Concluding Proverbs 31
Give her the fruits of her hands: let her works praise her in the gates. Proverbs 31:31 The Valiant woman strives to fulfill her God-given purpose of womanhood. She is Godly, hopeful, hardworking, honest, and generous, among many other excellent qualities. But after all that work, what is there in store for the Proverbs 31…
Christmas & Tradition: Thoughts on Hilaire Belloc’s “A Remaining Christmas” Part 2
One of the great tragedies of modern times is to think of tradition as something cumbersome, insensitive, or even oppressive—something that prevents each new generation from finding its fulfilment. Belloc would say this is a hasty misdiagnosis of the situation. Those who love tradition understand that it is not cold and heartless, but rather full…
Christmas & Tradition: Thoughts on Hilaire Belloc’s “A Remaining Christmas” Part 1.
I remember it well. The whole family is gathered together in the main room around a freshly cut evergreen. All eyes are on a single, towering shadow, silhouetted in the soft moonlight. Twinkling candles light the delighted faces of small children, waiting in hushed excitement. I draw in a deep, contented breath, for I too…
Mass and the Sacraments: Part 2, Baptism
Mighty is the water in the seas, yet it is too weak for atonement; the water of baptism alone is able to atone. St Ephraem the Syrian The Sacrament of Baptism is the most essential of all the sacraments because it is impossible to be saved, unless you have been baptized. In the Sacrament of…
The Mass and Sacraments Explained: Part 1
Without grace, it is impossible for man to obtain salvation. Therefore, the attainment of grace should be one of the most important goals in one’s life. The two ways for one to receive grace are through prayer and the sacraments. However, prayer obtains grace for man while the sacraments actually produce grace in him. This…
The Valiant Woman Speaks
“She hath opened her mouth in wisdom: and the law of clemency is on her tongue.” Prov. 31:26 Only once does Proverbs 31:10-31 mention the valiant woman speaking. Throughout the passage she is always described acting, doing, or being, but not talking. Then, finally, one sentence is dedicated to her speech. It is brief and…
Thomas More: A Saint for Today
“Behold I send you as sheep in the midst of wolves. Be ye therefore wise as serpents and simple as doves” (Matt. 10, 16). Saint Thomas More was an English gentleman who lived from 1478 to 1510 during the reign of King Henry VIII. Throughout his entire life he was a shining example of faithful…
Why Do We Need Divine Revelation?
Divine Revelation is the set of truths which God has revealed to us. God has given us the gift of reason, through which we can gain knowledge of many truths about Him. However, God wanted us to know more about Him than that which we could learn on our own, and thus, He taught us…
For Corpus Christi
The Anima Christi is one of my favorite Eucharistic prayers. I find it essentially sums up everything you could possibly ask Jesus while you have Him in your heart after receiving Him in Holy Communion, and it is excellent inspiration for mental prayer. Since today is the External Solemnity of the Feast of Corpus Christi,…
G. K. Chesterton’s “Lepanto”
“Lepanto”, a poem by G. K. Chesterton, is a dramatic and picturesque view of the Battle of Lepanto as seen through a poet’s eyes overlooking the medieval world at that time. It begins with a comparison of the states of the Christian and Muslim worlds. Islam is strong and unified, ready to engage the forces of the…
More on Proverbs 31: The Generous Woman
“She hath opened her hand to the needy, and stretched out her hands to the poor.” Prov. 31:20 Every verse in Proverbs 31:10-31 addresses a special quality of Godly womanhood. One verse, which we will focus on today (Prov. 31:20), is dedicated to generosity. Sacrifice is a key virtue in Catholicism, so it is only…
How Does David Foreshadow Christ?
David foreshadowed Christ many times throughout his life. Countless parallels can be drawn between the greatest king in the Old Testament and the truly greatest king in the New. Reflecting upon the parallels between Christ and David leads to a deeper understanding of the continuity of salvation history. David first enters the history of the…
Was Solomon a Good or Bad King?
King Solomon, the son of David, was the richest and most powerful king to ever govern Israel. He was given great wisdom by God, along with untold riches and power. He was also given the great privilege of building the magnificent Temple of the Lord which the Israelites would use for their religious worship and…
Christ’s 40 Day Fast
To Christ, death was the goal and fulfillment of His life, the gold that He was seeking. Few of His words or actions are intelligible without reference to His cross (20). Venerable Fulton Sheen, Life of Christ Christ’s entire life pointed to the cross. This was His purpose, and few indeed were any of His…
Ezra as a Type of Christ
Ezra, a priest and “scribe skilled in the law of Moses which the Lord the God of Israel had given” (Ezra 7:6), foreshadowed Christ in numerous ways by his character and by his actions. His greatest deeds were accomplished decades after the first Jews were allowed to return to Jerusalem from their foreign exile. The…
The Books of Maccabees
First and Second Maccabees are the two books of the Bible that cover the rebellion of Mattathias and his five sons, and especially the feats of Judas Maccabeus, the mightiest of his family and the most successful. The two books are not continuous, but focus on different aspects of the same story, using different styles. First…
Sirach and Proverbs – Guides to Sainthood
The books of Proverbs and Sirach give instruction on how to live righteously according to God’s Law. They are neither entirely religious or entirely secular, but are the perfect combination of both required for daily life. They are a mix of common sense and religious devotion, showing that the two are not in some way against each…
Dignity of the Unborn Child
Life begins at conception. Science has been able to pinpoint the exact moment when human life commences, and the biological facts are uncontested (George 196). When an embryo is formed it is a new, distinct, and living human being. It is not a part of the mother, although the child relies completely on the mother…
Living Proverbs 31: The Industrious Woman
“She hath sought wool and flax and hath wrought by the counsel of her hands. She is like a merchant’s ship: she bringeth her bread from afar. And she hath risen in the night and given a prey to her household and victuals to her maidens…with the fruit of her hands she hath planted a…
Pray for the Holy Souls in Purgatory
The Communion of Saints is the “union of the faithful on earth, the blessed in heaven, and the souls in Purgatory, with Christ as their Head” (Baltimore Catechism No. 2). Through it, we honor the saints, ask their intercession, and pray for one another. But how many of us really take time to pray for…
Beauty, Reverence, Stability – An Encounter With The Traditional Latin Mass
Sunlight pours through stained-glass windows. Incense rises from a smoking thurible. Chant echoes throughout the sacred space. Every Sunday I attend the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass in the Traditional Latin Rite of the Catholic Church; every Sunday, I find myself immersed in the beautiful traditions of my Faith. When I attended the Traditional Latin…
Applying Proverbs 31: The Hopeful Woman
Here is the next part in our Proverbs 31 series! If you have read the previous posts (find links to those at the end of this post) then you are ready to dive into this very meaningful portion of the Bible. Today, let’s look at one of the many attributes of the Proverbs 31 woman,…
A Prayer for the Unborn
“Before I formed thee in the bowels of thy mother, I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb, I sanctified thee…” (Jeremias 1:5). Every day babies are being aborted. These innocent little ones are being deprived of their right to life. I have for you today a prayer for the unborn,…
Approaching Proverbs 31: The Godly Woman
A while back, we made a post introducing Proverbs chapter 31 verses 10-31. For the first part of the series, let’s look at the most important attribute of the Catholic girl or woman: Godliness. “…The woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised.” Proverbs 31:30 Proverbs 31:30 in its full text reads, “Favour is…
The Most Precious Blood of Our Lord – Eucharistic Miracle Argentina 1996
Updated on June 14, 2021 At seven o’clock in the evening on August 18, 1996, an Argentinian priest was offering Holy Mass at a Catholic church in Buenos Aires. As he finished distributing Holy Communion, a woman approached the altar and told him she had found a discarded Sacred Host at the back of the church. When he arrived…
An Introduction to Proverbs 31
How many self-help guides are out there telling one how to “be you”? Girls, if you are looking for a guide to finding “who you really are” or rather who God calls you to be, try Proverbs 31:10-31! These twenty-one verses of the Old Testament are a collection of the attributes of the ideal woman…
The Current Crisis: A Divine Mercy
“There would not be so great ease in sinning today, if there would not also be such great ease in absolving.” – St Lenard of Port Maurice We have just celebrated the single most important feasts of the entire year: the Easter Triduum and Easter Sunday. Throughout this time, we reflected on the passion of…
Submitting to the Divine Interdict – Fiat!
“For no word shall be impossible with God.” When facing a crisis, we are often tempted to doubt God’s control over the situation. Events such as floods, tornadoes, earthquakes, and epidemics are beyond our own control, and because of this, we easily find ourselves worried about what the future will hold. The pandemic we are…
Suspension of Public Mass: The Divine Interdict
All public Masses are suspended until further notice. This authoritative mandate from our bishop has come to many of us as a surprise. In our diocese, this is the second Sunday that the faithful have been deprived the privilege of attending Mass and receiving Christ in the Holy Eucharist. Frequent reception of the sacraments, to…
President and Youth at March for Life Hopeful for America
On January 24th, people from all walks of life gathered in Washington D.C. for the 47th annual March for Life. This was my first time attending the event, and I found myself inspired by the enthusiasm, prayer, and peacefulness which seemed to surround both the marchers and the march itself. Many have called this year’s March…
Deus Vult 