A tremendous gift was given to me by my grandfather’s death. The grace of this gift was a deep and convicted belief in the need to pray for those who have died. I gained a beautiful insight into the unbreakable bond that God’s providential love establishes between us in our life.

Carlo’s Catholic faith, however, defined the way he lived his life. He was always concerned for others. He expressed special care for his friends whose parents had divorced. He invited them home to offer them support. He defended his peers with disabilities when they were bullied. Outside of his studies, he did volunteer work with the homeless and the poor.

We have heard about Jesus, encountered Him in our lives, known His love. However, the difficulties of life and the burdens that we bear can make Him seem distant or absent. We find ourselves on the road away from Jerusalem, walking from the saving events of Jesus’ Passion and Death. We wonder where we are going and what the journey is all about.  Then the Lord Jesus shows up.

I have come to believe more and more deeply in my life that if I want to be intimately united with Jesus, I must come to know and love His Immaculate Mother. She always brings me to her Son.

October is the Month of the Rosary. On October 7, the Church celebrates the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, holding up for us the power that the praying of the Rosary brings into our lives. Its power is love. When we meditate on the mysteries of the lives of Jesus and Mary, the power of God’s love fills our minds and our hearts.

On our own journey through this world, which can be difficult and arduous at times,   God sends angels before us to do His Will and to aid us on the way to salvation in the Promised Land of Heaven. They are these (most often) invisible spirits who surround us and keep us moving in the right direction.

When I was growing up, my mother routinely asked me a question when I was walking out the door of our home. Whether it was to go to school, out with friends, to Mass, to run an errand, or to visit relatives, the question for years was always the same, “Do you have your rosary?”

Jesus knows that we need to be drawn into the glory and mystery of His Cross in many difficult and painful circumstances. That brings us to the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows, the Mother who stood at the foot of her Son’s Cross.  Jesus wants us to be united with the Cross as He tells us, “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Mt 16:24). He leaves nothing to chance in this invitation. He gives us His own Mother to show us the way.

The birth of Our Blessed Mother was like that moment on Cape Ann when I saw light breaking through the darkness.  Before the birth of Christ her Son, the brilliant Sun of Justice, Our Lady’s birth was that rosy streak of brightness that loudly proclaimed to all, “The Son, true God and true man, is on His way, the glory of His love and mercy will shine upon all!”  Her birth was the dawn coming into a world of darkness and into lives of longing for God’s presence.

The Church always has tremendous care for the lives of our families. We always look to Jesus, Mary and Joseph for help and hope, especially when families find themselves in times of darkness and desperation.

My father gave me good advice—life will not be easy, but it is worth living.  Jesus gives us the best advice—we must live our life for Him above all and see with the eyes of faith that He is truly present with us, most especially in the Holy Eucharist.

​​​​​​​I find it amazing that God so loves us that He sends His own Mother to draw us ever closer to Jesus.  Every apparition of Our Lady that is approved by the Church always emphasizes what Our Lord teaches us in the Gospel. They are like “snapshots of the Gospel.”

It seemed that during my childhood and early adulthood, “missle-lock” was a horrifying part of daily language.  I still shudder when I think of it.              I also knew another kind of “missal-lock” that had nothing to do with death but rather with life: eternal life. 

God gave them a sign that could be seen and scientifically examined.  To those who do not believe, no explanation is possible.  To those who do believe, no explanation is necessary.

We just need a Eucharistic Revival.  We need to have our eyes opened to see who is right before us.  We need to see with the eyes of renewed faith who can revive us - Jesus Christ alive and in our midst, dwelling in our tabernacles and coming upon our altars.  He is the Eucharistic Revival that we sorely need!

Just recently, Our Holy Father Pope Francis has declared that the fourth Sunday of July each year would be a World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly.  That Sunday has been chosen because of its proximity to the Feast of Sts. Joachim and Anne, the grandparents of Jesus

That beautiful Mother clothed in a large Scapular always holds in her outstretched hand a small Scapular for her children – all of us.  It is a real gesture of comfort and love.

On July 4th, when our minds and hearts were turned to the beginnings of our nation, the Church commemorated a holy individual who has been beatified and someday soon may be canonized.  Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati is a shining example for our own times.

Have you ever noticed that some very important things may never be reported on the news or come across our radar as Catholics? Here is an example...

As I knelt in prayer my eyes were drawn to the Body of Christ on the Cross and my heart was stirred to think about “the three bodies” so important in the Church today.