In this era when science is king, the world often tempts us to belittle the mysterious and miraculous aspects of our Christian faith. And yet, the mysteries and the miracles are still real.
Like a wise mother, the Church keeps us humble and reminds us that God is bigger than our limited human minds.
Today she gives us one of the biggest of those reminders, Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, Corpus Christi. More…
By Alison Batley
“I now receive you who are the price of my soul’s redemption, I receive you who are the food for my final journey, and for the love of whom I have studied, kept vigil, and struggled; indeed, it was you, Jesus, that I preached and you that I taught.” Thomas Aquinas as he received Viaticum, his last Eucharist
Alison Batley
An earnest probing of the human heart will find an internal longing for a desire that cannot be quenched by any earthly substance or worldly pleasure. As St. Augustine professes, “Our hearts are restless until we rest in You, Lord.” More…
Great crowds came to him… They all ate and were satisfied
The Gospel reading in today’s Mass illustrates why we have Advent: Christ comes to us, because we need Him. He comes to us in mysterious ways in which we are spiritually healed, nourished, and restored to new life in Him.
From today’s Gospel: More…
“How holy this feast in which Christ is our food; His passion is recalled; grace fills our hearts; and we receive a pledge of the glory to come” — Saint Thomas Aquinas
They said to him: “We have not but 5 loaves and 2 fishes… And they all ate and were satisfied…
The Catholic Herald published a great article about Pope Francis’s homily for the Feast of Corpus Christi. So good, I decided to post it here in full: More…
Jesus’s miracle at the wedding in Cana is the third epiphany in the of the trilogy of epiphanies: (1) the Visitation of the Magi; (2) the Lord’s Baptism; (3) the Miracle at Cana. During each of these epiphanies, God’s power is revealed in the person of Jesus Christ, whose actions are accompanied by miraculous signs, which point to our Lord as the Savior of all mankind.
These signs also hint at hidden mysteries of our faith. By contemplating these signs in our hearts in prayer, we can penetrate the depths of the mystery and strengthen our faith. More…
First Sunday of Advent Reflection
Image from the Deacon’s Bench: Click on image to read his homily for today
A friend asked me the other day why the Church no longer regards Advent as a penitential season, like Lent. “It still is a penitential season,” I told him, “but the focus of Advent is different than the focus of Lent.” More…
If you thought aggiornamento was gourmet fettucini with peas, think again.
If you thought aggiornamento meant ditching the religious habit, not so fast!
The source and summit of our faith
It is widely assumed that the main goal of the Second Vatican Council was liturgical reform. Although that supposition is not entirely true, it is not entirely false, either. As in all things, Context is key.
To be sure, the four main goals of the Council, namely: More…
There’s faith, there’s supernatural faith, and then there is the Mysterium Fidei — the Mystery of Faith.
They shall all be taught by God — Isaiah 54:13
The Gospel reading for tomorrow’s liturgy is about the demands of our faith in the Mystery of mysteries, the Mystery of our Faith, the Eucharist. What does it mean to believe with supernatural faith? More…
Fr Jason Smith, LC
In the year 1263 Fr Peter of Prague stopped at Bolsena to celebrate Mass while on his way to Rome. He is known to have been a good priest but not one without doubt in Christ’s true presence in the Eucharist.
After speaking the words of consecration, to his great surprise, blood began to seep from the consecrated host and trickle over his hands and onto the altar and the corporal. More…
Biltrix 