Spiritual Communion is a practice among Christians of desiring union with Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist as a response to God’s own desire for union. It is used as a preparation for Holy Mass, and also by individuals who cannot receive Holy Communion Sacramentally (e.g. a state of being bedridden, absence of a priest/minister, severe illness). The value of a Spiritual Communion well done is great. We can and we must make a Spiritual Communion often. This is a very simple act. It is done simply by thinking of Jesus and His great Love for you, and in our[…]

The Annunciation, also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary or Annunciation of the Lord, is the Christian celebration of the announcement by the angel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary that she would conceive and become the mother of Jesus, the Son of God, marking his Incarnation. Gabriel told Mary to name her son Jesus, meaning “Saviour”. It is one of the twelve Great Feasts of the church year.  Many Christians observe this event with the Feast of the Annunciation on 25 March, nine full months before Christmas, the birthday of Jesus. Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope[…]

First Station: Jesus Condemned to DeathMark 15: 1-15 Second Station: Jesus Carries His CrossJohn 19: 13-17, John 19: 5 Third Station: Our Lord Falls the First TimeIsaiah 53: 4-7, John 1: 29 Fourth Station: Jesus Meets His MotherLuke 2: 25-40, Lamentations 1: 12, John 19: 26-27 Fifth Station: Simon the Cyrenean Helps Jesus Carry His CrossMark 15: 21, Mark 8: 34, 2 Timothy 2: 3 Sixth Station: Veronica Wipes the Face of JesusIsaiah 53: 2-3, Matthew 25: 40 Seventh Station: The Second Fall of JesusPsalm 38: 6-22, Isaiah 63: 9 Eighth Station: Jesus Consoles the Women of JerusalemLuke 23: 27-31, Matthew 7: 21[…]

The 1917 Catholic Encyclopedia explains: “The purpose of their introduction, besides the general one intended by all prayer and fasting, was to thank God for the gifts of nature, to teach men to make use of them in moderation, and to assist the needy. The immediate occasion was the practice of the heathens of Rome. The Romans were originally given to agriculture, and their native gods belonged to the same class. At the beginning of the time for seeding and harvesting religious ceremonies were performed to implore the help of their deities: in June for a bountiful harvest, in September[…]

O sorrowful Mother Mary, thou art great and sublime in Thy deep sorrow; for it has its source in the holy and ardent love of Thy Heart which knew no other love than the love of God. Ah, my beloved Mother, this love is so wanting in me. I would so gladly be attached with the most perfect love to Thy Divine Son, our Supreme Good. I thank thee sincerely for the exalted example of the love of God which Thou hast given me in Thy unutterable sorrow; but the mere example will not be sufficient for me to attain[…]

At very turning of history God raises great saints in order to strengthen the supernatural hold over souls exercised by the Church in virtue of her divine mission. The Roman Empire had crumbled down and the Barbarian has invaded whole Europe. Then appeared Benedict as chief of the monks of the West. Benedict was born in central Italy, about the year 480, when the civilized world was being overrun by pagan and heretical tribes. As a young man, he withdrew to the mountainous region of Subiaco to live there as a hermit. Soon many disciples followed him. Later, St. Benedict[…]

An extract from the Catholic Classic: The Spiritual Combat by Fr. Dom Lorenzo Scupoli. Although a real communion is at the oftenest restrained to once a day, yet you are at liberty, as was said above, to communicate in spirit every hour; and nothing but your own negligence can prevent your receiving this great benefit. And it is worth observing, that a spiritual communion is sometimes of greater advantage to the soul, and more acceptable to God, than many sacramental communions performed with little preparation and affection. When, therefore, you are disposed to receive the Son of God spiritually, be[…]

September 24 – The Feast of Our Lady of Ransom (Nuestra Señora de la Merced) is a Roman Catholic liturgical Marian feast. This feast was extended to the whole Church in thanksgiving to the Blessed Virgin, for having in the thirteenth century inspired St. Peter Nolasco and St. Raymond of Pennafort to found a religious order for the release of Christians captured by the Saracens. The Mercedarians vowed to give themselves up as hostages for the imprisoned Christians when ransom and military means failed. Their heroism saved countless souls from apostasy and despair. Today, in our world, there are Christians being[…]

Our Lady of Sorrows Rosary. Prayers in Honor of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary BeginningWhen starting the Rosary of Sorrows, after the sign of the cross, we do not recite the “Creed,” but immediately say the following prayer: Introductory prayerMy God, I offer you this Rosary in honour of the seven principal Sorrows of Mary, for your greatest glory, for my conversion and that of all people through your beloved Son, Jesus Christ, our salvation and our unique way to come to you, in union with the Holy Ghost for ever and ever. Amen! Act of contritionMy[…]