakeside of Galilee (John 6, 48-60), and who fulfilled that promise at the Last Supper (Matt. 26: 26-28; Luke 22: 19-20; Mark 14: 22-24; 1 Cor. 11: 23-25).  We have also the divine, infallible testimon...

A little six-year-old Protestant boy had often heard his Catholic companions reciting the prayer "Hail Mary." He liked it so much that he copied it, memorized it and would recite it every day. "Look, Mommy, what a beautiful prayer," he said to his mother one day.

"Never again say it," answered the mother. "It is a superstitious prayer of Catholics who adore idols and think Mary a goddess. After all, she is a woman like any other. Come on, take this Bible and read it. It contains ever...

PRAYER TO OUR LADY: Remember, O most loving Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to your protection, implored your help, or sought your intercession was left unaided. Inspired with this confidence, we turn to you, O Virgins of virgins, our Mother. To you we come, before you we stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, do not despise our petitions, but in your mercy hear us and answer us. Amen.

PRAYER TO OUR LADY, ASSUMED INTO HEAVEN: Immaculate V...

It made him happy to see a group of his friars around the altar in adoration. When he showed guests about Niepokalanow, at times Germans from the highest ranks of society, he either began or ended the visit in the chapel to greet, as he explained, the Master of the house. Indicating the religious adoring the most Blessed Sacrament, he would say: "There is the most important work department in the friary."

This adoration was carried out simply before the tabernacle, except on first ...

Mass Readings: May 3

ONLY PENTECOST

"After I have been with You all this time, you still do not know Me?" –John 14:9

Philip and James followed Jesus for years but abandoned Him in His hour of need (Mk 14:50). Even after seeing the risen Jesus on several occasions (see 1 Cor 15:7), they remained locked up because of the weakness of their faith (Jn 20:26). Eventually, they strongly believed ...

Pope John Paul II “restored to Christianity its true face as a religion of hope,” Pope Benedict XVI said at the May 1 beatification of the Polish Pontiff.

Well over 1 million people crowded into St. Peter’s Square, and spilled over into the surrounding streets of Rome, for the May 1 beatification. Six years earlier, an even larger congregation had broken into shouts of Santo subito! at the conclusion of the funeral for the beloved Pontiff. Now the people burst into warm applau...

Twelve frightened men who feel that death is hovering near crowd around the Son of Man whose hand is lifted over a piece of bread and over a cup. Of what value is this gesture, of what use can it be? How futile it seems when already a mob is arming itself with clubs, when in a few hours Jesus will be delivered to the courts, ranked among scoundrels, tortured, disfigured, laughed at by His enemies, pitiable to those who love Him, and shown to be powerless before all. However, this Ma...

Mass Readings: May 2

CHURCH MILITANT OR CHURCH DEFEATED?

"They were filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak God's word with confidence." –Acts 4:31

The apostles were thrown into prison by the Jewish leaders for healing a crippled man and then "teaching the people and proclaiming the resurrection of the dead in the person of Jesus" (Acts 4:2). They were then threatened by the leaders to nev...

And what do we ourselves offer when we offer our bodies and blood with Jesus at Mass? We offer what Jesus offered: life and death. By "body" we offer all that actually constitutes our physical life: time, health, energy, ability, sentiments, perhaps just a smile, that only a spirit living in a body can give and which is so precious at times. By "blood," we express the offering of our death; not necessarily our final death, or martyrdom for Christ or our brethren. Death means also all...

Mass Readings: May 1

PUT YOUR MONEY WHERE YOUR MOUTH IS

"One of the twelve, Thomas (the name means 'Twin'), was absent when Jesus came. The other disciples kept telling him: 'We have seen the Lord!' His answer was, 'I will never believe it.' " –John 20:24-25

This world of "doubting Thomases" is profoundly unimpressed by our church services and Easter decorations...