Andrea JLast Updated: March 24th, 2022Pilgrims' Stories, Spiritual Reflections
The past two years have brought lots of ups and downs in the pilgrimage world. We had two groups travel in February of 2020 and then mere days before we were to send others, everything shut down. March groups were postponed to October, then to the following March, then again to the fall, and once … Read More
Bri CampbellLast Updated: March 24th, 2022Domestic Church, Saints, Spiritual Reflections
Last January 23, I completed my first Consecration to St. Joseph by Fr. Donald Calloway. This was during the Year of St. Joseph as proclaimed by Pope Francis on December 8, 2020. Encouraged by the testimonies of friends and my parish priest who had already begun the consecration, I decided to begin myself and picked … Read More
Andrea JLast Updated: March 24th, 2022Spiritual Reflections
The longest, and often most misunderstood, liturgical season is that of Ordinary Time. Ordinary, in this sense, comes from the Latin word ordinalis, meaning “numbered.” The weeks of Ordinary Time are numbered through 33 or 34 (depending on the year and how the moveable feasts fall). There are two distinct periods of Ordinary Time that … Read More
Andrea JLast Updated: March 24th, 2022Spiritual Reflections
As our pilgrimage through the liturgical year continues, we arrive at Easter – the peak of the liturgical year. While it may seem odd to reflect upon Easter just after Christmas, the two are intrinsically linked. There would be no Easter without Christmas, and Christmas would not have the same meaning if Easter had never … Read More
Bri CampbellLast Updated: March 24th, 2022Saints, Spiritual Reflections
Mothers’ Day almost always takes me by surprise. Falling in the first week of May, it seems like I never have any warning to buy the perfect gift or write the perfect card before April suddenly ends and I find myself looking Mothers’ Day in the face. I can’t say the same about the other … Read More
Andrea JLast Updated: March 24th, 2022Spiritual Reflections
After Lent comes the shortest liturgical season – the Triduum. Encompassing many traditions and unique liturgies, it is the beginning of the pinnacle of the liturgical year. As Pope Pius XII wrote in his encyclical, Mediator Dei (On the Sacred Liturgy): In Holy Week, when the most bitter sufferings of Jesus Christ are put before … Read More
Andrea JLast Updated: March 24th, 2022Spiritual Reflections
Another season of recollection and penance is Lent. Beginning with Ash Wednesday – anytime between February 4 and March 10 – it is a six-week period characterized by increases in prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. One common devotion during Lent is the praying of the Stations of the Cross. This devotion grew out of a desire … Read More
Andrea JLast Updated: December 1st, 2023Spiritual Reflections
The first season of the liturgical year is Advent, which is followed quickly by Christmas. This year, in fact, Christmas Eve is the fourth Sunday of Advent, meaning the season is especially truncated. The readings during this time focus on the inevitable Second Coming of Christ as well as His first coming over 2,000 years … Read More
Andrea JLast Updated: November 22nd, 2023Domestic Church, Spiritual Reflections
As we reflect today on everything we are grateful for, we turn to Scripture for some timeless words of gratitude. Consider the following printable our gift of thanks to you. Please feel free to print and cut out the following scripture cards and use them at place settings or just small reminders of the gift … Read More
Andrea JLast Updated: March 24th, 2022Saints, Spiritual Reflections
Throughout the early 80s, at the Saturday evening vigil Mass, an older couple always sat in the front pew on the right side of the aisle. Each week they watched as, across the way, a young mother brought her preschool son to Mass, teaching him the ways of the faith and showing him the love … Read More
Bri CampbellLast Updated: October 7th, 2021Saints, Spiritual Reflections
Tomorrow is the first of October, the feast of St. Therese of Lisieux. As one of Catholicism’s most popular saints, it should come as no surprise that her novena is also one that is frequently prayed and whose answers are most eagerly awaited for. Most commonly, those that pray this novena expect St. Therese to … Read More
Andrea JLast Updated: May 12th, 2023Monthly Devotions, Saints, Spiritual Reflections
The month of September brings us numerous feasts and commemorations, including the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows on September 15. In addition, traditionally, the entirety of the month is dedicated to the Seven Sorrows of Mary. These seven sorrows from various points in the life of the Blessed Mother are as follows: Prophecy of … Read More
Andrea JLast Updated: March 24th, 2022Saints, Spiritual Reflections
It was the late spring of 2007. My car had just over 5,000 miles on it and I was in the midst of my first long solo road trip. In moving from Indiana to Maine for a summer job, I’d taken advantage of the time before my first day of work to visit my parents … Read More
Andrea JLast Updated: August 27th, 2021Camino de Santiago, Spiritual Reflections
A few days ago, a memory popped up on my phone. It was a picture of a small group of pilgrims, myself included, enjoying ice cream in a little shop on the outskirts of Santiago de Compostela, Spain, exactly eight years ago. That afternoon before enjoying our ice cream, we (a total of 49 of … Read More
Andrea JLast Updated: August 27th, 2021Saints, Spiritual Reflections
St. Augustine was a man of many words. Five million, to be precise. At least, that is how many of his written words remain to this day. This includes books, letters, and sermons, and is not even the entirety of what Augustine created during his life. With all of these writings, there come some famous … Read More
