From Season to Season

I will now praise the godly, our ancestors, in their own time, The abounding glory of the Most High’s portion, his own part, since the days of old. —Sirach 44:1-2 Knowing our family stories from the past is an important part of understanding who we are today. This is as true of the Church, as it is of your own family. Although we most often think of the saints as the figures of our “family” history who left the most important mark on the Church, it’s important to realize that the life of every Christian forms an essential part of our family’s story. Among those we hold most dear are those saints honored as “Doctors of the Church.” This select group of 36 saints includes some of the greatest minds in the Church’s history, such as Saint Augustine of Hippo, Saint Gregory the Great, Saint Hildegarde of Bingen, Saint Teresa of Avila, Saint Francis de Sales, and Saint Thérèse of Lisieux. But this list also includes saints who are less-known but whose contributions to our understan...

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens, as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish before him. In love he destined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ, in accord with the favor of his will, for the praise of the glory of his grace that he granted us in the beloved. —Ephesians 1:2-3 On December 27, 1673, a nun of the Visitation Monastery in Paray-le-Monial, France, was gifted with an experience of the Divine that left an indelible mark on spirituality. Years later, remembering that vision, she wrote: “The Lord said to me, ‘My Divine Heart is so passionately in love with humanity that it can no longer contain within itself the flames of its ardent love. It must pour them out through [you], and manifest itself to them with its precious treasures, which contain all the graces which they need to be saved.” This Divine Love is what devotion...

Make yourself familiar with the angels, and behold them frequently in spirit. Without being seeing, they are present to you. - Saint Francis de Sales   The tradition of honoring the Archangel Michael on the 29th day of September dates back to the early part of the fifth century, when a basilica was dedicated in his honor on the Via Salaria in Rome. Since 1969, this day has been celebrated as a common feast honoring Michael and the Archangels Gabriel and Raphael (who had formerly been celebrated on March 24 and October 24, respectively).   These three Archangels, and indeed all the hosts of heaven, are a "great multitude of very bright living lamps; they are the vast army of heavenly spirits, shining in the blessed light and living in great beauty and adornment, because when they were created by God they did not grasp at proud exaltation but strongly persisted in divine love" ( Saint Hildegard of Bingen , Scivias 1.2.1.). Honoring God with their whole beings, the An...