Category: The Redeemer, Mary, & You

In our novena prayers, we continually call on Mary to help us in our temptations and when we sin. However, Mary not only gives us the grace to overcome our temptations, but she can also save us from the loneliness that comes after we sin. She is there for us,...

When we think of humility, what comes to mind? Meekness, lowliness, selflessness? With so much focus on pride, the road to humility is not in clear view. However, one could say we are entering the season of humility with the coming of Advent and Christmas.  The Blessed Virgin Mary became...

I enjoy shopping for gifts. However, I wouldn’t say I like buying any readily available, reasonably priced gift or a standard item on every gift list, like a pen, book, or a popular CD. I prefer to take my time, looking for something I believe the recipient would need or...

My reflection is based on a portion of John’s Gospel. Mary, the sorrowful mother, stands beneath the cross of her Son as the dying Jesus calls to her: “Woman!” Of course, this is not the first time that Scripture quotes him speaking to his mother. When the wine runs out...

As we make our way through Lent and prepare for Easter, our Lord gives us a glorious opportunity to reset and repurpose our lives. Now is the time to cleanse and renew. Now is the time to revive ourselves in the holy Eucharist. We are in the midst of a...

In the Old Testament’s Second Book of Maccabees, there is an account of high priest Eleazar’s final words before his death. In his bold profession of faith, he reveals the mystery at work in the heart of every martyr: “I am not only enduring terrible pain in my body…but also...

Let’s make a pledge to pray for change in the hearts and minds of those who would willfully destroy the sanctity and dignity of human life. Our prayers may help lost souls living among us. Christ and the saints teach us that every soul is worth saving for the Kingdom...

One of my favorite memories is walking in the park with my mother. They were quite ordinary walks, but as the ninth child of ten it felt extraordinary to have my mother all to myself. What I recall is how my mother would look at me, listening to what I...

This month, we Catholics commemorate the Exaltation of the Holy Cross and Our Lady of Sorrows on back-to-back days, September 14 and 15. What can we glean from the feast and the memorial, respectively, while also enduring sufferings in our society and our world? Through Jesus and Mary, we see...

The word mother can evoke many ideas and images. When we think of Mary, the Mother of God, we may picture a passive, quiet woman. Most artistic depictions of the annunciation illustrate her reflexively saying yes to God in accepting the angel’s invitation to be the mother of Jesus. When...

We are in the season of renewal. Watching nature unfold and come to life in the sunlight is a lovely reminder that we too are called to experience a beautiful rebirth. As long as we remain in the light of the Holy Trinity, we will not perish from sin. Do...

There’s a moment in our lives when we are faced with the question: Is it worth it to love another person? When we are young, it seems falling in love is easy. There is romantic love to discover, new friends to make who seem to offer us something new and...

As we commence our forty days of prayers, fasting, and almsgiving in March, we will also commemorate the feast of St. Joseph (March 19) and the Annunciation of the Lord (March 25). With these solemnities, we see what it means to exercise our faith in body, mind, heart, and soul,...

February is a strange month. It’s not quite winter and not quite spring. The Christmas season concluded early last month and Lent begins in early March. We find ourselves in an in-between phase. When we gaze upon the icon of Our Mother of Perpetual Help, we are also caught up...

“No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” The words of Jesus in the Gospel of John 15:13 When we attend Mass, Christ lays down his life for us by way of the holy Eucharist. Christ mystically renews his death and sheds his...

Imagine being present during the visit between the Blessed Virgin and her cousin Elizabeth. When Mary’s greeting reached her cousin, the baby in her womb leapt with joy and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. At the visitation, Mary shares the greatest gift of God’s love. “For the first...

Spectacular apparitions of Mary that occurred nearly a century apart had strikingly similar characteristics—primarily silence and light. They conveyed messages of great import for people at the time and for humanity today. Some readers may recall learning about the second appearances when they took place. They happened a little more...

Sometimes I think of our Blessed Mother’s plea to people to amend their lives. Then I think about the miracle of the sun that occurred in Fatima, Portugal, on October 13, 1917. Could the miracle have been greater? Yet, “a lack of faith can diminish God’s miraculous power,” warns Fr....

The story of a necklace many Catholics wear begins with an apparition of our Blessed Mother to a young nun. Nearly 200 years ago, a young nun named Catherine Labouré experienced an apparition from our Blessed Mother resulting in the casting of medals that have enriched and benefited Catholics worldwide....

Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect. Romans 12:2 The changes we have experienced over these many months have been mind-boggling. The coronavirus, the ...