When we are unable to receive Holy Communion sacramentally, we may still make an act of Spiritual Communion. Saint Thomas describes this as 'an ardent desire to receive Jesus in the Holy Sacrament, and a loving embrace as though we had already received Him.' The prayers given below are one way of expressing this desire. The Confiteor I [...]
"Honour thy father and thy mother." In the practice of our religion our blood family has first call on our commitment, but not in an absolute or unqualified way. There is a danger of making a false god out of family life, thinking that the immediate family is all that matters. We can be so self-engrossed in our own natural [...]
Some saints stand alone. We appreciate their heroism without reference to their antecedents. Think of St Teresa of Calcutta. We recall her loving care for the poorest of the poor before we remember that she was Albanian. Or Padre Pio. We remember that he was a mystic and a stigmatist before we think of which branch of the Franciscans [...]
The Blessed Virgin Mary is personally involved in the unfolding of God’s plans for every single human soul. The Almighty has chosen to involve her in everything to do with the salvation of the human race. Our blessed Lady's ongoing role in the economy of redemption was one of the reasons she was taken to heaven at the end [...]
In the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost Spirit we are given a glimpse of God's plans for humanity's future. Part of that plan is the merciful reversal of the tragic diversity of human tongues, that curse imposed by heaven when human pride attempted to construct the tower of Babel. At Pentecost, that curse is reversed, and the healing [...]
May 26th is the feast of our Holy Father Saint Philip, Apostle of Rome and Founder of the Congregation of the Oratory. On that day in 1595 his soul left this world and was taken to heaven. While still a layman Philip had a life-changing experience in the Roman catacombs. In 1544 on the vigil of Pentecost he was alone [...]
"…the Divine Baptism, wherewith God visits us, penetrates through our whole soul and body. It leaves no part of us uncleansed, unsanctified. It claims the whole man for God. ….Thus the heart of every Christian ought to represent in miniature the Catholic Church, since one Spirit makes both the whole Church and every member of it to be His [...]
The Blessed Virgin Mary and St Joseph her spouse most chaste presented the Son of God in the Jewish temple. In thanksgiving they offered a blood sacrifice of two pigeons. With that modest offering the entire sacrificial cultus of the Jewish temple was brought to its proper conclusion, truly speaking. Messiah, the Desire of all nations, had finally come to His [...]
Before the start of what we call ‘time’, the reason, the meaning, and the power behind everything that exists were already fully there, and always had been. God was there from before all beginnings. His Mind is the source of everything that has ever been created. No single thing that exists has any meaning outside of the meaning that [...]
All human souls born into this world are images of God. Unfortunately they all arrive partially spoiled – except for one. There is one reflection of Himself into which God has poured all His artistry, and which He has not allowed to be damaged in any way. In the Blessed Virgin Mary, God shows us what Eve was before [...]