The Church Celebrates the Feast of the Holy Rosary During October

The Story of Our Lady of the Rosary Saint Pius V established this feast in 1573. The purpose was to thank God for the victory of Christians over the Turks at Lepanto—a victory attributed to the praying of the Rosary. Clement XI extended the feast to the universal Church in 1716. The development of the…

St. Bernard, Confessions, and God’s Will

This week in the Gospel we hear the Parable of the Prodigal Son. It allows us to reflect on the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Thus, let us look at The Stages of Contemplation. This is from a sermon from Saint Bernard, abbot. The abbot writes that availing ourselves of The Sacrament of Reconciliation is a good…

Pope Francis: Mission: The Guiding Principle

What does evangelization encompass according to Pope Francis? In “The Pastoral Conversion of the Parish Community,” Section IV, we read that it will be necessary to identify perspectives that allow for the renewal of “traditional” parish structures into a parish emphasis in terms of “mission.” The Holy Father provides a few places to examine. They…

Pope Francis: The Value of the Parish Today

How valuable is a parish today? The answer to that probably depends on what a parish is supposed to be. What is a parish supposed to do? Parishes that can answer those questions in the affirmative are more valuable to Jesus Christ and His mission. The parish remains an indispensable organism of primary importance. It…

Think of Christ Who Always Thinks of You

  The Internet is a great resource for statistics. There are more than 150 references to “love” included in the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. In his writings, Saint Francis de Sales encourages us to think of Christ and be conscious of the love with which our Lord suffered so much in this…