BLOG: Advent and Christmas,Christmas,Mary
God is the God of life. God is the God of love. God is the God of creation. God is the God of breath. God is the God of image. God is the God of presence. God is the God of union. God is the God of being. God is the God of family. God ...read more
Last month, I had the honour of traveling on pilgrimage to the Holy Land (Israel, Palestine and Jordan)with Salt + Light TV. Being on pilgrimage, is an entirely different experience than being a tourist. To the Christian, being on pilgrimage means to walk the same path, to see the same sights, and to encounter the same crowds that Our Lord would have as He triumphantly entered Jerusalem, with the knowledge He was bound for confrontation with the authorities. ...read more
For the last three weeks we’ve looked at three words for Advent: Light, Voice and Joy. Last week we looked at Elizabeth and how she was filled with joy when Mary came to see visit her. She heard Mary’s greeting and was filled with the Holy Spirit and the child in her womb leaped for ...read more
Last week we learned about Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist. Zechariah was a good and righteous man (Luke 1:6) and was a priest (Luke 1:5) at the Temple in Jerusalem (Luke 1:8). He was probably educated and respected as a leader in his community. When the Archangel Gabriel told him that his elderly wife, ...read more
Next Sunday is the First Sunday of Advent and we begin getting ready for Christmas. I think we all know that Advent is the four week-period before Christmas. There are always four Sundays of Advent, but it’s not always four weeks. It depends what day of the week December 25th is. This year, the fourth ...read more
(May 13, 2017: Pope Francis speaks with journalists aboard his flight from Portugal to Rome following a visit to Fatima to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Marian apparitions and to canonize Sts. Francisco and Jacinta Marto, two of the young seers. Photo: CNS/Paul Haring) The Pope “doubts” Medjugorje apparitions As often happens following an international ...read more
During the Holy Mass for the Canonization of Blessed Francisco and Blessed Jacinta Marto, Mons. Antonio Dos Santos Marto, bishop of Leiria-Fatima, greeted Pope Francis with those words: Greeting to the Holy Father from Mons. Antonio Marto, Bishop of Leiria-Fatima “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my ...read more
The highlight of Pope Francis’ apostolic visit to Fatima was the canonization Mass on Saturday morning, during which the two shepherd children, Blessed Francisco and Blessed Jacinta were proclaimed saints. During his homily the Pope said, “we can take as our examples Saint Francisco and Saint Jacinta, whom the Virgin Mary introduced into the immense ocean of ...read more
This evening the Holy Father went to the Chapel of the Apparitions in the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima where the Blessing of the Candles took place. After a moment of silent Prayer and meditation, the Pope blessed the candles, then he pronounced welcoming words for the pilgrims and introduced the Prayer of the ...read more
At 1:15 (EST), during his pilgrimage to Fatima, Pope Francis visits the Chapel of the Apparition, surrounded by a thousand children. After few minutes of silent prayer in front of the Madonna, he pronounces the Prayer below. At the end of it the Holy Father gives the Golden Rose as a gift to the Virgin ...read more