Our Lady of Ashes

 After composing the prayer to St Joseph , in the style of Mary's Angelic Salutation, pulling Biblical language as much as possible, I turned to St John the Baptist. Here is my modest attempt: Hail John the Baptist, in the spirit and power of Elijah [ Lk 1:17 ], the hand of the Lord is with you [ Lk 1:66 ]. Greatest of those born of woman [ Mt 11:11 ], you are the friend of the bridegroom [ Jn 3:29 ], Jesus. Voice crying out in the wilderness [ Mt 3:3, etc ], pray for us that we Repent and make straight His paths [ Mt 3:2 & 3 ], now and at the hour of our death.

Andrew the Apostle, First-Called  Today is the feast of St Andrew, the Apostle, and I'm rather struck by on this feast's place at the head of Advent. Advent always begins on the Sunday closest to the feast of St Andrew, November 30, and so we might call Saint Andrew the Apostle of Advent. Looking to Andrew and his mission as Apostle, we learning something key to living the spirit of Advent. Advent is a season of preparation for the coming of Jesus in a two-fold way. The first is a joyful preparation in expectation of Christmas when we celebrate the first coming of the Son of God, incarnate by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary in the city of King David to be our Messiah. The second way of preparation is in expectation of when Jesus comes again in his glory to bring forth the Kingdom of God in its fulness.  How we prepare for this Second Coming is where Andrew and the other Apostles come in. Now the word "apostle" means one who is sent. The Apostles are those ...

The story of Bishop Basil (whose feast, along with his friend Gregory, we celebrate today), the daughter of Heradius, the Devil and the Slave from The Golden Legend , ( compiled by Bl. Jacobus de Voragine ) is so good ... the multilevel, perfidious plan of the Devil; the insight of demonic influence upon our passions; magic as the illusion of the devil that the magician is the one in control; the promise of the power of God's mercy to overcome Sin and Death's oppressive influence on the spirit, as well as our own sins; an exorcism as the demons torment the subject to despair; climatic battle of wills between the saint and the devil, and the day saved by the Sacrament of Reconciliation! A highly respected man named Heradius had an only daughter whom he intended to consecrate to the Lord, but the devil, foe of the human race, got wind of this and inflamed one of Heradius’s slaves with love for the girl. The man, knowing that as a slave he could not possible win the emb...

By tradition August is dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, for the 22 was once celebrated as the feast of her Immaculate Heart before it was moved to correspond with the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart. The feast thus would have been celebrated as the octave of her Assumption (Aug 15). Scripture connects these feasts, for Christ told us Where your treasure is, there also will your heart be, and Mary’s greatest treasure was the Kingdom of her Son. With her treasure firmly in Heaven, Mary’s human heart—along with the rest of her body—could not but be drawn up by God into the celestial abode. Even the little insight into Mary’s inner life the Gospels offer reveals untold depths of love for God and a soul loved by God. Mary’s heart is full of grace and perfectly conformed to the will of God: I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word . Her heart ever proclaims the greatness of the Lord and exults in God her Savior . The events of her son’s life, s...

 St. Juan Diego, oremus! O God, who by means of Saint Juan Diego showed the love of the most holy Virgin Mary for your people, grant, through his intercession, that, by following the counsels our Mother gave at Guadalupe, we may be ever constant in fulfilling your will. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Oh my loved friends, Ye children of the Church, Offer up your praise At the season of the dawn: Every morning let us give thanks, And bow down in adoration, To the good Being who hath arranged in order, All the starry lights on high. – Saint Ephraem Today is the feast day of Saint Ephrem, the Syrian, Deacon and Doctor of the Church. St. Ephrem had an amazing reverence for the Incarnation and Our Lady that infused everything he wrote particularly his hymns and poetry. These works were incredibly effective in fighting against heresies that attacked our Lord's Incarnation and the reverence due to Mary as their beauty and fidelity lifted the hearts of the people who sang them during the Mass. In fact, it is to St. Ephrem that we attribute the addition of hymns outside of the Psalms into the Mass.

O God, the exaltation of the lowly, who willed that blessed Saint Margaret should excel in the beauty of her charity and patience, grant, through her merits and intercession, that, carrying our cross each day, we may always persevere in love for you. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. —collect for the common for Holy Women A personal favorite and I hope a friend, St Margaret's early life would feel very much like a contemporary's. She was born to middle-class parents; didn't get along with her step-mother; moved out of the house to live with her boyfriend, Arsenio; had a kid out of wedlock. She was devout but like St Augustine (and so many of us) her prayers were often to "maker me a saint, but not yet." Then one day while out walking she met her boyfriend's dog and she was compelled to follow until she found Arsenio's murdered body. ...

"The Calling of St. Mathew" Caravaggio In which the Pilgrim tells a fable about the Call of Christ, enters into the Gospel through prayer and meditation, and prays for the strength to leave everything for Him who came not to call the righteous but sinners. Sharing in that saving joy, O Lord, with which Saint Matthew welcomed the Savior as a guest in his home, we pray: grant that we may always be renewed by the food we receive from Christ, who came to call not the just, but sinners to salvation. —Prayer after Communion, Feast of the Apostle Matthew

Those who are wise will shine brightly  like the splendor of the firmament  and those who lead the many to justice shall be like the stars for ever. —cf. Dan 12:3 , Introit of the Memorial of St. John Chrysostom St John Chyrsostom, the "golden mouthed" Doctor of the Church, Holy Hierarch of the Eastern Churches, was Archbishop of Constantinople, ascetic, liturgist, homilist non pareil, social justice fighter, social critic, and though he is not declared so, in dying while suffering in exile, the man was a martyr of the faith.

Today is the feast of St. Hippolytus of Rome (on the Western Calendar), who has the dubious distinction of being the first Anti-Pope, but so beloved by both factions was the man that he was quickly raised to the altars after his death as a martyr of the faith. He is not celebrated on the contemporary Roman calendar,* which is a shame, for not only would it be hard to contest the holiness of a man who represented the division of the Church, yet was celebrated as a saint, Saint Hippolytus is attributed with writing what has become probably the most commonly used Eucharistic canon, Eucharistic Prayer II.

Today is the feast day of Saint Ignatius de Loyola , founder of the Society of Jesus ( Societas Iesu ) , commonly known as the Jesuits. As God's instrument, St Ignatius brought into the world an order that has done immeasurable miraculous good in order to bring about the Kingdom of God, given us great preachers, teachers and theologians, and by his own writings, given all powerful inspiration and meditations on strengthening our spiritual life.  Of his writings, Ignatius' "Contemplation on Divine Love" I find the most powerful, unifying all that it is to be mindful of God's unspeakably glorifying presence in our life, and I offer it for your own meditations today, below. May St Ignatius and all the saints continue to pray for us and guide us by the power of God's grace.