St. Josemaría Escrivá left the Opus Dei in the hands of Bl. Álvaro del Portillo, a holy bishop who died on March 23, 1994, and was beatified by the Church on September 27, 2014. According to the Opus Dei’s website, Bl. Álvaro went on pilgrimage in 1994 to the Holy Land. Bishop del Portillo had returned only Read More…

The Church enters into a unique liturgical period after the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday. The Mass does not conclude with a final blessing, and instead ends on a quieter note with no official dismissal. Instead, the Church invites the faithful to enter into Christ’s Passion in a unique way. It is Read More…

Here is a selection of prayers you can use during Holy Week to help you go deeper into the events of our salvation. Praise the Lord as the angels do (Isaiah 6:3), with the words (inspired by Psalm 118:26) that the crowds used to acclaim Jesus during his triumphant entry into Jerusalem (Mt 21:9). Catholics Read More…

Lent is a penitential season in the Catholic Church that spans a total of 46 days, as the 40-day fast does not include the six Sundays that occur within it. Additionally, the season of Lent ends right before a mini liturgical season that lasts three days before Easter. Technically speaking, the Easter Triduum, also known Read More…

Sometimes it is easy to forget that we are children of a loving God. We go about our daily business failing to open our hearts to the love God wants to give to us. This is why contemplative prayer is so important, as it brings us back into relationship with God. The Catechism of the Read More…

Holy Week is the climax of the liturgical year and is the holiest of weeks on the Christian calendar. It commemorates the last week of Jesus’ earthly life and his Passion, death and resurrection. Some days of Holy Week have special names, such as Good Friday, Spy Wednesday, and Palm Sunday. The official Latin name Read More…

At times prayer can seem overly complicated, with thousands of books devoted to the subject, each describing different ways to pray. However, sometimes it is the simplest people who are best at describing it. Even the Catechism of the Catholic Church admits this when commenting on contemplative prayer: Contemplation is a gaze of faith, fixed on Jesus. Read More…

Born into a noble family in the late 8th century, Meinrad of Hohenzollern (better known as Meinrad of Einsiedeln) chose a path of monastic solitude and devotion. Educated at the Benedictine abbey of Reichenau, he went on to serve as a monk and priest before seeking a life as a hermit, driven by a call Read More…

For centuries the solemnity of the Annunciation has been celebrated on March 25. This day is exactly nine months before the celebration of Christmas, which occurs on December 25. However, March 25 will occasionally fall during Holy Week, which means, in the Western Church, that the liturgical celebration is suppressed. Whenever this occurs, the liturgical Read More…

There are some types of prayer that are relatively easy to master, such as praying memorized prayers like the Our Father or Hail Mary. On the other hand, there are some methods of prayer that are particularly intense, requiring focus and effort. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that contemplative prayer is intense: Contemplative Read More…

Holy Week and the celebration of Easter are on a different dates each year, as they are not fixed to a specific day of the year. Easter, from which Holy week, Lent, and Asj Wednesday are back-dated, is one of the moveable feasts of the liturgical calendar. From the very beginning of the Church the Read More…

Forgiveness is hard. It is not only difficult to give and receive but, first and foremost, it is hard to understand. Why forgive? What’s in it for me? Is not forgiveness contrary to justice? What about my sense of dignity? Cherry on top, forgiveness does not erase the hurt, nor does it condone the offense. Read More…