• Maximilian Kolbe Portrait 1936

    Saint Maximilian Kolbe – Knight of the Immaculate

    February 11, 2020 - By 

    Shock. They all felt it as they watched him step out of the line of prisoners and saw him take the hand of the torturer in his. They watched him bow and press his parched lips against the monster’s pallid flesh. They saw the Nazi known as The Horror of Auschwitz quickly yank his hand away, recoiling from that brief, chaste kiss. The tension of that surreal moment reached a fever pitch. Then he softly spoke, “I am a Catholic priest.” It was the end of July 1941 when the man of God pointed at the stranger whose life he had determined to save. And…

  • Our Lady of Loretto | Caravaggio

    Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary

    February 10, 2020 - By 

    The Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary originated at the Shrine of Our Lady of Loreto in Italy and became widespread among the numerous pilgrims who visited and learned to recite it. Accordingly, it is also called the Litany of Loreto.  History The oldest written copy of the litany in existence was found in Dillingen, German in 1558. It is called ‘Letania Loretana. Ordnung der Letaney von unser lieben Frawen wie sie zu Loreto alle Samstag gehalten’ which can be translated in English as ‘The Order of the Litany of Our Lady as said every Saturday at Loreto.’  The litany was approved by Pope Sixtus…

  • The Angelus | The angel of the Lord declared to Mary

    The Angelus Prayer

    February 8, 2020 - By 

    The Angelus is a devotion celebrating The Annunciation from the Gospel of Saint Luke, Chapter 1:26-38, when the Archangel Gabriel revealed to the Immaculate Virgin Mary that she had been chosen to conceive the Son of God.  The title is derived from the scripture Angelus Domini nuntiavit Mariæ (The Angel of the Lord declared unto Mary.) The Angelus has been recited thrice daily in churches, monasteries, and convents around the world for over 700 years.  The Angelus V. The Angel of the Lord declared unto Mary,R. And she conceived of the Holy Spirit. Hail Mary, full of graceThe Lord is with thee.Blessed art thou among womenand blessed is the fruit…

  • The Finding of Jesus in the Temple | The Fifth Joyful Mystery

    The Finding of Jesus in the Temple

    January 27, 2020 - By 

    The Finding of Jesus in the Temple is the fifth of the Joyful Mysteries of the Holy Rosary. It describes the prodigious intellect of 12 year old Jesus who felt drawn to remain in the house of God and lingered at the temple to debate with doctors of the law after his parents left Jerusalem. The Finding of Jesus in the Temple is from the Gospel of Luke 2:41-52: 41 Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the Festival of the Passover. 42 When he was twelve years old, they went up to the festival, according to the custom.. 43 After…

  • The Presentation of Jesus in the Temple by Fra Angelico

    The Presentation of Jesus at the Temple

    January 20, 2020 - By 

    The Presentation of Jesus at the Temple depicts the induction of Jesus into Judaism forty days after his birth to conclude the Blessed Virgin Mary’s ritual of purification after The Nativity and perform the traditional rite of redemption of the firstborn son in accordance with the Torah. The Presentation of Jesus at the Temple is the fourth Joyful Mystery of the Holy Rosary. The scripture pertaining to the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple is from Luke 2:22-40: 22 When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses,Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present…

  • The Nativity of Jesus | Adorazione dei Magi di Torreglia

    The Nativity of Jesus in Bethlehem

    January 13, 2020 - By 

    The Nativity of Jesus in Bethlehem is sometimes called The Birth of Jesus was recorded in the second chapter of the Gospel of St. Luke and the first chapter of the Gospel of St. Matthew. It is the third of the Joyful Mysteries after The Annunciation and The Visitation. The Nativity of Jesus in Bethlehem is depicted in Luke 2:6-12: 6 And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. 7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because…

  • The Visitation | Domenico Ghirlandaio | Second Joyful Mystery

    The Visitation of Mary to Elizabeth

    January 6, 2020 - By 

    The Visitation is a meditation on the Blessed Virgin Mary‘s visit with her cousin St. Elizabeth after The Annunciation. It is the second Joyful Mystery of the Holy Rosary.  The Immaculata had conceived Our Precious Lord by the power of the Holy Spirit. During The Visitation, she learns that St. Elizabeth is pregnant with John The Baptist by her husband Zebadiah.   From the Gospel of Luke 1:39-56: 39 And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda; 40 And entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth. 41 And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary,…

  • Homily for the Canonization of St. Maximilian Kolbe by Pope Saint John Paul II

    Homily for the Canonization of St. Maximilian Kolbe

    January 3, 2020 - By 

    The Homily for the Canonization of St. Maximilian Kolbe was given by Pope Saint John Paul II on October 10, 1982. 150,000 people were in attendance at St. Peter’s Square for the three-hour rite, including Franciszek Gajowniczek, a former the former Auschwitz prisoner that Saint Maximilian gave his life to save. The Homily for the Canonization of St. Maximilian Kolbe “Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). From today on, the Church desires to address as “Saint” a man who was granted the grace of carrying out these…

  • The Annunciation by Sandro Botticelli

    The Annunciation of the Lord

    December 30, 2019 - By 

    The Annunciation is from The Gospel of Luke 1:26–38. It is also known as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Annuciation of the Lord. It is the announcement made by the Archangel Gabriel to the Blessed Virgin Mary that she had been chosen by Almighty God to conceive a son by the power of the Holy Spirit and that He would be called Jesus. 26 And in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, 27 To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s…

  • Ecce Homo (Behold the man) by Antonio Ciseri, The Sorrowful Mysteries

    The Sorrowful Mysteries for December 8, 2019

    December 6, 2019 - By 

    THE SIGN OF THE CROSS In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. Prayer to Saint Michael, the Archangel Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle, be our protection against the malice and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him we humbly pray; and do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly host, by the power of God, thrust into hell Satan and all evil spirits who wander through the world for the ruin of souls.   Amen. Prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary Holy Virgin Mary, among women, there is no…