Jun 2 – Memorial for Sts Marcellinus & Peter Saints Marcellinus and Peter (sometimes called Petrus Exorcista - Peter the Exorcist; Italian: Marcellino e Pietro) are venerated within the Catholic Church as martyrs who were beheaded. Hagiographies place them in 4th century Rome. They are generally represented as men in middle age, with tonsures and palms of martyrdom; sometimes they hold a crown each. - Wikipedia Ecc 44:1,9-13Mk... Continue Reading →
1 May, Monday — Willing Sacrifice
May 1 – Feast of St. Joseph the Worker St. Joseph (d. 1st century) was a descendant of the House of David. He was a layman, a builder by trade; traditionally a carpenter, but may have been a stone worker. He was the earthly spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the foster and adoptive... Continue Reading →
11 March, Saturday — Rejoicing over the Lost and Found
Saturday of the 2nd Week of Lent Mic 7:14-15,18-20Lk 15:1-3,11-32 “...your brother here was dead and has come to life; he was lost and is found.” The prodigal son is one of my favourite parables. It gives us so much hope that even when we have disappointed and offended our Heavenly Father, He is still... Continue Reading →
10 March, Friday — Distorted Views
Friday of the 2nd Week of LentGen 37:3-4,12-13,17-28Mt 21:33-43,45-46 “This is the heir. Come on, let us kill him and take over his inheritance.” Today’s readings have a similar theme. Joseph’s brothers were so jealous of their father’s love for Joseph; they were so distorted with anger, they wanted to kill him. Likewise, in the... Continue Reading →
18 January, Wednesday — Anger Issues
Wednesday of Week 2 in Ordinary Time Heb 7:1-3,15-17Mk 3:1-6 “…grieved to find them obstinate, he looked angrily round at them…” Do you suffer from anger issues? I know I do. Do you understand what anger is and where it comes from? I thought I did but realised that I didn’t truly understand the passion... Continue Reading →
17 January, Tuesday — God’s Promise
17 Jan – Memorial for St. Anthony, abbot Following the death of his parents when he was about 20, St. Anthony (251-356) ensured that his sister completed her education, then sold his house, furniture, and the land he owned, gave the proceeds to the poor, joined the anchorites who lived nearby, and moved into an... Continue Reading →
16 January, Monday — New Wine, New Wineskins
Monday of Week 2 in Ordinary Time Heb 5:1-10Mk 2:18-22 “And nobody puts new wine into old wineskins; if he does, the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost and the skins too. No! New wine, fresh skins!” As we settle into the new year, both Liturgical and Gregorian, how are you... Continue Reading →
23 November, Wednesday – Endurance
Nov 23 – Memorial for St. Clement I, pope, martyr; Memorial for St. Columban, abbot St. Clement (d. 101) was the fourth pope, and an apostolic Father. The Basilica of St. Clement in Rome is one of the earliest parish churches in the city, and is probably built on the site of Clement’s home. He... Continue Reading →
22 November, Tuesday – Utter Destruction
Nov 22 – Memorial for St. Cecilia, virgin, martyr St. Cecilia (d. 117) was a cultivated young patrician woman, whose ancestors loomed large in Rome’s history. She vowed her virginity to God, but her parents married her to Valerian of Trastevere. She told her new husband that she was accompanied by an angel, but in... Continue Reading →
1 October, Saturday — The End Game
Oct 1 – Feast of St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus, Virgin and Doctor, Patroness of Missions Born to a pious middle-class French family of tradesmen, Francoise-Marie Thérèse Martin (1873–1897) was the daughter of Blessed Louis Martin and Blessed Marie-Azelie Guerin Martin, and all four of her sisters became nuns. Her mother died when Francoise-Marie... Continue Reading →