Freedom and the Cross

"Just as the Lamb had to be killed to be raised upon the throne of glory, so the path to glory leads through suffering and the cross for everyone chosen to attend the marriage supper of the Lamb. All who want to be married to the Lamb must allow themselves to be fastened to the cross with Him. Everyone marked by the blood of the Lamb is called to this, and that means all the baptized. But not everyone understands the call and follows it...

Children of this world say they are free when they are not subject to another's will, when no one stops them from satisfying their wishes and inclinations. For this dream of freedom, they engage in bloody battles and sacrifice life and limb. The children of God see freedom as something else. They want to be unhindered in following the Spirit of God; and they know that the greatest hindrances do not come from without, but lie within us ourselves."

 ~St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein)

Happy Solemnity of St. Joseph!

"Though you have recourse to many saints as your intercessors, go especially to St. Joseph, for he has great power." ~St. Teresa of Avila

Archbishop Fulton Sheen on St. Therese

Part I:

“How are we going to live in these troubled times? There’s really only one answer. We have to become saints…so here we have the dilemma, that we have to become saints to be happy, and yet how be one? Well, the Church has given us a saint for our times, and that is, the picture of this young nun, St. Therese, who gave us a way, first of all, that is very simple…she really had two rules. One was never to seek the satisfaction of the self, and secondly, to do everything, to bear everything, out of love for our Lord…the method of the little flower was to integrate sanctity with what we are doing….a saint is one who makes Christ loveable…it does not require much time to make a saint, it requires only, much love.”
~Archbishop Fulton Sheen

Part II:

Bl. Mother Theresa: God's Mercy

Back to the Basics: Fr. Barron on Lent

From One of the Greats on President's Day

"America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves."


"Don't interfere with anything in the Constitution. That must be maintained, for it is the only safeguard of our liberties."


"Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves."


"The people will save their government, if the government itself will allow them."


"I have always found that mercy bears richer fruits than strict justice."


"Am I not destroying my enemies when I make friends of them?"


"In the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years."


"Marriage is neither heaven nor hell, it is simply purgatory."


"With the fearful strain that is on me night and day, if I did not laugh I should die"


"Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God's side, for God is always right."


"I remember my mother's prayers and they have always followed me. They have clung to me all my life."


 ~ Abraham Lincoln ~

Someone Worth Dying For

Break From the Usual: A Good Point About Our Nation's Idea of "Work"

Feast of the Baptism of the Lord

This is what John the Baptist proclaimed: "One mightier than I is coming after me. I am not worthy to stoop and loosen the thongs of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."

It happened in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized in the Jordan by John. On coming up out of the water he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit, like a dove, descending upon him. And a voice came from the heavens, "You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased."
~Mark 1:7-11

Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming

"A child is born to us, a son is given us;
upon his shoulder dominion rests.
They name him Wonder-Counselor, God-Hero,
Father-Forever, Prince of Peace."
~Isaiah 9:5


In honor of the last Christmas Weekday. Hymn for Morning Prayer. Enjoy.

A rose has sprung up,
from a tender root.
As the old ones sang to us,
Its lineage was from Jesse.
And it has brought forth a floweret
In the middle of the cold winter
Well at half the night.

The rosebud that I mean,
Of which Isaiah told
Is Mary, the pure,
Who brought us the floweret.
At God’s immortal word,
She has borne a child
Remaining a pure maid.

The floweret, so small
That smells so sweet to us
With its clear light
Dispels the darkness.
True man and true God!
He helps us from all trouble,
Saves us from sin and death.

*And here is the original in German, and here are the lyrics.

Archbishop Dolan will be a Cardinal!

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"Behold I Make All Things New..."

"Behold I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert." 
~Isaiah 43:19