Dec 10 – Our Lady of Loreto The Basilica della Santa Casa (English: Basilica of the Holy House) is a Marian shrine in Loreto, in the Marches, Italy. The basilica is known for enshrining the house in which the Blessed Virgin Mary is believed by some Catholics to have lived. Pious legends claim the same house was flown over by angelic beings from Nazareth to Tersatto (Trsat in Croatia), then... Continue Reading →
3 December, Wednesday — Answering The Call I Almost Walked Away From
Dec 3 – Feast of St. Francis Xavier, presbyter, religious, missionary (Principal Patron of Foreign Missions) St. Francis Xavier (1506-1552) was a nobleman from the Basque region. He studied and taught philosophy at the University of Paris, and planned a career as a professor. He was a friend of St. Ignatius of Loyola, who convinced... Continue Reading →
23 November, Sunday — Hope amidst grief
Nov 23 – Feast of Christ The King The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, commonly referred to as the Feast of Christ the King, Christ the King Sunday or Reign of Christ Sunday, is a feast in the liturgical year which emphasises the true kingship of Christ. It was meant to respond to the rise of atheism and secularization. For... Continue Reading →
22 November, Saturday — Singing His Praises
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 →
9 November — On Regrets
Nov 9 – Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome The Basilica of St. John Lateran is the cathedral of the church of Rome and the official ecclesiastical seat of the Bishop of Rome, who is the Pope. It is officially named ‘Archbasilica of the Most Holy Saviour, St. John Baptist and... Continue Reading →
28 October, Tuesday — Leading in the Spirit
Oct 28 – Feast of Sts. Simon and Jude, Apostles St. Simon was an apostle called the Cananean or Zealot because of his zeal for the Jewish law. He was not from Cana, nor a member of the Zealot party. Like all the Apostles, he was a convert, and was trained by St. Peter the... Continue Reading →
18 October, Saturday — Being unprepared for the journey
Oct 18 – Feast of St. Luke the Evangelist St. Luke (d. 74) was born to pagan Greek parents, and possibly a slave. He was one of the earliest converts, and a physician studying in Antioch and Tarsus. He probably travelled as a ship’s doctor, and many charitable societies of physicians are named after him.... Continue Reading →
1 October, Wednesday — Loving Jesus, Following Jesus
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 →
14 September, Sunday — Climbing the Tree of Life
Sep 14 – Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross The feast was celebrated in Rome before the end of the 7th century. Its purpose is to commemorate the recovering of that portion of the Holy Cross which was preserved at Jerusalem, and which had fallen into the hands of the Persians. Emperor Heraclius... Continue Reading →
12 September, Friday — Baking, Blindness and Becoming
Sep 12 – Holy Name of Mary This feast is a counterpart to the Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus (January 3); both have the possibility of uniting people easily divided on other matters. The feast of the Most Holy Name of Mary began in Spain in 1513 and, in 1671, was extended to... Continue Reading →
OXYGEN 