"Darkness is coming over America. For the first time in nearly 100 years a total solar eclipse will be visible from coast to coast across the United States. Monday August 21st will be “The Great American Eclipse.” It will be an American-centric event. Millions of people are travelling to see the totality of the eclipse, …"

"The man walking to Confession looked ragged and poor; probably homeless. Perhaps that’s why people just ignored him when he was hit by a passing trolley and thrown to the side of the road. He was eventually taken to the hospital, but they didn’t have the resources to give the best possible care to homeless …"

'There is a growing tendency in certain church circles—both Protestant and Catholic—to over-emphasize sentimentality. Sentimentality allows us to focus predominantly on our feelings. This can also come from a false sense of piety and an over-emphasis on personal devotions, which inevitably leave us spiritually dry. Our faith is true regardless of how we feel in …"

"I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you. Psalm 32:8 Imagine, if you can, that one of the greatest professional athletes of our times absolutely hated to play sports as a boy, and was clumsy and uncoordinated. This hypothetical situations could well …"

"The upcoming Fall Quarter at the Avila Institute will feature a Graduate Program course on Introduction to Spiritual Theology taught by Dr. Joseph Hollcraft. You can sign up for this course or Theology of Divine Mercy, Conversion and Suffering by applying for the Graduate Studies Program. Are you on the path to holiness? Everyone is Called to …"

"St. Stephen of Hungary (975-1038) played an important role in Christianizing his country. Stephen was born a pagan, but as a youth, he and his father, Duke Geza, were baptized by the Bohemian bishop St. Adalbert of Prague. At the age of twenty Stephen married Gisela, the sister of the Emperor St. Henry II. In …"

"Finally the Immaculate Virgin, preserved free from all stain of original sin, when the course of her earthly life was finished, was taken up body and soul into heavenly glory, and exalted by the Lord as Queen over all things, so that she might be the more fully conformed to her Son, the Lord of …"

"The word “Church” means many things to many people. To some the Church is merely a structure, a body of laws designed to make everyone as miserable as possible, an authoritarian body which takes delight in exercising the prerogative of telling the world what it can and cannot do. There are others who look upon …"

"Every year the Church obliges Catholics to attend Mass on August 15th, in the middle of summer, to honor the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The belief pertaining to Mary’s Assumption, while celebrated for centuries (many saints have homilies on the Assumption), was elevated to the status of dogma with the Apostolic Constitution Munificentissimus …

"The newest Retreat Guide from RC Spirituality, God Is Faithful: A Retreat Guide on Mary’s Assumption into Heaven, is now available at www.RCSpirituality.org. The Blessed Virgin Mary led a life full of suffering. But she never let that suffering obscure her faith in …"

Almighty, ever-living God,you have taken the mother of your Son,the immaculate Virgin Mary,body and soul into the glory where you dwell.Keep our hearts set on heavenso that, with her, we may share in your glory.Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,who lives and reigns with youin the unity of the Holy Spirit,one God, for ever and ever.Amen.

"Each one of us is born with and endowed with a singular conscience by which we are obliged to form, to cultivate, and to follow in order to live a richer and more moral life. However, this necessitates a properly formed conscience within the soul. If we do not properly form a conscience we will …"

Monday, August 14, 2017

" There is no saint that has a greater impact upon my spiritual life than St. Maximilian Kolbe. This fact is ironic as early on in my conversion to Catholicism I did not like him at all. I thought he looked too stern in his pictures, and that he talked too much about the Immaculata, a …"

"As a child, Maximilian Kolbe (1894-1941) had a deep devotion to Our Lady. On one occasion he had a vision in which Mary offered him either a white garment, symbolizing purity, or a red one, symbolizing martyrdom. “I choose both,” the boy replied. His heart was transfixed by Our Lady. Later he prayed that when …"

"He had called down fire from heaven and God responded. He has put the prophets of Baal to shame. And then he had slaughtered them. That’s 1 Kings 18. But in the next chapter we find Elijah fleeing into the wilderness not only afraid for his life but in despair. What had happened? King Ahab …"

"Dating Detox: 40 Days of Perfecting Love in an Imperfect World, was released jointly by Ignatius Press and the Augustine Institute. The following are some reasons why you should read this book, whether you are preparing for marriage yourself or you know someone who is..."

For the safety of all military personnel and citizens throughout the world, through the intercession of Fr. Kapaun:

Prayer for the Beatification and Canonization of Fr. Kapaun

Lord Jesus, in the midst of the folly of war, your servant, Chaplain Emil Kapaun, spent himself in total service to you on the battlefields and in the prison camps of Korea, until his death at the hands of his captors. We now ask you, Lord Jesus, if it be your will, to make known to all the world the holiness of Chaplain Kapaun and the glory of his complete sacrifice for you by signs of miracles and peace. In your name, Lord, we ask, for you are the source of peace, the strength of our service to others, and our final hope. Amen.

Brother John Therese Marie made his perpetual vows today with the Franciscan
Missionaries of the Eternal Word Televion Network. We are blessed to have him in
the service of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

God Bless you Brother John Therese You are an instrument of the Kingdom of God!

"St. Clare of Assisi (1193-1253) was born of a noble family, twelve years after the birth of her famous townsman St. Francis, who had a major influence on her life. At the age of eighteen, Clare left home secretly and, with Francis’ help, arranged to reside in a Benedictine convent. Her family’s attempts to persuade …"

"This Sunday's Gospel tells us that Jesus let the apostles struggle for many hours in a violent storm before going to them. Why did He wait so long? Gospel (Read Mt 14:22-33) After the miraculous feeding of the five thousand (last Sunday’s Gospel), Jesus sent both His disciples and the vast crowd away. The disciples took …"

"One of the most famous stories of the New Testament is the one about Jesus walking on the water. If there is any gospel story we never tire of hearing, this is it. The lake is rough. Though several of the apostles spent most of their life in a boat, they’re still worried. But when …"

"Everything in the world is fraught with sorrow, and no mortal here below can escape suffering. It clings to human nature and dogs its footsteps. Indeed the whole history of the human race is but one great tragedy of a thousand difficulties and contradictions. Suffering began with the fall of our first parents and ends …"

Thursday, August 10, 2017

"When we choose to walk with our brothers and sisters in Christ, we must pray for fortitude so that we can bear their suffering alongside them through the grace of Christ. We are truly one body, let’s start living this reality every single day..."

"When we diverge from God’s plan and will for our lives, the ramifications can last for generations. Considering the recent marriage within the Catholic Church of my youngest son, it is incredible to contemplate all that had to transpire for that to happen. I am sure it is ultimately due to divine providence, but it …"

"When did we last reflect on the sacrifice of Christ? Last Good Friday? Generally, we meditate on Christ’s Passion during Lent and Holy Week. That is logical, of course, since Lent (and Holy Week in particular) helps focus our attention on Christ’s gift of His body for us on the cross and in the Eucharist …"

Wednesday, August 9, 2017

Per ipsum et cum ipso et in ipso: through Jesus, with Jesus, and in Jesus.

“Without me, you can do nothing.”

“With You, Jesus, I can do all things.”

"Renew these thoughts which bind you to Him and which plunge you into the abyss of love which is His Heart. The logical and necessary consequence of the complete confidence which I have preached to you until now is total abandonment.

Since it is through Jesus that everything must be accomplished, the more I let Him do, the more the work of grace will be beautiful and perfect...."

" Suicide believes the internal tapes of despair. Suicide is the only way out of despair, it claims. But hope is the antidote. Hope, however tiny a voice it may be competing with the bellowing of despair, is strong and powerful...."

"Edith Stein was born in Breslau, Germany, (now Wroclaw, Poland) on 12 October 1891, the youngest of eleven children of a devout Jewish family. She died in the Auschwitz gas chamber on 9 August 1942, having been sent to the death camp when she refused to deny her Jewish heritage. In 1916 she completed her …"

" I was initially confused about what to do with my life shortly after I arrived in the United States from my native country of Nigeria. I wanted to pursue a Master’s degree in Geophysics. My dad suggested that I go into Information Technology instead. My uncle was of the opinion that I should get an …"

"Have you been asked yet — either by a Seventh-Day Adventist or a member of other Seventh-Day Sabbatarian groups (and there are many) — why Christians changed the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday? Quick answer — the Sabbath is still on Saturday. But most (not all) Christians including Catholics, …"

Tuesday, August 8, 2017

"Imagine you’ve discovered the cure for cancer. Just you. So of course every news agency is begging to meet with you. On a given Monday evening you agree to a sit-down with a journalist from the New York Times. She’s arranged to meet you at, say, the Boathouse restaurant in San Diego. Or maybe she’ll meet you …"

"The founder of the Dominican Order, St. Dominic (1170-1221), was born in Spain, where he was well educated in preparation for the priesthood. Dominic was ordained in 1206, and when his bishop, Diego, was appointed a papal emissary to the Albigensians, Dominic was chosen to accompany him. The Albigensians were a heretical group in southern …"

"During one of the darkest periods of our human history, deeply rooted in this “estrangement from God” and “the night of sin” and death that she describes, Edith Stein chose to take on the name of Sister Teresa Benedicta of the Cross and to unite her soul to God fully and completely as a contemplative nun. Surely, this is no coincidence..."

"Of all the books in the New Testament, Revelation, with its many monsters, wonders, and sheer weirdness may seem the most remote from our lived experience as Christians. And yet this book provides the most solid biblical foundation for many of the devotional practices of Catholics today. Consider the two pillars of the devotional life: …"

"You should never judge the will of man in anything that you may see done or said by any creature whatsoever, either to yourself or to others. My will alone should you consider, both in them and in yourself. –The Dialogue, 91 As much as we long for autonomy and control, one of the best …"

"Looking at things from this side of the Atlantic, it is easy to think of Europe as a single, united entity. Seen up close it’s not so clear. National identity keeps getting in the way. French, German, Italian, Polish, and so on—those ancient identities still matter to many people. As arguably they should. National identity …"

Sunday, August 6, 2017

Whether you live in the West, East of the Mississippi or in another Country, please visit and join the Catholic Facebook page 'Utah Catholics'.

You will feel right at Home! We have the Daily Gospel Readings, inspiration from 'EWTN', 'Catholic Exchange' and many other Catholic sites. Over 330 members worldwide have already found this page and visit daily.

"Jesus takes His closest friends up a mountain to pray, an action packed with meaning for Jews. Why? Gospel (Read Mt 17:1-9) The meaning of today’s Gospel reading, known to us as the Transfiguration, is greatly enriched if we understand the context in which it appears, both within Matthew’s Gospel and the larger story of …"