Catholic Church

By Philip Kosloski, Aleteia - “Have a medal struck upon this model. All those who wear it, when it is blessed, will receive great graces especially if they wear it round the neck. Those who repeat this prayer with devotion will be in a special manner under the protection of the Mother of God. Graces will be abundantly bestowed upon those who have confidence.”

By Stephen Beale, Catholic Exchange - The Church has a really strange way of preparing us for the joy of the Christmas season... It has us spend much of Advent reading about the end of the world... Consider the gospel reading for the first Sunday of Advent this year: There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on earth nations will be in dismay, perplexed by the roaring of the sea and the waves. People will die of fright in anticipation of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then. . . . .

By Msgr. Charles Pope - The Person – It was John the Baptist, the simple man in the desert, to whom the Word came. Who? He was not on anyone’s list! John the who? Where do you say he lives? He doesn’t live in the palace or even in Jerusalem? Recall these Scripture passages: But God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong, God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God (1 Cor 1:27-29).

Fr. Roger Landry explains how we can all contribute to a solution, even those who are not guilty. Perhaps especially those of us who are not guilty: The guilty, after all, are far less likely to contribute to the solution... This is not the end of the lesson but the beginning. Reflecting on what we call the economy of salvation, Fr. Landry points out that sacrifices in union with the sufferings of Christ bring grace, and that this grace not only helps the one who sacrifices, but also animates the whole Church.