Fresco in the Church of Saint Nicholas in Valencia, of Saint Maria Goretti (1890 – 1902)
If we could have traveled to a poor sharecropping farm in central Italy early in the 20th century, we would have seen a humble building – formerly a cheese factory – sheltering two families of tenant farmers.
“The heart that resembles that of Christ more than any other is without a doubt the Heart of Mary, His Immaculate Mother, and for this very reason the liturgy holds them up together for our veneration” (Pope Benedict XVI).
Saint Anthony of Padua (1195 – 1231), whose feast we celebrate on June 13th, enjoys popular renown, of course, as the patron saint of finding lost articles. Two lesser-known facts about him, however, are that he was Portuguese and not Italian by birth, and that he began his life in religion as an Augustinian, not as a Franciscan friar.
“When they entered the city, they went to the upper room where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. All these devoted themselves with one accord to prayer, together with some women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers” (Acts 1:13 – 14).
by Kathleen Beckman
She, who at the start of the Redemption gave us her Son, now by her most powerful intercession obtained for the newborn Church the prodigious Pentecostal outpouring of the Spirit of the Divine Redeemer who had already been given on the Cross. Pius XII, Mystici Corporis, 29 June 1943
The lovely month of May – Mary’s month, the month of the Mother of God – comes to a close most beautifully with one of the most moving Marian feasts, the Feast of the Visitation. Recounted in the Gospel of Saint Luke (1:39 – 56), the passage describes Our Lady’s journey from her home in Nazareth to the hill country of Judea to spend time with her kinswoman Elizabeth; but this was no typical visit.
Where is your resting place? In every home we purchase, I find that God gives me a spot where I can snuggle up and rest in His loving arms. Whether it is a favorite chair, a prayer room, or a place with the perfect view, for me it is the place where I am best able to enter into prayer. I know that my Heavenly Father is waiting there for me to meet with Him each day, so I go.
O Mary! We crown thee with blossoms today,
Queen of the Angels, Queen of the May!
These lyrics are a familiar component of the annual May Crowning, the Marian devotion which takes place in many parishes around the time when we celebrate Mother’s Day. This rite is one traditional aspect of the dedication of the month of May to Mary, the Mother of God, and also our Mother.
While the annual Feast of Saint Joseph, celebrated on March 19th, is familiar in many parts of the world, the second date on the Church calendar dedicated to him is perhaps not quite so well known. Each year, May 1st commemorates another title of this beloved saint, that of Saint Joseph the Worker.
St. Faustina Kowalska (1905-1938), a religious sister known as the “Apostle of Divine Mercy,” wrote this story about a priest in her spiritual diary: Read the rest…
