Today is the feast of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, or as it is known throughout the world: Lady Day (see here). This day rivals Christmas in the affections of Catholics, for on this day Our Lady said her fiat, her “yes” to God which has resounded throughout the ages, and will resound into eternity. The post cited (above) details the history of this happy day. May God bless you on this feast. Ave Maria! ~SCF
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Carry On Redux
“I wish it need not have happened in my time,” said Frodo. “So do I,” said Gandalf, “and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” ― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring “All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” Indeed. If you are reading this, you are alive, this is your time; no matter your age, your occupation, your circumstances. You, as a Catholic, are a member of the Church Militant, and have duties to perform within your own sphere of living. Do not let the (apparent) smallness of such duties lead you to believe that they are inconsequential. They are not. Stay on the path. I say this, today, as I said in a post from September 11 of 2018: carry on. I frequently (still, as of March of 2022) meet Roman Catholics who are carrying on: mothers changing a seemingly endless stream…
The Sacred Heart of Jesus
~On Fridays, the Church bids us to reflect on the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The following is a revised post on this topic. In a series of Church approved apparitions, the Sacred Heart of Jesus was revealed (by Jesus) to the Roman Catholic saint, Margaret Mary Alacoque. St. Margaret Mary was a French Visitation sister who was born in 1647, and died in 1690. Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ appeared to St. Margaret Mary, and instructed her on the infinite love contained in His Sacred Heart; additionally, he entrusted her with a mission to spread devotion to His Sacred Heart as seen in this brief sketch of her life: “After a girlhood marked by painful illness and even more painful family discord, Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647-90) entered the Visitation convent of Paray-le-Monial, France, at the age of 22. She was ignorant, sickly, and clumsy, but she had great charity and humility. Our Lord chose her to spread devotion to His Sacred Heart, at a time when rebellion without (Protestantism) and heresy within (Jansenism) were doing their best to separate…
Colors and Rainbows
“We have all read in scientific books, and, indeed, in all romances, the story of the man who has forgotten his name. This man walks about the streets and can see and appreciate everything; only he cannot remember who he is. Well, every man is that man in the story. Every man has forgotten who he is. One may understand the cosmos, but never the ego; the self more distant than any star. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God; but thou shalt not know thyself. We are all under the same mental calamity; we have all forgotten our names. We have all forgotten what we really are. All that we call common sense and rationality and practicality and positivism only means that for certain dead levels of our life we forget that we have forgotten. All that we call spirit and art and ecstacy only means that for one awful instant we remember that we forget.” – G.K Chesterton, Orthodoxy, The Ethics of Elfland I like to collect quotes which I find interesting (as in case, GKC quote…
Devotion to Mary on Candlemas 2022
“Let us run to Mary, and, as her little children, cast ourselves into her arms with a perfect confidence.” –Saint Francis de Sales Today, on the feast of Candlemas, I am re-posting a poem in which the English Catholic writer Gilbert Keith Chesterton (b. 1874- d. 1936) professed his love of, and need for, the Blessed Virgin Mary. The poem is titled Confessional, and it is quite beautiful. The last line strikes a poignant chord as Chesterton confesses that his heart is a heavy load to bear. At the conclusion of the poem, the reader is left with a sense that Chesterton had made a heartfelt and childlike entreaty to Our Lady that she might assist him in bearing the load of his heart (paraphrase GKC). This poem expresses the essence of Catholic devotion to Our Lady: giving oneself to Jesus through the Blessed Virgin Mary, and subsequently trusting in Our Lady’s loving (maternal) care. For more on Candlemas, you might read here, here, and here. May you have a good Candlemas day. ~SCF Confessional by G.K. Chesterton Now that I…