The following was originally given as part of a lecture series on the history and theology of the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in Baltimore, Maryland to the Cathedral parish. It has been slightly modified by the author for … [Read more...]
Draw Near to Christ through Our Lady and the Saints
How is it possible to grow close to God, even very close? What’s the best way to climb the steep stairway of perfection? St. Thérèse of Lisieux has some wonderful advice for us on these questions in her autobiography, The Story of a Sou … [Read more...]
Questions Answered – July 2024
June 28, 2024 by Rev. John P. Cush, STD
How Do Sacraments Work? Question from the Reader: What does sacramental causality mean? My parish priest mentioned this concept in our adult education class on the sacraments and never explained it. Can you help me understand it? Answer … [Read more...]
“Reading” a Marian Eucharistic Icon
Scripturally, Theologically, and Liturgically
May 26, 2023 by Fr. Stanley Smolenski, SPMA
This icon has a double appellation. The first is that of place, Our Lady of Connecticut, because its basic symbols are derived from the state’s shield and motto. Its second designation is that of grace, Virgin Mother of the Holy Vine, from w … [Read more...]
In Memoriam: Fr. Fred Miller
October 27, 2022 by Rev. Brian X. Needles
Rev. Frederick L. Miller, a beloved priest of the Archdiocese of Newark, passed away suddenly and unexpectedly on September 28, 2022. He was the Spiritual Director of St. Andrew’s Hall College Seminary and Adjunct Professor of Systematic T … [Read more...]
Doing the Works of Mercy with Mary, Mother of Mercy
July 15, 2021 by Louise Merrie
Although I have had a relationship with Mary since I was a child and had been praying the Rosary since my early twenties, I developed a closer relationship with Mary as a mother and came to understand her as the Mother of Mercy because of … [Read more...]
The Mystery of Miscarriage
Mary, Joseph, and the Theology of Pre-Natal Life
June 3, 2021 by Julia Hejduk
The deepest truth about the human person is contained in the words “Our Father.” Enfolded in this sublime opening to the Lord’s Prayer is God’s loving provision for and delight in each one of us; our connection to Jesus and to one another as … [Read more...]
The Biblical Mariology of Pope Benedict XVI, Part II
Blessed Is She
June 3, 2021 by Marcus Benedict Peter
In the first part of this article, I demonstrated how Pope Benedict XVI, erudite biblical theologian that he is, grounds his Mariology in an ardent love of Sacred Scripture. In this article, the second of the two parts, I will demonstrate … [Read more...]
The Biblical Mariology of Pope Benedict XVI, Part 1
Hail, Full of Grace
May 20, 2021 by Marcus Benedict Peter
“The unique and unrepeatable position that Mary occupies in the Community of Believers . . . stems from her fundamental vocation to being Mother of the Redeemer. Precisely as such, Mary is also Mother of the Mystical Body of Christ, which i … [Read more...]
Mother Church, Tota Pulchra
A Call for Ecclesial Communities
May 20, 2021 by Samantha Mattheiss
In the Gospel of John, we read “Neque vocem ejus umquam audistis, neque speciem ejus visistis” (John 5:37), or “Neither have you heard His voice, nor seen his ‘speciem.’” “Speciem” is defined as “visual appearance . . . splendour, beauty, vi … [Read more...]
Mother of the Little Bright Lights of the World
Her History and Spirituality
May 7, 2021 by Fr. Stanley Smolenski, SPMA
At Medjugorje, Our Lady said that she was completing there what she began at Fatima. Surprisingly, my story follows that same way. This story begins simply at Fatima in 2001 and proceeds to Medjugorje in 2017. In July 2001, I went on a … [Read more...]
Book Reviews – April 2021
April 9, 2021 by Book Reviews
The Sacraments: Discovering the Treasures of Divine Life. By Rev. Matthew Kauth. Reviewed by Aaron Martin. (skip to review) Telling Stories That Matter: Memoirs and Essays. By Marvin R. O’Connell. Reviewed by Christopher Siuzdak. (skip t … [Read more...]
A Shepherd’s Experience Leading His Flock in a Consecration to Jesus through Mary
March 12, 2021 by Bishop John Keenan
A chance stop at the Children’s Rosary booth in the Conference Centre of the World Meeting of Families in Dublin 2018 brought me my first encounter with what would become my diocesan-led Child Consecration: To Jesus through Mary. After a c … [Read more...]
“I Am The Immaculate Conception”
November 13, 2020 by Carolyn Humphreys, OCDS
In his classic and inspirational book The Song of Bernadette, a novel based on the true story of Mary’s apparitions and miracle at Lourdes, France, Franz Werfel wrote, “Then at last she revealed the most important happening of the day, whi … [Read more...]
The Sweetness of Fatima
January 18, 2020 by Keith Berube
Catholics begin a new liturgical year by starting with a pregnant Virgin Mother in Advent, and we start a new chronological year by invoking her once again — the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. If God “started” with Mary, why shouldn’t we? … [Read more...]
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