Feast Day- May 17th St. Paschal Baylon, was a Franciscan lay brother and mystic. Born to a peasant family at Torre Hermosa, in Aragon, on Whitsunday, he was christened Pascua in honor of the feast. According to accounts of his early life, Paschal labored as a shepherd for his father, performed miracles, and was distinguished […]
Author Archive | Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament
Saint of the Week – St. Athanasius
St. Athanasius Feast Day- May 2nd St. Athanasius, also known as Athanasius the Great and Athanasius the Confessor, was a bishop and doctor of the church. He is called the “Father of Orthodoxy,” the “Pillar of the Church” and “Champion of Christ’s Divinity.” Athanasius became one of the most dedicated opponents of the heresy of […]
The Season of Lent – March 27
Lent and its Relationship to Baptism Originating in the first three centuries of the Christian era, Christians would prepare for Easter by spending three days in prayer while fasting. It would later become a three-week period of intense spiritual and liturgical preparation for catechumens that were seeking to be baptized at Easter. As Christianity became […]
The Season of Lent – March 20
Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are obligatory days of Fasting and Abstinence for Catholics. In addition, Fridays during Lent are obligatory days of Abstinence. For members of the Latin Catholic Church, the norms on Fasting are obligatory from age 18 until age 59. When Fasting, a person is permitted to eat one full meal, as […]
Saint of the Week – March 14
Saint Mathilda was born about 895, the daughter of a German count. When she was still quite young, her parents arranged her marriage to a nobleman named Henry. Soon after their marriage, Henry became king of Germany. As queen, Mathilda lived a simple lifestyle with times for daily prayer. Everyone who saw her realized how […]
Saint of the Week – March 8th – St. John of God
When St. John got an idea in his head, he acted on it in a big way. John stopped practicing his Christian faith during a stint with the military. Once he realized the sinfulness of his ways, he dedicated his life to serving God and traveled to Africa to free Christian captives and possibly become […]
Month of the Holy Family – February 27
The Holy Family observed the Jewish law in its perfection. A very interesting Jewish custom of prayer that must have been observed in the house at Nazareth was that of the Mezuzah, “the doorpost,” and the “phylacteries,” small square calfskin boxes with Scripture texts written on parchment inside them. On the doorpost of the house […]
Month of the Holy Family – February 20
The home of Nazareth is the school where we begin to understand the life of Jesus – the school of the Gospel. First, then, a lesson of silence. May esteem for silence, that admirable and indispensable condition of mind, revive in us…A lesson on family life. May Nazareth teach us what family life is, its […]
Month of the Holy Family – February 13
The special devotion which proposes the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph as the model of virtue of all Christian households began in the 17th century. It started almost in France – the Association of the Holy Family was founded by the Daughters of the Holy Family in Paris in 1674. This devotion soon […]
Month of the Passion of the Lord
As Lent approaches, it’s good to set our thoughts, prayers and hearts more firmly on our Lord’s Passion. Take time this month to meditate on Our Lord’s Passion. It will prepare you for Lent itself by instilling the proper inner atmosphere of acknowledgement, sorrow, and gratitude for this great gift. Really consider what our Lord […]
