I have received many letters asking me to comment on Amoris Laetitia, the Pope’s recent Apostolic Exhortation. I have done so in a new section in the greater context of this writing from July 29th, 2015. If I had a trumpet, I would blare this writing through it… I often hear both Catholics […]
from Pentecost by El Greco (1596) OF course, a reflection on the “gift of tongues” is going to stir controversy. And this doesn’t surprise me since it is probably the most misunderstood of all charisms. And so, I hope to answer some of the questions and comments I’ve received over the past few days on this […]
Christ and the Good Thief, Titian (Tiziano Vecellio), c. 1566 THERE is so much confusion today as to what “love” and “mercy” and “compassion” mean. So much so that even the Church in many places has lost her clarity, the force of truth that at once beckons sinners and repels them. This is no more evident […]
THERE is a far greater plan behind the Lenten Retreat which so many of you just participated in. The call at this hour to intense prayer, the renewal of the mind, and faithfulness to the Word of God is actually a preparation for Reign—the reign of the Kingdom of God on earth as it is in […]
BASKING in the warmth of the charcoal fire Jesus has lit through our Lenten Retreat; sitting in the glow of His nearness and Presence; listening to the ripples of His ineffable Mercy gently caressing the shore of my heart… I have a few random thoughts left over from our forty days of reflection.
LENTEN RETREAT Day 40 AND so, we have come to the end of our retreat… but I assure you, it is just the beginning: the beginning of the great battle of our times. It is the beginning of what St. John Paul II called…
LENTEN RETREAT Day 39 IT’s certainly possible to purchase a hot air balloon, set it all up, turn on the propane, and begin to inflate it, doing it all on one’s own. But with the help of another experienced aviator, it would become so much easier, quicker and safer to get into the skies.
LENTEN RETREAT Day 38 THUS far in our retreat, I have mainly focused on the interior life. But as I said a few days ago, the spiritual life is not only a calling into communion with God, but a commission to go out into the world and…
LENTEN RETREAT Day 36 THE “hot air balloon” represents one’s heart; the “gondola basket” is the will of God; the “propane” is the Holy Spirit; and the two “burners” of love of God and neighbour, when lit by the “pilot light” of our desire, fill our hearts with the Flame of Love, enabling us to soar […]
LENTEN RETREAT Day 25 The Temptation by Eric Armusik I remember a scene from the film The Passion of the Christ when Jesus kisses the cross after they place it on His shoulders. That’s because He knew His suffering would redeem the world. Likewise, some of the saints in the early Church deliberately traveled to […]
LENTEN RETREAT Day 24 WHAT a gift we have through the Sacrament of Baptism: the innocence of a soul is restored. And should we sin after that, the Sacrament of Penance restores that innocence again. God wants you and me to be innocent because He delights in the beauty of a pristine soul, re-made again […]
LENTEN RETREAT Day 16 THERE is a reason, brothers and sisters, why I feel Heaven wants to do this Lenten Retreat this year, that up until now, I have not voiced. But I feel this is the moment to speak about it. The reason is that a violent spiritual Storm is bearing down all around […]
LENTEN RETREAT Day 14 SALVATION is a gift, a pure gift from God that no one earns. It is freely given because “God so loved world.” [1]John 3:16 In one of the more moving revelations from Jesus to St. Faustina, He beckons: Let the sinner not be afraid to approach Me. The flames of mercy […]
LENTEN RETREAT Day 8 IT is one thing to have self-knowledge; to see clearly the reality of one’s spiritual poverty, lack of virtue, or deficit in charity—in a word, to see the abyss of one’s misery. But self-knowledge alone is not enough. It must be wed to humility in order for grace to take effect. Compare […]
LENTEN RETREATDay 3 Dear friends, this is not the meditation I had planned for today. However, I have been dealing with one little crisis after another for the past two weeks and, in truth, have been writing these meditations after midnight, averaging only four hours sleep a night the past week. I am exhausted. And […]
LENTEN RETREAT Day 2 NEW! I am now adding podcasts to this Lenten Retreat (including yesterday). Scroll to the bottom to listen through the media player. BEFORE I can write further, I sense Our Lady saying that, unless we have faith in God, nothing in our spiritual lives will change. Or as St. Paul put it… […]
LENTEN RETREAT Day 1 ASH WEDNESDAY by Commander Richard Brehn, NOAA Corps Scroll to the bottom to listen to the podcast of each meditation if you wish. Remember, you can find each day here: Prayer Retreat. WE are living in extraordinary times. And in the midst of them, here you are. No doubt, you probably […]
by Shawn Van Deale THERE is no other word to describe what is happening in our world today: madness. Sheer madness. Let us call a spade a spade, or as St. Paul says, Take no part in the fruitless works of darkness; rather expose them… (Eph 5:11) …or as St. John Paul II bluntly […]
THERE once was a Great Ship that sat in the spiritual harbour of Jerusalem. Its Captain was Peter with eleven Lieutenants at his side. They had been given a Great Commission by their Admiral:
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS for January 11th – 16th, 2016 Liturgical texts here THIS call “out of Babylon” into the desert, into the wilderness, into asceticism is truly a call into battle. For to leave Babylon is to resist temptation and to break at last with sin. And this presents a direct threat […]
HOW can we, as Christians, live in this world without being consumed by it? How can we remain pure of heart in a generation that is immersed in impurity? How can we become holy in an era of unholiness?
I AM receiving many letters at this time asking me about Charlie Johnston, Locutions.org, and other “seers” who claim to receive messages from Our Lady, angels, or even Our Lord. I am frequently being asked, “What do you think of this prediction or that?” Perhaps this is a good moment, then, to speak on […]
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS for December 11th, 2015 Friday of the Second Week of Advent Liturgical texts here THE real danger at this hour in the world is not that there is so much confusion, but that we would get caught up in it ourselves. In fact, panic, fear, and compulsive reactions are part […]
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS for December 9th, 2015 Opt. Memorial of St. Juan Diego Liturgical texts here Elijah Fed by an Angel, by Ferdinand Bol (c. 1660 – 1663) IN prayer this morning, a gentle Voice spoke to my heart: Just enough to keep you going. Just enough to strengthen your heart. […]
A poster image cut from a magazine published after the French Revolution SIGNS of this Global Revolution underway are everywhere, spreading like a black canopy over the entire globe. Taking all things into consideration, from the unprecedented apparitions of Mary throughout the world to the prophetic statements of the popes in the past century […]
HE was a Muslim, and he was angry. As my fifteen minute cab ride unfolded, the young, stocky Islamic man at the wheel did not mince words.
Healing Touch by Frank P. Ordaz BEHIND this writing apostolate is a whole other level of ministry that happens through my personal correspondence with souls from around the world. And lately, there is a consistent thread of fear, even though that fear is for different reasons.
WE are on the very cusp of some astounding events in the Church and the world. And among them, the return of the Jews to the fold of Christ.
This writing was first published March 24th, 2009. “the smoke of Satan is seeping into the Church of God through the cracks in the walls.” —POPE PAUL VI, first quote: Homily during the Mass for Sts. Peter & Paul, June 29, 1972 THERE is an elephant in the living room. But few […]
Judas dips into bowl, artist unknown PAPAL palpitations are continuing to give way to anxious questions, conspiracies, and fear that the Barque of Peter is heading for rocky shoals. The fears tend to revolve around why the Pope gave some clerical positions to “liberals” or let them take key roles in the recent Synod […]
Pope Francis in the Philippines (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez) papalotry |pāpǝlätrē|: the belief or stance that everything the Pope says or does is without error. I’VE been getting bagfuls of letters, very concerned letters, since the Synod on the Family began in Rome last year. That stream of worry didn’t let up the past […]
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS for Sunday, October 18th, 2015 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time Liturgical texts here WE are not facing the end of the world. In fact, we are not even facing the last tribulations of the Church. What we are facing is the final confrontation in a long history of […]
THE past few weeks, two crucifixes and a statue of Mary in our home have had their hands broken off—at least two of them inexplicably. In fact, just about every statue in our home has a missing hand. It reminded me of a writing I did on this on February 13th, 2007. I think it […]
“HOW do you hide a tree?” I thought for moment about my spiritual director’s question. “In a forest?” Indeed, he went on to say, “Likewise, Satan has raised a tumult of false voices in order to obscure the authentic voice of the Lord.”
Pray the Rosary every day in honor of Our Lady of the Rosary to obtain peace in the world… for she alone can save it. —apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima, July 13, 1917 IT is long overdue to take these words seriously… words which require some sacrifice and perseverance. But if you do, […]
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS for Thursday, August 27th, 2015 Memorial of St. Monica Liturgical texts here “STAY AWAKE!” Those are the opening words in today’s Gospel. “For you do not know on which day your Lord will come.”
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS for Tuesday, August 11th, 2015 Memorial of St. Clare Liturgical texts here PERHAPS the deepest trial many are experiencing today is the temptation to believe that prayer is futile, that God neither hears nor answers their prayers. To succumb to this temptation is the beginning of the shipwreck […]
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS for Monday, July 20th, 2015 Opt. Memorial of St. Apollinaris Liturgical texts here THERE wasn’t always enmity between Pharaoh and the Israelites. Remember when Joseph was entrusted by Pharaoh to hand out grain to all of Egypt? At that time, the Israelites were seen as a benefit and […]
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS for Thursday, July 16th, 2015 Opt. Memorial of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Liturgical texts here SOMETIMES, in all of the controversies, the questions, and confusion of our times; in all of the moral crises, challenges, and trials we face… there is the risk that the most important […]
THE words were clear, intense, and repeated several times in my heart after Pope Benedict XVI resigned: You have entered dangerous days… It was the sense that great confusion was going to come upon the Church and the world. And oh, how the past year and a half has lived up to that word! […]
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGSfor Tuesday, June 30th, 2015Opt. Memorial of The First Martyrs of the Holy Roman Church Liturgical texts here “Peace Be Still” by Arnold Friberg LAST week, I took some time off to take my family camping, something we rarely get to do. I set aside the Pope’s new encyclical, […]
NOT since Humanae Vitae has there perhaps been an encyclical letter that has generated more angst, more concern, more anticipation than Laudato si’. I have printed it off and will spend the weekend reading and meditating upon it.
Gideon, sifting his men, by James Tissot (1806-1932) As we prepare for the release of a new encyclical this week, my thoughts have been drifting back to the Synod and the series of writings I did then, particularly The Five Corrections and this one below. What I find most notable in this pontificate of Pope Francis, is […]
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS for Monday of the Ninth Week of Ordinary Time, June 1st, 2015 Memorial of St. Justin Liturgical texts here FEAR, brothers and sisters, is silencing the Church in many places and thus imprisoning truth. The cost of our trepidation can be counted in souls: men and women left […]
Dove released by Pope Francis attacked by a crow, January 27th, 2014; AP Photo ALL over the world, hundreds of millions of Catholics gathered this past Pentecost Sunday and heard the Gospel proclaimed: …when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth. (John 16:13) Jesus did not say “Spirit […]