It's Thanksgiving. We Catholics don’t say nearly often enough that everyone’s welcome at Mass, says Chris Sparks. It's time to ask ourselves: Who do we know who, if we asked them right now, would gladly attend Mass with us? Who do we know who probably doesn’t attend Mass because they’ve been made to feel unwelcome?
A new weekly web series on Fridays by Fr. Thaddaeus Lancton, MIC, introduces us to the meditations for Sundays by the Marian Founder. The goal is to allow Jesus to gaze into your heart and teach you self-examination, leading you to a more fruitful reception of Holy Communion at Sunday Mass, where there is a true encounter of our hearts with His Sacred Heart.
Saint Cecilia's feast on Nov. 22 is a good day to reflect on what music is and does - particularly sacred music.
On Nov. 21, the Feast of Mary’s Presentation in the Temple, let us remember to call upon the Blessed Virgin in all our needs, strive to imitate her evangelical virtues, and follow her example of complete trust and surrender to God.
"Ask 'why' long enough and you would come to the original 'why' for the first thing’s existence," Br. Josh, MIC, discovers. "This is Professor Plato’s 'ultimate goal.'"
St. Margaret, Queen of Scotland (feast day: Nov. 16) was a beloved figure, wise, virtuous, benevolent, and pious; a mother of eight, including a future king and saint; a ruler who cared for the poor and launched an ecclesiastical reform that led to wider practice of the Catholic faith.
The title of our province is the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Mercy, whose feast day is Nov. 16. That title for Mary is also known by the alternative names: Our Lady of Vilnius, Ostra Brama (Polish) or Ausris Vrtai (Lithuanian). The full title is “Our Lady of Mercy of the Dawn Gate.”
From St. Albert the Great (feast day: Nov. 15), we learn the importance of being relentless in our pursuit of the truth and our holy obligation to share that truth with others.
May we be men and women of great prayer and service, as St. Martin of Tours was, whose feast we celebrate Nov. 11 - coincidentally, Veterans Day.
Saint Leo the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church (feast day: Nov. 10), boldly faced down Attila the Hun and his troops as they prepared to sack Rome in 452 A.D.
"If I enjoy the sight of a beautiful landscape, that gives me happiness," Br. Josh, MIC, learns. "If my mind arrives at a truth, this gives happiness.”
