Archive | Meditation of the Week

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 […]

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 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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

Each Time we say “Jesus” it is an act of perfect love, for we offer to God the infinite love of Jesus. The Holy Name of Jesus saves us from innumerable evils and delivers us especially from the power of the devil, who is constantly seeking to do us harm. The Holy Name of Jesus […]

The Holy Name is something still greater! Each time we say “Jesus,” we give God infinite joy and glory, for we offer Him all infinite merits of the Passion and Death of Jesus Christ. St. Paul tells us that Jesus merited the name Jesus by His Passion and Death. Each time we say “Jesus,” let […]