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When I was growing up, my mother routinely asked me a question when I was walking out the door of our home. Whether it was to go to school, out with friends, to Mass, to run an errand, or to visit relatives, the question for years was always the same, “Do you have your rosary?”

Jesus knows that we need to be drawn into the glory and mystery of His Cross in many difficult and painful circumstances. That brings us to the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows, the Mother who stood at the foot of her Son’s Cross.  Jesus wants us to be united with the Cross as He tells us, “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Mt 16:24). He leaves nothing to chance in this invitation. He gives us His own Mother to show us the way.

The birth of Our Blessed Mother was like that moment on Cape Ann when I saw light breaking through the darkness.  Before the birth of Christ her Son, the brilliant Sun of Justice, Our Lady’s birth was that rosy streak of brightness that loudly proclaimed to all, “The Son, true God and true man, is on His way, the glory of His love and mercy will shine upon all!”  Her birth was the dawn coming into a world of darkness and into lives of longing for God’s presence.

The Church always has tremendous care for the lives of our families. We always look to Jesus, Mary and Joseph for help and hope, especially when families find themselves in times of darkness and desperation.

My father gave me good advice—life will not be easy, but it is worth living.  Jesus gives us the best advice—we must live our life for Him above all and see with the eyes of faith that He is truly present with us, most especially in the Holy Eucharist.

​​​​​​​I find it amazing that God so loves us that He sends His own Mother to draw us ever closer to Jesus.  Every apparition of Our Lady that is approved by the Church always emphasizes what Our Lord teaches us in the Gospel. They are like “snapshots of the Gospel.”

It seemed that during my childhood and early adulthood, “missle-lock” was a horrifying part of daily language.  I still shudder when I think of it.              I also knew another kind of “missal-lock” that had nothing to do with death but rather with life: eternal life. 

God gave them a sign that could be seen and scientifically examined.  To those who do not believe, no explanation is possible.  To those who do believe, no explanation is necessary.

We just need a Eucharistic Revival.  We need to have our eyes opened to see who is right before us.  We need to see with the eyes of renewed faith who can revive us - Jesus Christ alive and in our midst, dwelling in our tabernacles and coming upon our altars.  He is the Eucharistic Revival that we sorely need!

Just recently, Our Holy Father Pope Francis has declared that the fourth Sunday of July each year would be a World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly.  That Sunday has been chosen because of its proximity to the Feast of Sts. Joachim and Anne, the grandparents of Jesus

That beautiful Mother clothed in a large Scapular always holds in her outstretched hand a small Scapular for her children – all of us.  It is a real gesture of comfort and love.

On July 4th, when our minds and hearts were turned to the beginnings of our nation, the Church commemorated a holy individual who has been beatified and someday soon may be canonized.  Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati is a shining example for our own times.

Have you ever noticed that some very important things may never be reported on the news or come across our radar as Catholics? Here is an example...

As I knelt in prayer my eyes were drawn to the Body of Christ on the Cross and my heart was stirred to think about “the three bodies” so important in the Church today.

Especially on those days when nothing is going right, when someone attacks us with unkind words or throws a wrench into our plans, we might feel worthless and beat up.  We might even imagine that no one loves or cares about us.  All we need do is to see his Sacred Heart before us.

The Visitation of Our Lady is really a marvelous encounter that has great importance for each one of us today.  Read some important points to consider.

Through our own sufferings in life, we all have stood at the foot of the cross.  How comforting it is for us to know that Jesus sees us in our pain and sorrow and says to Our Lady, “Look at your children standing here. They need you.”

I was a freshman in high school when a book fell out of the arms of one of my classmates as we walked to our next class.  It was a small book with a blue cover. As it hit the floor,  I read the title: The Crusade of Fatima.

“Totally yours” are two words of a prayer of consecration to Jesus through Mary by St. Louis de Montfort that describes a profound and intimate relationship.

In May, the Church asks us to turn again in a special way to Our Mother Mary and contemplate her role in the mystery of her Son Jesus and in our own lives.  This year our Holy Father Pope Francis is giving us a tremendous gift in an initiative that he is promoting during this time of the Coronavirus pandemic.