God made Mary a worthy habitation for his Son For the honor of his Son, St. Alphonsus insists, God the Father built a perfect home, spotless and flawless. Here is the most important reason why it was fitting for the Eternal Father to keep Mary, his daughter, unspotted by Adam’s sin. As St. Bernardine of Siena remarks, it was fitting because he destined her to be the mother of his only-begotten Son: “You were preordained in the mind of God,... Read more
A fitting dwelling for the Lord St. Alphonsus considers the reasons why God would preserve from all sin the mother of his Son. When speaking of Mary for the honor of our Lord Jesus, whom she merited to have for her Son, St. Augustine insists he would not even consider the possibility of sin in her. “For we know,” he says, “that through the One who was clearly without sin, whom she merited to conceive and bring forth, she received... Read more
This week Emmaus Road Publishing sponsors the CBB giveaway. One lucky winner will receive a copy of To the Martyrs: A Reflection on the Supreme Christian Witness by Cardinal Donald Wuerl (you can read the review here) . I use Rafflecopter to run my giveaways which makes it simple for you and me! Enter below. The contest starts at midnight tonight EST and will end 12AM EST Friday 01/22 with a winner being announced later that day. Good Luck! a Rafflecopter giveaway Read more
To be preserved from sin is the greater honor Which is more honorable, St. Alphonsus asks: to fall and be rescued, or never to have fallen in the first place? The latter is more honorable, of course, and so it was with Mary. A person may be redeemed in two ways, as St. Augustine teaches us: One is to be raised up after he has fallen. The other is to be prevented from fall- ing in the first place. And... Read more
“Martyrdom should be admired, and it may be desired, but it should not be sought. It is a particular vocation received by a few.” Cardinal Donald Wuerl has written a book, To the Martyrs: A Reflection on the Supreme Christian Witness, that draws our attention to the persecution of Christianity. Look back at the persecutions during the Roman Empire and traveling through modern day persecutions inflicted by Muslim extremists he gibes honor to those who paid the ultimate sacrifice for... Read more
What is the Immaculate Conception? Blessed John Henry Newman lays out in clear terms the meaning of the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception. Since the fall of Adam, all mankind, his descendants, are conceived and born in sin. That sin which belongs to every one of us, and is ours from the first moment of our existence, is the sin of unbelief and disobedience by which Adam lost paradise. We, as the children of Adam, are heirs to the consequences... Read more
Mary’s name is a fortified tower St. Alphonsus declares that the name of Mary, like the name of Jesus, is powerful in spiritual battle. The Blessed Virgin herself revealed to St. Bridget: “On earth there is no sinner, however devoid he may be of the love of God, from whom the Devil is not obliged to flee immediately, if he invokes her holy name with a deter- mination to repent.” On another occasion she repeated the same thing to the... Read more
Mary is fearful to the demons St. Alphonsus reminds us that even though we may be terrified by the demons, the demons themselves are terrified by Mary. How the demons of hell tremble at the very thought of Mary, and of her majestic name! St. Bonaventure declares: “O, how fearful is Mary to the devils!” The saint compares these enemies to those of whom Job speaks: “They dig through houses in the dark. If the morning suddenly appears, it is... Read more
Dr. John Bergsma is Full Professor of Theology at the Franciscan University of Steubenville, in Steubenville, Ohio. He holds the M.Div. and Th.M. degrees from Calvin Seminary, Grand Rapids, Michigan, and served as a Protestant pastor for four years before entering the Catholic Church in 2001 while pursuing a Ph.D. in Theology from the University of Notre Dame. He specialized in the Old Testament and the Dead Sea Scrolls, graduating with high honors in 2004. His major study of the... Read more
The angels welcome their queen into heaven During her life on earth, the angels no doubt stayed close to Mary and her Son. When she went home to heaven, St. Alphonsus concludes, they must have welcomed her with joyous celebration and praise. Watch as Mary enters that blessed country of heaven in her assumption! The ancient Christian teacher Origen imagines the scene: At her entrance, the heavenly spirits, seeing her so beautiful and glorious, ask the angels coming with her,... Read more
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