From Season to Season

According to the Acts of the Apostles , Matthias, a witness of the Lord’s ministry and resurrection, was chosen by the apostles to take the place of Judas Iscariot (cf. Acts 1:15-26 ). Saint Matthias received the gift of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost and he is said to have preached the Gospel in Judea. Later traditions link him to the churches in Cappadocia and Ethiopia. Honored as a martyr, his relics were translated from Jerusalem to Rome by the Empress Saint Helena . Saint Matthias from the workshop of Simone Martini It is fitting that we celebrate the feast day of an Apostle on this final day before Pentecost . The witness of Saint Matthias and the other Apostles and early Church leaders who left behind home and family to preach and teach about Jesus is an important lesson for us today: Each of us has received the same Holy Spirit that inspired their ministry and service and we too are called to go out from our homes into our parishes and communities to invite others to follo...

There has been lots of “saint making” going on during the Easter Season. Beyond the highly anticipated beatification of El Salvador’s Oscar Romero and the canonization of four new saints on May 17, the Church celebrated the beatification of Blessed Luigi Bordino , an Italian member of the Brothers of St. Joseph Cottolengo, on May 2, Blessed Luigi Caburlotto , the Italian priest who founded the Daughters of St. Joseph, on May 16, and, on May 23—the same day as the beatification of Oscar Romero— Blessed Irene Stefani , a Consolata Missionary Sister who served in Tanzania and Kenya. The Second Reading for the Pentecost Mass “During the Day” reminds us that, “There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit; there are different forms of service but the same Lord; there are different workings but the same God who produces all of them in everyone. To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit” (1 Corinthians 12:4-7). We see this truth a...

We should not seek from others the truth that we can easily receive from the Church. There, the Apostles, like one making a deposit, fully bestowed on her all that belongs to the truth. - Saint Irenaeus of Lyons   In the days between the Lord's Ascension and the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, Peter urged the followers of Jesus to select from among their number someone to take the place of Judas Iscariot as one of the Twelve. Inspired by the Psalmist, "Let another take his office" (Psalm 109:8), those present nominated two men: Joseph Barsabbas and Matthias. Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Matthias was chosen (Acts 1:15-17, 20-26). According to tradition, Matthias preached the Gospel in Cappadocia and the area around the Caspian Sea. Honored as a martyr, his relics were brought from Jerusalem to Rome by Saint Helena . A vintage missal illustration for the Feast of Saint Matthias   In reflecting on the importance of the Apostles, Saint Aug...

Mary, the Mother of Jesus, is honored by many titles and in countless places by Christians around the world. These various names of Mary often tell us something about her role in the story of salvation, such as “Mother of God,” “Cause of our Joy,” and “Ark of the Covenant.” Other titles of Mary tell us something of the unique role she plays in the life of the Church and of individual Christians: “Comforter of the Afflicted,” “Help of Christians,” “Mother of Good Counsel,” and “Queen of All Saints.” Finally, there are those titles of Mary that are associated with specific places like Guadalupe, Lourdes , Fatima , or La Salette . Each of these titles, in its own way, expresses a faith and devotion that was first voiced by the woman who cried out to Jesus, “Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts that nursed you” (Luke 11:27).   I have three titles of Mary that are especially meaningful for me and seem to capture my own devotion to the Mother of God. They are “Mother of...

In his book Desert Banquet: A Year of Wisdom from the Desert Mothers and Fathers , David G. R. Kelly reflected on these words from Pseudo-Macarius : “The heart directs and governs all the organs of the body. And when grace pastures the heart, it rules over all the members and the thoughts. For there, in the heart, the mind abides as well as all of the thoughts of the soul and its hopes. This is how grace penetrates throughout all the parts of the body.” Pseudo-Macarius understood that the heart is that place where a person’s spirit and the Spirit of God exist together. The mind, the seat of rational thought, is made complete when it abides in the heart and becomes enlightened by “all the thoughts of the soul and all its hopes.” Although our mind is an essential part of who we are, we are only at our best when our minds and hearts move together.  Pentecost by He-Qi   In the Gospel of John, Jesus promised his Apostles, “the Advocate, the Holy Spirit whom the Father wil...