Known and beloved as the "Golden Sequence," the Veni Sancte Spiritus is a beautiful, powerful prayer to the Holy Spirit that dates back to the thirteenth century. It is attributed to the Archbishop of Canterbury, Cardinal Stephen Langton. In 1570, this "sequence"...
The celebration of Pentecost reminds us of our need for the Holy Spirit. How often do you pray to and invite the Holy Spirit into your life? Jesus left us with the Advocate to help us grow in holiness, but many of us don't understand how to incorporate this aspect of...
It’s time to celebrate our Church’s birthday, the day of the Descent of the Holy Spirit (See Acts 2:1-22; 1 Corinthians 12:3-13; John 10:19-23)! We celebrate Pentecost this Sunday! After Jesus’ Resurrection and Ascension, He did not leave us alone. He founded the...
One of the best ways to enrich your experience Mass is to pray the Mass Readings personally and to meditate on a Gospel reflection. A great way of doing this is using the technique of Lectio Divina, a powerful method which we explain here. John 20: 19-23 On the...
In today's Gospel reflection, Father Ian VanHeusen presents a spiritual exercise based on Acts 2:1-11. St. Ignatius of Loyola explains, “By the term “Spiritual Exercises” is meant every method of examination of conscience, of meditation, of contemplation, of vocal and...
The Feast of Mary Help of Christians is celebrated every May 24. We often hear of the invocation “Help of Christians” in the Litany of Loreto, but how did it start and flourish? What To Know About The Feast Of Our Lady Help Of Christians 1. The Battle of Lepanto It...
A reading from the holy Gospel according to John 20:1-9 On the first day of the week, Remember, before Christianity, Sunday was the first day of the work week. Imagine that you are like the disciples, concerned about the Lord, but all around you everyone is going...
The Gospel of Matthew gives emphasis to St. Joseph, for it is through him that the legal, filial line passed from King David to Jesus. The following are virtues we all stand to learn from St. Joseph. St. Joseph's Silence If we look at Sacred Scripture, there is not...
Today we celebrate the Feast of St. Francis. Among many other wonderful things, St. Francis was known for his love of animals and uncanny ability to connect with them. It is said that he treated animals with the utmost respect, love, and care. Legend has...
The Assumption of Mary's body and soul into Heaven, celebrated on August 15th, is one of the dogmas of the Church. A dogma is a belief held by all Catholics. Yet, there is no mention of Mary’s Assumption in Sacred Scripture. How then, did we come to...
Today, August 5th, the Church celebrates the feast of the Dedication of St. Mary Major, which is also sometimes referred to as Our Lady of the Snows. So why is there a feast involving snow (in the Northern Hemisphere) in August? Read on to find out! 1. St. Mary Major...
This week the Church has been in the midst of World Youth Day (WYD)! World Youth Day was established because of the creative genius of St. John Paul II. His unique ability to perceive the needs of young people led him to invent this unique way of...
June is one of those months that seems to fly by due to graduations, weddings, and the beginning of summer. If you've missed your chance to reflect on the Sacred Heart of Jesus during this month that is devoted to it, I encourage you to try to set aside just a few...
One of the best ways to enrich your faith-life is to pray with scripture. A great way of doing this is using the "Lectio Divina"; this is a powerful method which we explain here. We hope that it serves you in your personal prayer and that it serves as a resource that...
One of the best ways to enrich your experience at Sunday Mass is to pray the gospel reading personally. A great way of doing this is using the "Lectio Divina"; this is a powerful method which we explain here. The following is the Sunday gospel reading...
A highly creative piece, Andrei Rublev's Troitsa (Russian for Triune or Trinity) hails from the summit of a more-than-thousand-year-old iconographic tradition. As you might have surmised, it is a Trinitarian interpretation of Gen 18:1-16, the episode in which "three...
One of the best ways to enrich your experience at Sunday Mass is to pray the gospel reading personally. A great way of doing this is using the "Lectio Divina"; this is a powerful method which we explain here. The following is the Sunday gospel reading with a...
In college, I had the pleasure of taking a sacraments course with Dr. Scott Hahn, which was equal parts awe-inspiring and overwhelming. For starters, the man is practically a living encyclopedia when it comes to the Catholic faith, so notetaking in his class was...
I was excited to see that ‘The Wild Goose’ is inviting everyone to join them in a worldwide prayer vigil for Pentecost. If you don’t already know, ‘The Wild Goose’ is an online series, created in partnership between Fr. Dave Pivonka and 4pm Media. (You can see our...
While we often hear a lot about the popular culture that surrounds St. Patrick's Day, many of us are quite ignorant when it comes to the man himself. To put it simply, we do not call him "Saint" for nothing; the man's faith was truly impressive: “For by decent I was a...
Perhaps the way to become better acquainted with these Magi and to understand their desire to let themselves be guided by God’s signs is to pause to consider what they find on their journey, in the great city of Jerusalem.First of all they met King Herod. He was...
It can be difficult to extend the invitation to a neighbor or friend to join us at Mass for Christmas, but statistics show that 82% of people who do not go to Church are somewhat likely to attend if invited. This should give us the courage to be bold in our faith and...
In times when many world leaders seem to be indifferent or opposed to the Christian way of life, it is vital that we remember who truly is king, who truly reigns over our societies and our lives. This is an excellent moment to reflect on this, as we will be...
Advent: ’Tis the season to string up Christmas lights, decorate the tree, plan out party menus, and buy gifts at shopping centers where it’s close to impossible to find parking. Ladies and gentlemen, the Christmas season is in full effect…and it’s only November!...
How often do you take the time to reflect on the blessing it is to be gifted with an angel to guide us and guard us? As children many of us prayed The Guardian Angel prayer, but as adults we tend to forget the importance and power that the angels can have in our...
