Jesus’ arrival on a donkey represents the first stark contrast to worldly grandeur. Whereas kings arrived in fine horses, Jesus rode into the city upon a humble beast of burden. Like the donkey, Christ is the bearer of burdens and wishes only to serve for the glory of God. He arrived in a manner that did not elevate Him above His followers but marked Him as being among them.

Put it all together, Christ’s triumphal arrival in Jerusalem really emphasizes His title as the Prince of Peace. With only a donkey for a mount, palm fronds for banners and an entourage of laypeople, Jesus was proclaimed a King by all those who have heard of Him. The story of Palm Sunday demonstrates the sharp contrast between the Kingdom of Heaven with the warring, conquering kingdoms on earth.

From the time of the Babylonians, the Romans and all the way to modern times, people have sadly chosen to glorify violence and warfare as a means to expand their worldly kingdoms. As Christians, we are called by Jesus to take the radically counterintuitive approach and embrace peace whenever possible.

“But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you,” - Matthew 5:44

This is further highlighted when you realize that the same people who hailed Jesus’ arrival could very well be among those who joined in the Sanhedrin’s condemnation of Him. Yet true to His Word, Jesus did not call His disciples to cut them down. As He had told Peter:

“Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its sheath, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword.” - Matthew 26: 52

One of the most important lessons in Lent (and in Christianity as a whole) was that Christ did not come to the world to establish an earthly kingdom. He came to the world as a sacrifice for the salvation of us all. In principle, it was the complete opposite of the ethos of many ancient emperors and rulers, who built their kingdoms based on conquest.

As Christians, use Palm Sunday as an opportunity to celebrate peace instead of building up earthly kingdoms through conflict. The symbols of Christ’s triumphal arrival in Jerusalem can serve as your guide.

HOLY WEEK – Questions to think about

1. Do I present myself like I’m on a war horse?

Do you go about with your head held a little too high? Remember the lesson on humility from Christ’s choice of a steed. Like Christ, we are here on this earth to serve not ourselves but God and His Glory. Jesus was the ultimate model of servanthood and presented Himself as such to disciples and sinners alike.

2. Do I announce and parade my intentions and achievements?

The banners of conquerors were often meant to both intimidate their enemies and indicate their intentions to take over. This is another habit of pride and is really not very Christ-like. This goes even for spiritual pride, when we use items like the palm branch as if to brag about our religion instead of reflecting upon its meaning. Use Palm Sunday as an opportunity to focus on God rather than parading yourself.

3. Do I use others as accessories to my pride?

If there is one thing Christ never did but conquerors always do, it is using others as tools for their ambition. How do you see your fellow human beings? Do you see them as the people that they truly are, or are they merely like a standing army for you to use for the sake of intimidation? The Christian path to peace is not merely a path against aggression but the aggressive use of people as if they were only pawns.

Basil was born to a wealthy family in Cappadocia in 329. Noted for their piety, his parents were Basil the Elder and Emmelia of Caesarea. Basil and his four siblings were raised by his maternal grandmother, Macrina, who was a follower of Gregory Thaumaturgus, a Christian bishop and saint who founded the church of Neocaesarea. Macrina’s husband was a Christian martyr who was sentenced to death before Emperor Constantine I’s conversion.

Basil was formally educated in Caesarea Mazaca in Cappadocia from 351-356. It was here that he met Gregory of Nazianzus, his lifelong friend who became the Archbishop of Constantinople. Basil and Gregory traveled to Constantinople to continue their studies and spent about six years in Athens.

After leaving Athens in 357, Basil traveled across Egypt and Syria before returning to Caesarea to practice law and teach rhetoric for about one year.

In 358 Basil brought together a group of disciples that shared his views including his own brother, Peter. Together they established a monastic settlement on his family’s estate near Annesi. Soon his widowed mother, sister and other women joined the religious settlement and they committed themselves to a life of prayer and charity.

It was during his time at the monastic settlement that Basil started writing about monastic communal life. His work was a significant influence in the monastic traditions of the Eastern Church. He also collaborated with Gregory Nazianzus on “Origen’s Philocalia,” a collection of the works of the Greek scholar, ascetic and theologian Origen.

Basil later attended the Council of Constantinople. He first sided wtih Eustathius and the homoiousians, a semi-Arian group that taught that Jesus was of “like” substance of the Father, neither the same nor different from him. Later on, he left the homoiousian and became one of the most passionate supporters of the Nicene Creed.

One of Basil’s most notable accomplishments was the Basiliad, a huge complex outside Caesarea, which housed a hospice, hospital and a poorhouse. The Eastern Roman Emperor Valens himself donated some land for the building of this structure.

St. Basil the Great suffered from liver disease which had been aggravated by his excessive ascetic practices. The exact date of his death is unknown.

St. Basil helped promote the moderation of austere practices which had previously defined monastic life. He is also credited for helping promote the balance between work and prayer.

Saint Basil the Great is considered very influential in the history of Christian liturgy. Although it is not clear which parts of the Divine Liturgies credited to him are actually his work, it is accepted that a vast corpus of prayers that he created has survived in different churches in Eastern Christianity. 

Saint Cecilia lived in the 3rd century A.D. in the Roman Empire. She was born to a noble family in Rome. Despite taking a personal vow of chastity, her parents married her off to a young pagan nobleman named Valerian. In response to this, she wore sackcloth and underwent fasting. She also invoked the saints and angels and asked them to guard her purity.

Before the marriage was consummated, Saint Cecilia told Valerian about her vow of virginity and that she had an angel watching over her. The angel would punish him if he sexually violated her. When Valerian asked to see this angel, Saint Cecilia told him that he would first need to travel to the third milestone on the Appian Way and be baptized by Pope Urbanus.

When Valerian’s brother, Tibertius, found out about the angel, he also asked to be baptized. Both brothers devoted their lives giving proper burials to the saints who were persecuted and killed by the prefect of their city, Turcius Almachius.

Valerian and Tibertius were eventually arrested for their subversive activities and brought before Turcius Almachius. He ordered them to make a sacrifice to the pagan gods but they refused and for this they were executed.

Ministry and Martyrdom

When the city prefect found out about this, he sent an executioner to cut off her head. The executioner struck Saint Cecilia three times but was unable to decapitate her. Saint Cecilia was left bleeding and she lived for three more days.

During the final three days of her life, Saint Cecilia continued to preach or offer her prayers to the crowds who had gathered around her. On the third day, she passed away and was buried by Pope Urban and his deacons.

Saint Cecilia was buried at the Catacombs of St. Callistus. Her remains were later transferred to the Church of Santa Cecilia in Trastevere. Her namesake church is reportedly built on the site of the house where she lived. When church officials exhumed her body in 1599 they found her to be incorrupt.

Saint Cecilia gained many followers during the Middle Ages in Europe. Songs, poetry and works of art were created in her honor.

Many music festivals and concerts are held around the world in Saint Cecilia’s honor. The first one took place in 1570 Évreux in Normandy and her feast day is well known to be an occasion for concerts and music festivals.

 Aside from festivals, many music-related places and things show reverence to Saint Cecilia. For example, one of the oldest musical institutions in the world, the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome, is named after her. 

The word Cecyliada which refers to the festival of sacred, choral and contemporary music held in Police, Poland, is derived from her name. The famous luthier Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume also named a line of violin and viola St. Cecile.

The Sisters of Saint Cecilia are religious sisters who shear wool used to make the palliums of new metropolitan archbishops. The Pope himself blesses the lambs used to produce the wool every January 21. The Pope gives the pallia to the new metropolitan archbishops during the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul every June 29.

Has Saint Cecilia made an impact on your life? Tell us how!

Saint Albert the Great was born some time before the year 1200 in Lauingen, a town in Southern Germany. The son of a military lord in the army of Emperor Frederick II, Albert was educated at the University of Padua where he learned about the philosopher Aristotle and his writings. The teachings of Aristotle would also become the foundation of Albert’s later work.

Around 1223, Albert chose to join the Dominican Order after a miraculous encounter with the Blessed Virgin Mary. He also pursued studies in theology excelling as a student. He later became a lecturer, first he taught the Dominicans at Cologne and then he traveled around the region to teach. He became well known as a lecturer not just in the region but internationally.

During the time that Albert started lecturing he also produced “Summa de Bono,” a collaboration he had with renowned French theologian Phillip the Chancellor. Albert didn’t just stop at being a lecturer, though. Albert became a master of theology under the guidance of Gueruc of Saint-Quentin, becoming the first German Dominican to achieve this title.

Saint Albert the Great taught theology at the University of Paris as a full-time professor. He also became the Chair of Theology at the College of St. James. The renowned philosopher, priest and theologian Thomas Aquinas was one of his students. 

Saint Albert the Great was appointed bishop of Regensburg by Pope Alexander IV in 1260. During the course of his duties, he became well known for his humility which he demonstrated in various ways. For example, he refused to ride a horse when traversing his huge diocese and instead chose to travel on foot. This earned him the affectionate name of “Boots the Bishop” from his parishioners.

In 1263, Pope Urban IV relieved Albert of his bishop duties and tasked him with preaching the eighth Crusade in German-speaking countries. He then became well known for acting as a mediator between conflicting parties. One of his notable efforts as a mediator was in 1258 when he brought an end to the conflict between the people of Cologne and the archbishop.

The writings of Saint Albert the Great, which reached 38 volumes, show his vast knowledge on a variety of subjects including logic, theology, botany, astronomy, mineralogy, alchemy, zoology, physiology, phrenology, law and geography.

Aside from his own writings, Saint Albert the Great also became the first to comment on the writings of Aristotle which made the ancient Greek philosopher ’s body of work more accessible to academic debate. In fact he was responsible for preserving and presenting most modern knowledge of Aristotle.

Albert’s principal theological works are a commentary in three volumes on the Books of the Sentences of Peter Lombard and the Summa Theologiae in two volumes. He also wrote treatises on the natural sciences.

Albert also built a reputation as a scientist. While in Cologne, he performed experiments in chemistry and physics in a makeshift laboratory. He accumulated a collection of plants, insects and chemical compounds.

Through his scientific work, Saint Albert the Great demonstrated that all creation pointed toward God and that even the tiniest bit of scientific knowledge revealed something about Him. 

Saint Albert the Great was beatified in 1622. On December 16, 1931, he was canonized and proclaimed a Doctor of the Church. He is the patron saint of natural sciences, philosophers, scientists, students and medical technicians.

Purgatory is one of the distinguishable doctrines of the Catholic Faith. You’ve probably  heard at Mass or read in Catholic Faith books that purgatory is one of the places one goes after death.

The purification process is important because nothing unclean is permitted to enter the presence of God in heaven. Although our mortal sins are forgiven when we die, many other impurities can still exist in us like venial sins. In other words, one needs to undergo the purification in purgatory in order to achieve holiness that is necessary to enter the joy of heaven.

Only those who died in a state of grace but who have not yet fulfilled the temporal punishment because of their sin can be in purgatory. Therefore, purgatory is a temporary state and no one staying there will remain there forever nor will they go to hell.

 According to Catholic Faith teachings, the actions of the faithful living on earth affect the fate of those in purgatory. We can help those in purgatory by offering prayers of suffrage, almsgiving, works of penance and indulgences.

An indulgence can either be partial or plenary. It is partial if it removes only part of the temporal punishment due to sin, or plenary if it removes all punishment.

You can gain indulgences for yourself or for the dearly departed but you cannot gain an indulgence for another living person.

Partial Indulgence (For yourself or departed souls)

Today, a partial indulgence is obtained whenever we think pious thoughts, pray, do good works, etc. A person can receive partial indulgences several times a day.

Plenary Indulgence (Departed souls only)

*If you attempt to receive a plenary indulgence, but are unable to meet the last condition, a partial indulgence is received instead.

​

Special October / November Indulgences

Pentecost Sunday / Last Sunday in October:

• Publicly pray the prayer Act of Consecration of the Human Race to the Sacred Heart on the Feast of Christ the

November 2nd / All Souls Day:

• Visit a church, a public or chapel and pray the Our Father and the Creed (applicable only to the Souls in Purgatory)

November 1st through November 8th:

Visit to a cemetery with a prayer, even if only mental, for the departed souls

Remember! It is official church doctrine that the faithful can and should try to receive all of the indulgences in this life that they can, because they will mitigate and maybe eliminate a lot of pain and suffering of purgatory.

All Saints Day is a Catholic Holy Day of Obligation which means that all of us who are members of the Catholic Faith are required to attend Mass on this day unless we have a good reason to be excused such as illness. Aside from going to church, there are many other Catholic traditions that we can practice to celebrate All Saints Day. Here are eight ways that we can commemorate this meaningful occasion. 

There are many Catholic books narrating the lives of saints. You can make this activity into a family affair and have everyone share their thoughts and realizations about what they have read.

The Feast of All Saints is beautiful because it reminds us that we have saints in heaven who are praying for us and looking out for our welfare. Prayer is an important part of our Catholic Faith and asking the saints to intercede on our behalf makes it even more powerful.

Spend time during this special day to reflect upon your current struggles and concerns and then ask your chosen saint to intercede for you. You can also ask your loved ones and family to join you in prayer. 

All Saints Day should be meaningful to us as individual Christians and as members of God’s family. Make this feast day more memorable for you and the important people in your life by hosting an All Saint Day get-together. Pray before and after this special event. Include a special portion in which you can deepen your understanding about what it means to be a saint for example watch a movie or documentary that tackles this subject or read a Catholic book together.

Your All Saints Day get-together can be a simple lunch or an elaborate dinner party. The important thing is that you and your family share this special occasion together and learn something from it. 

Make your pumpkin-carving activity more relevant to its religious roots by using Christian symbols and themes. Instead of just going with the usual spooky pumpkin face, encourage participants to carve a cross, the ikthus shape, the Holy Trinity and other religious symbols on the pumpkin. 

Gift-giving is a great way to express our love and affection toward the people close to us during special occasions. Remind your family and friends about All Saints Day by giving them a gift that captures them of the meaning of this day. Your gift doesn’t have to be grand or expensive, a simple one that serves as a beautiful reminder about what it means to be a saint should be enough.

Some gift ideas for All Saints Day include books about the lives of Saints, a Bible, medals that feature the saints and prayer cards. 

It is important to always make the Word of God a part of our daily lives and more so during Catholic holidays like All Saints Day. Start this day right by meditation upon the Word of God, giving special attention to Bible verses that talk about what it means to be a saint. 

Here are some passages from Scripture to get you started:

Do you have any special plans for All Saints Day?

On October 28, we celebrate the feast day of St. Jude Thaddeus, the patron saint of lost causes, desperate situations, hospitals and Armenia. In time for this occasion, let us reflect upon his life and legacy and look for lessons that we can apply in our walk of faith.

Not much is known about St. Jude Thaddeus and his name is mentioned only a limited number of times in the New Testament. He is described by Matthew in the gospels as one of the “brethren” of Jesus, most likely his cousin. The Epistle of Jude mentions that it is written by Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James.

St. Jude Thaddeus is also known as Judas or Judas Thaddeus and for this he is often mistaken to be Judas Iscariot, the apostle who betrayed Jesus before he was crucified. Because of this some translators of the New Testament used the name Jude in order to distinguish him from Judas. He is also known by other names including Jude of James, Jude the brother of James and Lebbaeus.

St. Jude Thaddeus was born to Mary who is the cousin of Jesus’ own mother, Mary. His father Cleophas, was the brother of St. Joseph. St. Jude was married and had at least one child. There are references about him having grandchildren who lived as late as 95 A.D.

As one of the twelve apostles of Jesus, St. Jude Thaddeus preached the good news of Jesus throughout Galilee, Samaria and Judea. In 37 A.D., he traveled to Mesopotamia which is known today as Iraq. There he became a leader of the Church of the East, a church that St. Thomas founded.

St. Jude Thaddeus also journeyed across Libya, Turkey, Persia and Mesopotamia with St. Simon. Together they preached the good news and led many people to Christianity. He is often credited as having helped start the Armenian Church and other congregations outside the Roman Empire.

In 60 A.D., St. Jude wrote a letter to newly converted Christians in the Eastern Church who were suffering persecution. In his letter he warned them to be careful of the false teachers of the current day who were spreading wrong teachings about Christianity. He encouraged them to keep persevering and to stand firm in their faith in the midst of the harsh realities that they were facing.

In spite of the widespread persecutions of Christians during his time, St. Jude Thaddeus stood by his beliefs and ultimately paid the price for his faith. He is believed to have been martyred either in Persia or Syria sometime in 65 A.D. In religious art, he is often shown holding an axe or club which symbolizes the way he was martyred.

After his death, the apostle’s body was transported to Rome and placed in a crypt under St. Peter’s Basilica. Today his bones are kept in the left transept of St. Peter’s Basilica, under the main altar of St. Joseph, in one tomb that holds the remains of the apostle Simon the Zealot.

To this day, many devotees visit the site as a sign of respect and admiration. Because of his steadfast faith, St. Jude Thaddeus is invoked as the patron saint of hopeless cases and desperate situations.

Abgar’s great faith impressed Jesus so much that he pressed his face into a cloth so that it could be taken to the king. He gave the cloth to St. Jude so that he could hand it over to Abgar. When the king saw Jesus’ image he was immediately cured from leprosy. He then converted to Christianity and the majority of the people under his rule followed.

The cloth that miraculously healed King Abgar is known today as the the Image of Edessa. This holy relic is all association with the world-renowned Shroud of Jesus which is currently on display in Turn, Italy.

Aside from the Image of Edessa, some portrayals of St. Jude Thaddeus also show him with a flame around his head which is symbolic of his presence at Pentecost in which he received the Holy Spirit together with the other apostles. He is also depicted holding an axe or club, a reminder of his martyrdom and other items such as a scroll or book symbolizing the Epistle of Jude or a carpenter’s rule.

Have you asked Saint Jude for his intercession? Has his life inspired you to be a better Christian? 

The Rosary is taken from the Latin word “rosarium” which means “crown of roses” or “garland of roses.” To us members of the Catholic Faith, the Rosary is a form of prayer that we use along with its namesake prayer beads. When referring to the prayer, the word Rosary is usually capitalized and when talking about the beads, the lower-case form is used.

Devotion to the Rosary is one of the most distinguishable features of popular Catholic spirituality. The Rosary inspires us to meditate on the mysteries of the lives of Jesus and Mary. Meditation is an important of our lives as Catholics. According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, meditation “engages thought, imagination, emotion and desire. This mobilization of faculties is necessary in order to deepen our convictions of faith, prompt the conversion of our heart and strengthen our will to follow Christ.”

The Rosary is a devotion in honor of the Virgin Mary. It is made up of a set number of prayers. At the start of the Rosary are the introductory prayers which are composed of one Apostle’s Creed, one Our Father, three Hail Mary’s and one Glory Be.

In the 16th century, Pope Pius V established the standard fifteen Mysteries of the Rosaries which are grouped into three, the Joyful Mysteries, the Sorrowful Mysteries and the Glorious Mysteries. In 2002, Pope John Paul II added a set of five to the existing fifteen mysteries and these became known as the Luminous Mysteries. Today, the total number of mysteries is twenty. 

The Luminous Mysteries include the Baptism of Jesus in the Jordan, the Wedding at Cana, Jesus’ Proclamation of the Kingdom of God, the Transfiguration and the Institution of the Eucharist.

Through Mary, we are led to a closer relationship with her son, Jesus. The Rosary is an invitation for us to present our needs to God and to love Him more. When we recite the twelve prayers that form the decade of the rosary, we need to deeply reflect on the mystery associated with that decade. Simple recitation, whether vocally or in silence, is not enough because we miss the true essence of the prayers.

Praying the Rosary therefore is not just simply about reciting prayers. It involves reflecting on the grace of God. Praying is a powerful act that lets us develop and strengthen our relationship with God and the Rosary offers the same beautiful reward. By praying the Rosary, we meditate on the events in the life of Jesus Christ and this lets us know God more.

When we are unaware of the meditation aspect of the Rosary, we reduce the prayer to an empty, repetitive and meaningless gesture. In Matthew 6:7, Jesus Christ forbids us to practice prayer in meaningless and repetitive babbles. It is precisely the reflective nature of the Rosary that distinguishes it as a powerful and profound way of praying.

Rosaries are not just beads or a prayer that we recite during the month of October. Many spiritual battles have been won because of this symbolic act. Many hearts have been touched and many discouraged people have been uplifted because of the Rosary.

How do you plan to celebrate the month of Rosary? What is the significance of the Rosary in your personal life? How did it strengthen you in your walk of faith?

The Early Life of St. Teresa of Calcutta

St. Teresa of Calcutta was born on August 26, 1910 in Skopje which is now the capital of the Republic of Macedonia. The youngest child of Nikola and Drane Bojaxhiu, she was named Gonxha Agnes at birth. Her name, Gonxha, means “rosebud” or “little flower” in Albanian.

St. Teresa’s father died in 1919 when she was only 8 years old and this left their family in financial straits. Their mother raised the family in a firm yet loving household which would significantly shape St. Teresa’s outlook and, later, her vocation.

From an early age, St. Teresa became interested in the stories of missionaries and their ministry in Bengal. At 12 years old she was deeply moved to devote herself to a religious life and this conviction was later reinforced when she prayed at the shrine of the Black Madonna of Vitina-Letnice.

St. Teresa’s Life as a Teacher

St. Teresa of Calcutta joined the Sisters of Loreto at Loreto Abbey in Rathfarnham, Ireland, at the age of 18. She wanted to learn English so she could become a missionary in India as this was the language of instruction used by the Sisters of Loreto in the region. She would not see her mother and sister again.

In 1929, St. Teresa arrived in India and began her novitiate in Darjeeling, in the lower Himalayas. It was here that she learned Bengali and started teaching at St. Teresa’s School near the convent. She took her first religious vows on May 24, 1931 and chose to be named after Therese de Lisieux, the patron saint of missionaries. A nun in the convent had already taken the name Therese so she chose the Spanish spelling, Teresa.

On May 14, 1937, St. Teresa took her first solemn vows. She had started teaching at Loreto Convent School in Entally in Eastern Calcutta, a vocation that would last for almost two decades.

St. Teresa loved her role as a teacher, serving with a joyful spirit, courage and unselfishness. However, she was increasingly shaken by the poverty that afflicted Calcutta. Furthermore, when the Bengal famine of 1943 broke out, she witnessed widespread death and suffering in the city.

The Call Within a Call

On September 10, 1946, St. Teresa traveled from Calcutta to Darjeeling for her yearly retreat. During the train ride, she felt a deep longing to help the poor and the needy, an experience she described as a “call within a call.” Jesus sparked a fire in her heart to help those who were less fortunate.

St. Teresa of Calcutta began her missionary work in 1948. She adopted Indian citizenship and stayed in Patna for several months. There she immersed herself in the harsh realities and undertook basic medical training at Holy Family Hospital. St. Teresa would wash the sores of sick children, care for a sick old man lying on the road and nurse a woman sick of tuberculosis and malnutrition.

Before attending to the needs of the less fortunate, St. Teresa founded a school in Motijhil, Kolkata. A group of young women would join her at the start of 1949 and she would begin the first steps in establishing a new religious community which focused in giving support to the “poorest among the poor.”

The new congregation of the Missionaries of Charity officially began in the Archdiocese of Calcutta on October 7, 1950. The congregation would, in St. Teresa’s own words, care for “the hungry, the crippled, the blind, the lepers, all those people who feel unwanted, unloved, uncared for throughout society, people that have become a burden to the society and are shunned by everyone.”

What began as a small group of only 13 members transformed into an extraordinary community. By 1997, the congregation was made up of 4,000 sisters who looked after orphanages, hospices and charity centers around the globe.

St. Teresa’s exemplary work would soon capture the attention of the world. Numerous support and recognition for her work began to pour in. She received the Indian Padmashhri Award in 1962 and the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979. More media groups followed her activities which she humbly performed “for the glory of God and in the name of the poor.”

The Final Years of Sta. Teresa’s Life

She would finally resign on March 13, 1997 and died on September 5 that same year. Even though St. Teresa’s earthly journey has ended, her legacy and inspiring story continue to shine as a beacon of light even in the darkest places on earth. The government of India gave St. Teresa a state funeral and her body was buried in the Mother House of the Missionaries of Charity. Today, her resting place draws in many people of all religions, races and economic backgrounds, all of them seeking inspiration and hope in her life and story.

St. Teresa of Calcutta is a mother to the poor and an enduring symbol of compassion and inspiration in a world in need of light.

Sainthood for Mother Teresa

On September 4th, 2016, Pope Francis declared Mother Teresa a saint. In his homily, Pope Francis reminded the world of the power of her life's work “Mother Teresa, in all aspects of her life, was a generous dispenser of divine mercy, making herself available for everyone through her welcome and defense of human life, those unborn and those abandoned and discarded.”
 
Saint Mother Teresa is the patron saint of World Youth Day, Missionaries of Charity.

How has her story touched you?

The Early Life and Education of St. John Marie Vianney

St. John Marie Vianney was born on May 8, 1786 in the French town of Dardilly, France. He was the fourth child in a humble family of six children born to Matthieu Vianney and his wife, Marie. The Vianneys were devout followers of the Catholic Faith and helped the needy. Marie was responsible for leading St. Vianney into the religious life.

The turbulence of the French Revolution marked St. Vianney’s childhood. The anticlerical zeitgeist of the times made it a dangerous time for religious people and many priests were forced into hiding. They conducted their ministry in secret, risking their lives in the process. 

St. Vianney was canonized in 1925 by Pope Pius XI and was made the patron saint of parish priests. His feast day was added to the General Roman Calendar to be celebrated on August 9. This date was later moved to August 4, the day of his death.

The life and vocation of St. John Marie Vianney shows us the importance of our role in the spiritual transformation of our communities. St. Vianney was able to transcend over his limitations and humble beginnings to become an exemplary priest who changed his town and even the world. 

Every July 31, we commemorate the feast day of St. Ignatius of Loyola, the patron saint of the society of Jesus, soldiers, educators and education. In time for this celebration, let us look back to his story and find inspiration in it.

What part of the story of Saint Ignatius de Loyola touched you the most?

Which of his qualities do you admire the most?

"Where I try to raise my thoughts to heaven, there is such convicting emptiness that those very thoughts return like sharp knives and hurt my very soul. Love — the word — it brings nothing. I am told God lives in me — and yet the reality of darkness and coldness and emptiness is so great that nothing touches my soul."

1. It's Weaponized

2. It's About Relationship

When you are cementing a friendship or falling in love, investing time in the relationship is the only way to get it off the ground. The same applies to getting to know God. Why would we want to spend eternity with Someone we ignored during our entire earthly lives?

This time together allowed the children to see how their beloved dad labored, allowed Dad to see his children learn and work together, and gave dad and kids the opportunity to create something meaningful together.

This example of a human father warmly inviting his children to spend time with him reminds us of our Heavenly Father always seeking and beckoning His children to spend time with Him.

4. It Improves Focus

The Deceiver loves nothing more than our frenetic pace, perpetual distraction, and dopamine highs because they relegate prayer to the bottom of the barrel.  We need silence to hear God's voice speaking in our hearts, and we require quietness to wholeheartedly funnel our thoughts toward the Lord. Remember Mother Teresa's simple summation of the domino effect of silence:

"The fruit of Silence is prayer. 

The fruit of Prayer is faith.

The fruit of Faith is love.

The fruit of Love is service.

The fruit of Service is peace."

How do we attain that first step, silence, in a world that won't stop talking? Carve it out and create it. Find a time of day which is most conducive to a tiny retreat into peace and block out all electronics and distractions.

At first, it may seem disconcerting. You may feel fidgety, as though you should be doing something or looking at something. But as you build the habit, you will find yourself craving that time alone with God. A vital component of any conversation is silence. If we jabber throughout prayer, when does He have a chance to get a word in edgewise?

Be a good conversationalist and allow the Lord time and space to reply. Our Lord Himself instructs us,

Robert Cardinal Sarah's compelling new book, The Power of Silence: Against the Dictatorship of Noise, will alert you to the internal and external noise in your life and will motivate you to gain control over your focus and your priorities.

Simply put, Jesus didn't recommend that we pray.

He didn't suggest that we pray.

He clearly instructed us to pray and even helpfully provided us the perfect prayer, the Our Father. Not only did Jesus tell us how to pray, He modeled it by living constantly in deep communication with The Father. You can take the first step to a powerful prayer life with the "Jesus prayer":

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

Start now!

What Does the Blood of Jesus Represent?

realizing that you were ransomed from your futile conduct, handed on by your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold but with the precious blood of Christ as of a spotless unblemished lamb. - 1 Peter 1:18-19

The blood of Jesus is mentioned many times in the Bible and it manifests in many traditions in the Catholic Faith such as in transubstantiation of the bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ during the celebration of the Eucharist. There are many symbols and meanings associated with the blood of Jesus and one of them is redemption.

All this sounds hopeless and depressing but this only makes Jesus Christ’s sacrifice more meaningful. Jesus was sent to the cross in order to take our place. As Catholics, we therefore look upon the blood of Jesus as a symbol of our redemption from the wages of sin.

How Do Catholics Celebrate the Feast of the Most Precious Blood of Jesus?

Catholic doctrine teaches us that the blood of Jesus Christ is part of His sacred humanity. His humanity and blood are worthy of our adoration because these unites Jesus with the Divine Word. We venerate the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Wounds of Our Lord for these same reasons.

​Pope Francis' ecumenical program of outreach to encourage church diversity has included an invitation to Hereford Cathedral Choir to make history by being the first Anglican choir to sing at a Papal Mass since the English Reformation in the 16th century.  The choir performed alongside the choir of the Sistene Chapel at Saint Peter's Basilica on June 27th, 2018.  The event is part of the ​program leading up to the Holy Mass held on June 29th, 2018 for the feast day of Apostles Saint Peter and Saint Paul.  The Holy Mass ​was one of the biggest events of the year at the Vatican and the choir also performed there in Saint Peter's Square.

​We're extremely fortunate to have a behind the scenes look through amazing photographs taken by Tenor Choral Scholar Mark Murphy Laseter, who has kindly given us permission to profile them. Mark will shortly be moving on to study for his Masters in Sacred Music at the University of Notre Dame.

​Mark was fortunate enough to capture wonderful photographs of His Holiness Pope Francis before he led the Holy Mass at Saint Peter's Square, The Vatican.

​You can ​watch the entire Holy Mass in Saint Peter's square for the Apostles Saint Peter and Saint Paul held on June 29th, 2018, courtesy of the Vatican.

​The transcript of the homily of His Holiness Pope Francis at the Holy Mass and Blessing of the Sacred Pallium for the New Metropolitan Archbishops on the solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles​.

View homily

​All photographs reproduced by kind permission of Mark Murphy Laseter.

​Statement by Hereford Cathedral - Official Hereford Cathedral visit statement and Choir Perform For The Pope

​News article by BBC News - BBC News report about Hereford Cathedral Choir visit to Rome

What food did Almighty God provide for them every morning? Bread.

What did Christ multiply for the hungry crowds who had gathered to hear Him teach? Bread.

Jesus's Shocking Truth - Bread is the Staple of Life

Following the multiplication of the loaves and fishes in the Gospel of John is one of the most flabbergasting passages in the Bible, especially when studied through the eyes of a first century Jew. The Gospels portray Jesus as a pull-no-punches straight shooter, and His use of the phrase "Amen, amen" is always a red flag to carefully heed the Truth He is about to reveal. Jesus, preaching in a synagogue, makes a jaw-dropping claim, choosing this basic staple of life - bread - to demonstrate how He nourishes us for eternity:

Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died; this is the bread that comes down from heaven so that one may eat it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.”

The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us [his] flesh to eat?”

Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me.  This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever.” 

These things he said while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.

Then many of his disciples who were listening said, “This saying is hard; who can accept it?"

Since Jesus knew that his disciples were murmuring about this, he said to them, “Does this shock you?" (John 6:47-61)

Bishop Robert Barron and others, when commenting on this discourse, have highlighted that the original Greek word used for "eat" in the passage literally means "gnaw," so the Jews listening to Jesus make this claim were likely rather revolted.

Why? Isn't Jesus just speaking metaphorically?

No. The Jewish audience clearly understood that Jesus's words were 100% literal. He wasn't employing allegory, metaphor, or spiritual symbolism. He unabashedly meant that they must gnaw on His flesh to have life within them. The Jews in the synagogue at that moment - Scriptural experts and followers of Jesus - understood the implications of His words and rejected this teaching as too difficult to accept.

As St. John Chrysostom (Doctor of the Eucharist) reminds us, "You may not doubt the truth of this; you must rather accept the Savior's words in faith; since He is truth, He does not tell lies."

Words Matter

Consider the exegesis of these Church Fathers on the transubstantiation from bread to Body:

But when words pour forth from the lips of Jesus, they ARE Truth.

They are the PERFECT words.

They ARE power.

As Catholics, we, like the first century Jews, wholly believe Jesus when He said: This is My Body. This is My Blood. Simply by uttering the words, Jesus makes it so. Only God Himself can transform the substance of simple bread into His very Body. Only God can transfer that authority down through each of His priests so that He can feed us 2000 years later.

Jesus requires us to celebrate and re-present His sacrifice as often as possible in this unbloodied form so that He can feed us throughout time ("Do this in memory of Me."). Jesus did not mean to feed his Apostles only once at the Last Supper, but desires to satisfy our eternal craving with His Body, from generation to generation.

Jesus expressed His deep longing to feed the physically hungry in His midst with simple bread while He walked the earth, but even deeper is His desire to continually feed our souls and His Church and to save us through true Communion with Him: consuming and becoming one with Him through the Bread of Life.

These gifts serve as a wonderful reminder of the beauty of the Holy Eucharist.

Holiness Through Ordinary Life

The Life of Saint Josemaria Escriva

As he walked his path to heaven, Josemaria felt the Lord strongly directing him toward encouraging sanctity in everyone, in his or her own state in life. Like another modern saint, St. Teresa of Calcutta, who advocated 'Doing small things with great love,' Fr. Escriva also promoted the perspective that each one of us, regardless of our vocation, can devote our daily duties and sufferings to God, and that is each person's conduit to holiness. We can't get to heaven by following the path laid out for someone else; we must walk – no, embrace! – the path put before us by the Lord. 

The organization had expanded to 80 countries by the time St. Josemaria died in 1975 and has reached 90,000 members today, a tribute to the desire of people to live their Catholic faith fully intertwined with every aspect of their lives. The Opus Dei website describes what it means to strive for sanctity through one's daily work:

It means working like Jesus Christ – working hard and well, honestly, and fairly, in order to love and serve God and other people. People who do that are making their work holy and helping to sanctify the world from the inside. They are making the Gospel present in all their activities, whether brilliant or humble and hidden. In God’s eyes, what matters is the love people put into their work, not its success in terms of money or fame.

Virtues Embodied by Our Saint

Notable leaders must have clear vision, and as founder and leader of this worldwide spiritual organization, St. Josemaria exercised his charisma and energy for God's glory, building this movement one person at a time. 

How Can You Sanctify Your Life?

St. Josemaria and Opus Dei have one goal: to help you become a saint. 

Not through missionary trips halfway across the world. Not through massive charitable donations and selling the clothes off your children's backs. Not through quitting your day job to become a hermit. 

He calls you to unite your interior life with your secular life, to break down the wall between your daily tasks and your prayer life. There is an appealing practicality to this approach. 

God does not require us to abandon our work or our families to find Him; rather, we find Him in the MIDST of work and family. St. Paul exhorts us to 'Pray without ceasing,' and St. Josemaria offers us a way to pragmatically find a way to do just that as we fulfill our quotidian tasks. 

Comment on this post by sharing with others your seemingly mundane tasks that turn into moments of holiness. Is it when you garden, wash the dishes, walk the dog?

Seek Him in the simplest of things!

These products will serve as daily reminders to uplift your perspective on daily life:

Saint Josemaria Escriva Medal

Saint Josemaria Escriva Rosary Heirloom Squared Crucifix