This Sunday, October 6th, we celebrate Respect Life Sunday. As Catholics, we are encouraged to promote the dignity of all human life from conception until natural death. We are called to promote the Gospel of Life, and protect and cherish the lives of the elderly, the physically and mentally challenged, and the unborn.  We should never forget that God is the Creator of all life, and all life is precious in His sight.

Pope Francis strongly criticized a “throwaway culture” that places too little value on human life. (Read more…)

Traditionally, October is the month when praying the rosary is emphasized. The Joyful, Sorrowful, Glorious, and Luminous mysteries of the rosary shed light upon the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus and the key role of Mary, His mother, in the story of salvation history.

The rosary is traditionally credited to St. Dominic (1170-1221 AD). According to legend, the Blessed Mother appeared to Dominic in a vision, handed him the rosary and asked him to spread the devotion. (Read more…)

Interview with God

I recently came upon this piece to share with you:

I dreamed I had an interview with God.

“So you would like to interview me?” God asked.

“If you have the time I said.”

“My time is eternity.” “What questions do you have in mind for me?”

“What surprises you most about humankind?”

God answered … “That they get bored with childhood. They rush to grow up and then long to be children again.”

“That they lose their health to make money and then lose their money to restore their health.”

“That by thinking anxiously about the future, they forget the present, such that they live in neither the present nor future.”

“That they live as if they will never die, and die as if they never lived.”

God’s hand took mine and we were silent for a while. (Read more…)

For many years now, the Church in the United States has designated the third weekend of September “Catechetical Sunday” to coincide with the beginning of the new School year. 

Here is a timely quote from the national catechetical office of the US Catholic Bishops on religious education:

Catechesis is a distinct and special ministry in the Church. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church makes clear, “Catechesis is intimately bound up with the whole of the Church’s life . (Read more…)

September 8th

We know that everyone has a birthday. The Bible doesn’t say anything about Mary’s birth, but we know that she was born. Like all parents, Mary’s parents —we call them Joachim and Ann — probably took one look at their newborn daughter and knew that she was special.

Joachim and Ann loved God very much, and they were filled with gratitude to God for the gift of a child.  They raised Mary as a child of God, teaching her to love and serve God. (Read more…)

This Monday we celebrate Labor Day and we honor all those who labor for a living. We thank them for their service to their families, and for their service to all those who benefit from their efforts. As we know, prayer and work go hand in hand. Therefore we are invited to pray in a special way for all laborers. We also pray for the unemployed and underemployed, and pray that more opportunities for gainful employment will materialize for those in need. (Read more…)