In his recent Apostolic Letter, Patris corde, Pope Francis told us, "God always finds a way to save us, provided we show the same creative courage as the carpenter of Nazareth, who was able to turn a problem into a possibility by trusting always in divine providence."...
Is it the End of the World as We Know It?
Soaring numbers of cases of coronavirus, conflicts, and so many other problems, should we wonder if this is the end of the world? In the presentation (available here) by scripture scholar, Sister Anna Marie McGuan, RSM, the question of the end times is explored...
The Pledge of Future Glory
"You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand…Unless I wash you, you have no part with me."[i] “Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come forth from God, and was going back to God, rose from...
Of Her was Born Jesus, Who is Called Christ
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.”[i] “For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on...
Awake, O Sleeper and Christ Will Shine on You
The Liturgies of Advent, including the music, ring with the theme of staying awaking and watchful, ever ready to respond to the voice of the Bridegroom who is coming. In 1731, Bach wrote this cantata for the Mass for the 27th Sunday after Trinity. The cantata has...
The Desire of the Ages
Come Lord and help your people, bought with the price of your own blood, and bring us with your saints to glory everlasting.[i] In our last post, we wrote about the importance of recovering the capacity to see. With the philosopher Josef Pieper we considered the...
Christ’s Coming in Our Time
“Because this coming lies between the other two, it is like a road on which we travel from the first coming to the last…” We glean this line from the Office of Readings for Wednesday from the first week of Advent. Saint Bernard speaks about the “three comings of...
Recovering the Ability to See
As human beings, all knowledge is received through our senses. These may be our external senses (sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch) or internal senses (imagination, memory, estimative power, or common sense, which “coordinates” the information).[i] We “know”...
What’s in a Name? Mary, Gate of Heaven and House of God
Titles of the Blessed Virgin Mary include such exalted words as Gate of Heaven, Ark of the Covenant, Seat of Wisdom, and others. Why use such titles to describe Mary? This is simply because she is the fairest of our human race, preserved from the first instant of...
And Now for the Good News
“And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet.”[i] Are you among those who think that things are bad and are only getting worse? Does it just seem that there is no good news to be had? ...