Our Lady's Promise Apostolate Blog


Browsing Archive: January, 2015

DEVOTION TO THE HOLY FACE OF JESUS

Posted by Site Webmaster on Saturday, January 31, 2015, In : Our Lady's Promise 
In Tours, France during the 1840's a young Carmelite nun, Sister Marie de
Saint-Pierre (1816-1848), received a series of revelations from Our Lord
about a powerful devotion He wished to be established worldwide - the
devotion to his Holy Face. The express purpose of This devotion was to make
reparation for the blasphemies and outrages of 'Revolutionary men' (the
Communists), as well as for the blasphemies of atheists and freethinkers
and others, plus, for blasphemy and the profanation of Sundays by...
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Chiara Lubich, confidante to popes now a sainthood candidate

Posted by Site Webmaster on Friday, January 30, 2015, In : OLP Newsline 
ROME — Arguably the most powerful laywoman in the Catholic Church in the late 20th century is now a candidate for sainthood, after the launch of a beatification process on Tuesday in Italy followed by 18,000 people around the world via live streaming.

Chiara Lubich, founder of the Focolare movement, died in 2008 at the age of 88. The bid to declare her a saint comes shortly after a mandatory five-year waiting period in Church law to open a beatification process expired.

Bishop Raffaello Marti...
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Cause of St Thérèse of Lisieux’s sister is opened

Posted by Site Webmaster on Thursday, January 29, 2015, In : OLP Newsline 

A French bishop has officially opened the beatification Cause of Léonie Martin, the sister of St Thérèse of Lisieux.

Bishop Jean-Claude Boulanger of Bayeux-Lisieux opened the diocesan stage of the Cause on Saturday at a Mass at the Monastery of the Visitation in Caen, north-west France, where Léonie lived from 1899 until her death in 1941, aged 78.

Léonie, who took the name Sister Françoise-Thérèse when she entered religious life, now has the title “Servant of God”.

Léonie, ...


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Satan hates the Blessed Virgin Mary

Posted by Site Webmaster on Tuesday, January 27, 2015, In : Our Lady's Promise 
Satan hates the Blessed Virgin Mary. In fact, he has been doing everything in his power to discourage devotion to her and instill hatred for her for two millennia. Have you ever noticed that it is Marian dogmas and devotions that stir the strongest reactions in those who reject the Church? Even some good Catholics are embarrassed by devotion to our Lady, and they feel we should not be too extreme in our veneration of her.

Perhaps you, too, have wondered why the Church holds the Immaculate Virg...
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What about your past?

Posted by Site Webmaster on Monday, January 26, 2015, In : Our Lady's Promise 
We all have a past of problems, sin, mistakes and struggles. The question is, what do you do about your past? Everyone, it seems, has an easy answer: “Forget about your past, there’s nothing you can do about it, anyway.” “Your past is past, let it go.” “The past has nothing to do with the present.”

Sound familiar? All clichés. They may sound nice, but clichés are often just like Band-Aids on cancer…useless.

We all have a past. We all—without exception—have a skeleton hangi...
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Mary Matters - A Book Review by Kristofer J Carlson

Posted by Site Webmaster on Sunday, January 25, 2015, In : Book Reviews 

In my new book, , I spend most of its pages in classic apologetic defense of Mary as Mother of God, defending her immaculate conception, perpetual virginity, assumption into heaven, her Queenship, and her role in God’s plan of salvation as Co-redemptrix and Mediatrix. But perhaps my most important contributions in the book may well be how I demonstrate each of these doctrines to be crucial for our spiritual...


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Pro-life shrine to open in former Kansas City Twin Spires

Posted by Site Webmaster on Friday, January 23, 2015, In : OLP Newsline 

The St. Mary and St. Joseph Family Memorial Foundation has purchased the Twin Spires in Downtown St. Joseph with plans to create a national pro-life shrine.

When it opens this spring, the church will become the Shrine of the Immacul...


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Catholics in Congress: What makes them tick?

Posted by Site Webmaster on Thursday, January 22, 2015, In : OLP Newsline 
WASHINGTON (CNS) — The numbers don’t lie. Once again, there are more Catholics in Congress than members of any other religious denomination. And the numbers stay strong term after term.

Even though Catholics account for only about 22 percent of the U.S. population — admittedly the largest body of religious belief in the country — they make up 31 percent of the House and the Senate.

If you’re looking for differences between the two major parties, there’s indeed some — but ...


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Virtual Retreat

Posted by Site Webmaster on Thursday, January 22, 2015, In : RCIA 

CCHLogo

From Fragmentation to Wholeness by Father Vincent Youngberg

You are able to listen to Father Vincent Youngberg’s five part talk From Fragmentation to Wholeness on this web site with Father Youngberg’s permission. [Click on the links below.] 

If this is your first time listening we recommend you do so in the order presented.

(These are mp3 files created with Windows Media Player. Use a high speed internet c...


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Prayers Against Satan and The Rebellious Angels

Posted by Site Webmaster on Saturday, January 17, 2015, In : Our Lady's Promise 
Published by Order Of H.H. Pope Leo XIII

The Holy Father exhorts priests to say this prayer as often as possible, as a simple exorcism to curb the power of the devil and prevent him from doing harm. The faithful also may say it in their own name, for the same purpose, as any approved prayer Its use is recommended whenever action of the devil is suspected, causing malice in men, violent temptations and even storms and various calamities. It could be used as a solemn exorc...


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RCIA Week 12 - The First Three Commandments

Posted by Site Webmaster on Friday, January 16, 2015, In : RCIA 

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RCIA Week 11 - Mary, Mother of God

Posted by Site Webmaster on Friday, January 16, 2015, In : RCIA 

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RCIA Week 10 - The Liturgical Calendar and Special Q&A

Posted by Site Webmaster on Friday, January 16, 2015, In : RCIA 

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RCIA Week 9 - The Dignity of the Human Person

Posted by Site Webmaster on Friday, January 16, 2015, In : RCIA 

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RCIA Week 8 - The Communion of Saints

Posted by Site Webmaster on Friday, January 16, 2015, In : RCIA 

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RCIA Week 7 - The Church

Posted by Site Webmaster on Friday, January 16, 2015, In : RCIA 

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RCIA Week 6 - Journey Through the Mass

Posted by Site Webmaster on Friday, January 16, 2015, In : RCIA 

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RCIA Week 5 - Divine Revelation

Posted by Site Webmaster on Friday, January 16, 2015, In : RCIA 

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RCIA Week 4 - The Holy Spirit

Posted by Site Webmaster on Friday, January 16, 2015, In : RCIA 

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RCIA Week 3 Catholic Q&A

Posted by Site Webmaster on Friday, January 16, 2015, In : RCIA 


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RCIA Week 2 God the Father

Posted by Site Webmaster on Friday, January 16, 2015, In : RCIA 

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RCIA Week 1 Who is Jesus?

Posted by Site Webmaster on Friday, January 16, 2015, In : RCIA 

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Free Catholic Book Downloads

Posted by Site Webmaster on Thursday, January 15, 2015, In : Book Reviews 
How the Catholic Church is the Same and How it is Different from Other Christian Churches


St Padre Pio and The Miracle of Stigmata - In His Own Words and Photos - Vol I   


St Padre Pio and The Miracle of Stigmata - In His Own Words and Photos - Vol II


St Padre Pio and The Miracle of Stigmata - In His Own Words and Photos - Vol III


Miracles of the Church Collection - With Photos


Eucharistic Miracles around the World - With Photos

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Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe: December 12

Posted by Site Webmaster on Tuesday, January 13, 2015, In : Marian Feasts 
On the morning of December 12 in 1531, a poor Aztec Indian man named Juan Diego rose, and made his way through the hills to Mass in Mexico City, as he did every morning.

Juan Diego was 57 years old, a humble and devout Catholic in a still largely pagan country. As he walked the familiar path, Juan thought about his family, his work; and he said a prayer for his sick uncle. Suddenly, he heard beautiful music and a woman's voice calling "Juan, Juan".

Turning from the path, Juan climbed Tepeyac ...
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Memorial of the Presentation of Mary: November 21

Posted by Site Webmaster on Tuesday, January 13, 2015, In : Marian Feasts 
About the Feast

According to apocryphal sources, this feast was celebrated as early as the second century. Reliable records show that it was observed in the Eastern Church by the sixth century. In 1372, when Pope Gregory XI learned of this feast's being celebrated in Greece, he introduced it. at Avignon. Eventually, in 1585, Pope Sixtus extended the feast to the universal Church.

The feast celebrates two events: the presentation of the child Mary in the Temple, which probably occurred when she...
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Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary: October 7

Posted by Site Webmaster on Tuesday, January 13, 2015, In : Marian Feasts 
About the Feast

On October 7, 1571, a Christian fleet composed of ships from Spain, the city-states of Italy, and the Knights of Malta challenged a Muslim Turkish navy for possession of Cyprus, which the Turks had captured a few months before. The battle took place at Lepanto (now known as the Gulf of Corinth), in the Mediterranean Sea. 

The Christian fleet, organized and consecrated by Pope Pius V and commanded by Don Juan, son of Charles V, prayed the Rosary together before entering battle. ...
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Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows: September 15

Posted by Site Webmaster on Tuesday, January 13, 2015, In : Marian Feasts 
About the Feast

The Church has always had a profound sympathy for the sufferings of Mary during her Son's Passion. "Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene" (Jn 19:25). Even if we cannot fully comprehend the agonies of Christ, we can certainly identify with Mary's grief and sorrow.

But formal recognition of the sorrows of our Lady, in the form of a feast day, did not come until the twelfth century. Once the feast was ...
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Feast of the Birth of Mary: September 8

Posted by Site Webmaster on Tuesday, January 13, 2015, In : Marian Feasts 
About the Feast

Tradition holds that Mary was the only child of Saint Anne and Saint Joachim, whose feast day is celebrated on July 26. Though there is no record of Mary's actual day of birth, this feast was celebrated by Christians in Syria and Palestine as early as the sixth century, when on a particular September 8 a church in Jerusalem was consecrated in Mary's honor.

Over the next several centuries, observance of this feast spread to the Western Church; by the Middle Ages, it was a public...
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Memorial of the Queenship of Mary: August 22

Posted by Site Webmaster on Tuesday, January 13, 2015, In : Marian Feasts 
About the Feast

Four years after he defined the dogma of the Assumption of Mary, Pope Pius XII, in the encyclical letter Ad Caeli Reginam, decreed and instituted the Feast of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary. He thus acknowledged and made formal a long-standing Church

tradition. From the earliest centuries of the Church, belief in Mary's Queenship in heaven had been part of the Christian faith. Though nothing is said directly

about either Mary's Assumption or her Coronation in the Bibl...
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Solemnity of the Assumption: August 15

Posted by Site Webmaster on Tuesday, January 13, 2015, In : Marian Feasts 
About the Feast

This summer feast honoring our Lady dates from early in Church history. The Feast of the Assumption is first recorded as celebrated by Christians living in what was known then as Palestine (the region around Jerusalem) in about. 450.

The feast was originally called the Koimesis Theokotou in the Eastern Church and Dormitio Beatae Mariae Virginis in the Roman Church (Falling Asleep of the Mother of God).

With the belief that Mary had "fallen asleep" was also the strong conviction...
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Our Lady of Mount Carmel: July 16

Posted by Site Webmaster on Tuesday, January 13, 2015, In : Marian Feasts 
Patron of the Carmelites

About the Feast

July 16 is the patronal feast of the Carmelite Order. The Carmelites actually trace their origins back to pre-Christianity, to a community of contemplative hermits who settled on Mount Carmel in honor of the great prophets Elijah and his successor, Elisha.

The hermits' knowledge of Scripture and prophecy inspired them to recognize the Infant Jesus as the Messiah when the Holy Family returned to the village at the base of Mount Carmel—the village of Na...
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Our Lady of Perpetual Help: June 27

Posted by Site Webmaster on Tuesday, January 13, 2015, In : Marian Feasts 
The traditional picture of Our Lady of Perpetual Help is a Byzantine-style icon, dated to the 13th century. Some records say that the writer of the image (one "writes" an icon) used Saint Luke the Evangelist's portrait of Mary as inspiration.

Painted on wood, it shows the Mother of God holding the Infant Jesus while the archangels Michael and Gabriel fly overhead, holding the instruments. of His Passion. His sandal dangles from one foot as if, startled and frightened by the glimpse of His fut...
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Feast of the Visitation: May 31

Posted by Site Webmaster on Tuesday, January 13, 2015, In : Marian Feasts 
After the Annunciation, when the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary, she traveled to the village of her kinswoman Elizabeth. Elizabeth's words of greeting to her are included in the prayer we now say as the "Hail Mary".
 
Luke 1:41-43, The Magnificat

And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and she exclaimed with a loud cry, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted me,...
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Mary, Help of Christians May 24

Posted by Site Webmaster on Tuesday, January 13, 2015, In : Marian Feasts 
About the Feast

This feast has a recent modern origin, though it stems from the same roots of turmoil, trial, and thanksgiving as have many other titles and feasts of our Lady.

In 1808, Napoleon Bonaparte, the emperor of France, kidnapped and imprisoned Pope Pius VII. He intended to force the Pope to sign a treaty that would grant Napoleon all power over both Church and State in France and all her conquered territories.

From his jail cell, the Pope sent messages to all the Church, calling on t...
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Solemnity of the Annunciation March 25

Posted by Site Webmaster on Tuesday, January 13, 2015, In : Marian Feasts 
About the Feast

The Feast ofthe Annunciation, on the calendar nine months before Christmas Day, is one of the more important feasts of the liturgical year. It commemorates the actual Incarnation of our Savior in the womb of His Mother, Mary. This is the moment when Jesus first "became man and dwelt among us." (See CCC nos. 484-488.)

The biblical account of the Annunciation is found in the Gospel of Luke (1:26 56). Saint Luke describes the moment when the angel Gabriel announced to Mary that sh...
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Our Lady of Lourdes: February 11

Posted by Site Webmaster on Tuesday, January 13, 2015, In : Marian Feasts 
About the Feast

On February 11, 1858, the first of the apparitions of Mary to fourteen-year-old Bernadette Soubirous, a peasant girl, occurred in Lourdes, France. On that day, while the girl was gathering firewood with her sister and friends, she saw "a beautiful Lady" dressed in white, with a rosary hanging from her arm, standing in a small cave-like space (grotto) in a cliff side. The Lady smiled at her and called to her. They prayed the Rosary together. Bernadette said the prayers, and the ...
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Feast of the Presentation of the Lord (Candlemas) February 2

Posted by Site Webmaster on Tuesday, January 13, 2015, In : Marian Feasts 
About the Feast

This feast is my earliest memory of Catholic liturgy. In 1971, my family was living in Glasgow, Scotland. It was my habit to spend Saturdays with my friend Mary-Anne G. On our way to a swimming pool one cold and rainy afternoon in February, Mary-Anne asked if I would mind attending a Catholic Mass with her before going to the pool. I did not mind, so we stopped at the church.

We were met inside the church door by the priest, who was wearing a white robe trimmed with crocheted w...
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Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God: January 1

Posted by Site Webmaster on Tuesday, January 13, 2015, In : Marian Feasts 
About the Feast

Mother of God is Mary's highest title and the source of all her other titles and roles in the Church. From all eternity, God chose the Virgin of Nazareth to be the Mother of His Son. With her "fiat" at the Annunciation, she became the Theotokos, the Mother of God (CCC no. 495). At Calvary, God, in the person of Christ, gave His Mother to all mankind as our spiritual Mother, so that through her we might come to Him, as through her He came to us.

In A.D. 431, the third general co...
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Saturday Masses of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Posted by Site Webmaster on Tuesday, January 13, 2015, In : Marian Feasts 
It is not possible to commemorate all the "names of Mary" in the year, so only the major feasts of Mary are included in the Roman Calendar .

But, since the 1500s, permission has also been given to celebrate a Saturday Mass in honor of our Lady on any Saturday that is not the day of another major feast. Pope Paul VI recommended this practice as "an ancient and simple commemoration." After Vatican Council II, several new Masses were written to extend and expand this veneration of our Lady. Some...
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Marian Feasts

Posted by Site Webmaster on Tuesday, January 13, 2015, In : Marian Feasts 
Before we are born, our mothers are our entire world; they enfold, nourish, and protect us. When we are born they continue to care for us, by comforting, nursing, and teaching us as we grow. Mothers do not stop being mothers just because we are grown. Our mother will always be our mother.

So it is with our Blessed Mother, the Virgin Mary. She will always be Jesus' Mother, and she will always be our Mother. And if, for whatever reason, our own birth mother is not quite all we would like her to...
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A Parable on the Lies of the Devil and the False Promises of the World

Posted by Site Webmaster on Monday, January 12, 2015, In : Our Lady's Promise 

By:

One of the great illusions under which we labor is that if we just get one more thing from this world, then we’ll be happy. Perhaps if we just had a little more money, or a better job, or the latest iPad, or if we were married to so-and-so, or if we just lived in a better neighborhood … then we’d be satisfied and content at last. But “at last” never comes, even if we do get some of the things on our list. As Ecclesiastes puts it, The eye never has ...


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13 Beautiful Non-White Depictions of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Posted by Site Webmaster on Saturday, January 10, 2015, In : Our Lady's Promise 

The Blessed Virgin Mary was thoroughly Jewish. Different cultures and ethnicities have often portrayed her, Jesus, and others from the Bible as being from their group.

Since Christianity for many centuries was based largely in Europe, these important characters of salvation history have often been depicted as white Europeans. Which is fine! But other cultures have also depicted them according to their own appearances.

Here are 13 beautiful non-white European depictions of the Blessed Vir...


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Pope Benedict Five Must Reads

Posted by Site Webmaster on Saturday, January 10, 2015, In : Book Reviews 

As the two-year anniversary of Benedict XVI’s resignation from the Chair of St. Peter approaches, a decision that ultimately gave the church and the world the papacy of Francis, the impact of Joseph Ratzinger—Benedict XVI’s canon of thought to both theology and culture is only beginning to dawn. Dr. J. Steven Brown, the editor of the essential compendium , which features dozens of Benedict’s greatest papal texts, remarked that the present Pope Emeritus is on...


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12 Claims Every Catholic Should Be Able to Answer

Posted by Site Webmaster on Saturday, January 10, 2015, In : Apologetics 

Freedom of speech is a great thing. Unfortunately, it comes at an unavoidable price: When citizens are free to say what they want, theyll sometimes use that freedom to say some pretty silly things. And thats the case with the 12 claims were about to cover.

petersaint.jpg

Some of them are made over and over, others are rare. Either way, while the...


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Europe’s empty churches go on sale

Posted by Site Webmaster on Wednesday, January 7, 2015, In : OLP Newsline 

Church closures have reached flood stage in northern Europe. According to the Wall Street Journal, unfortunately available only to subscribers), some 515 Catholic churches have been closed in Germany over the last decade and it is estimated that two-thirds of the 1600 Catholic churches in the Netherlands will be closed over the next decade. Seven hundred Protestant churches are also slated to close there over the next four years.

This trend creates obvious pressure to repurp...


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“A Twelve-Year-Old Boy, Filled with Wisdom” (Luke 2:40-52)

Posted by Site Webmaster on Sunday, January 4, 2015, In : Our Lady's Promise 

When I was twelve years old, I hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon. Pretty impressive, eh? No, pretty stupid, actually. Because, at twelve years old, I hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon . . . without telling anyone. Let me explain. This was back in the days of train travel, and my mother, grandmother, sister, and I were taking the train from Chicago to Los Angeles for a family reunion. When we got to Arizona, there was an option to get off the train, get on a bus, and take a...


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Francis Effect' Brings Optimism, Openness In The Roman Catholic Church

Posted by Site Webmaster on Saturday, January 3, 2015, In : OLP Newsline 
Pope Francis kisses the statue of baby Jesus as he arrives to lead the New Year mass in Saint Peter's Basilica at the Vatican on Jan. 1, 2015.

The Catholic world is awed by the simplicity, humility, and heart for the poor of His Holiness, Pope Francis.

Images of him embracing a boy suffering from cerebral palsy, hugging children and the disabled, walking to greet the crowd, reaching out to non-Catholics, reforming the Roman Curia, kissing a man afflicted with a rare disease, his tele...


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The Virtuous Life

Posted by Site Webmaster on Saturday, January 3, 2015, In : Our Lady's Promise 
Virtue isn’t often associated with manliness these days. In fact, the exact opposite is true—many believe you aren’t a real man unless you are a “bad boy” or a rebel. But this wasn’t always the case. In fact, the virtue comes from the Latin word vir, meaning man. Virtue literally means manliness. In ancient times, philosophers like Aristotle encouraged men to cultivate virtue to reach their full potential.

What is Virtue? It is hard to live a virtuous life if we don’t firs...


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Without Our Traditions, Our Life would be as Shaky as a Fiddler on the Roof!

Posted by Site Webmaster on Friday, January 2, 2015, In : Our Lady's Promise 
By: Msgr. Charles Pope

When I was a young man, a teenager really, I did the usual crazy stuff of the early ’70s: long hair, bell bottoms, wide ties, crazy plaids, shirt open at least least three buttons, and, of course, rock-n-roll.

But through it all I had this love for older things. I think it had something to do with my grandmother, Nana, whom I loved with great affection. Often she lamented the loss of the old things and old ways. She missed the Latin Mass; she missed when manners w...


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