To live by means of Mary means to accept the “means” through which the Mother of Jesus experienced the Son being formed in her womb. This is the first step of true devotion; without it the others are not possible. This means, which always formed and accompanied Mary, is the Holy Spirit. To live alongside Mary means not to choose any other light but that of the Consoler. The Spirit who descended upon her at the annunciation is the same One who works in me and who wants to generate a n...

"To consecrate oneself to Mary is not a passing fashion, a spiritual hobby, but a ready response to the gift of the dying Jesus: “Here is your mother” (Jn 19:27). We don’t need to distrust the gifts of God, for he knows what we need before we even ask him (see Mt 6:8). Perhaps no one has seen this act of Jesus in a theological and symbolic framework as well as Saint Louis de Montfort. For this great French apostle, baptized persons must cast themselves like raw clay into t...

"To consecrate oneself to Mary is not a passing fashion, a spiritual hobby, but a ready response to the gift of the dying Jesus: “Here is your mother” (Jn 19:27). We don’t need to distrust the gifts of God, for he knows what we need before we even ask him (see Mt 6:8). Perhaps no one has seen this act of Jesus in a theological and symbolic framework as well as Saint Louis de Montfort. For this great French apostle, baptized persons must cast themselves like raw clay into t...

Getting older, we discover, is not for the faint of heart.It’s not just our physical bodies that are betraying us with aches and pains; it’s the whole process of changing expectations for the future and looking back to a past we cannot change. Neither of these activities is pleasant or easy.And we don’t have much choice in the matter. As we move from our forties into our fifties and beyond, the nights we spend staring at the ceiling in the dark become more frequent, and often m...

In old English, and in some traditions today, the Holy Spirit is referred to as the Holy Ghost. But it’s not exactly what we imagine when we think of ghosts today! Most of us have a pretty good idea of what ghosts are “supposed” to look like—and heaven forbid they should chase us!But the Holy Spirit? That might be something else altogether.The Holy Spirit is God working in us. When you feel afraid and are in prayer and experience a sudden wave of reassurance, that’s...

It’s a perennial question. Let’s face it, shopping for Mom is a lot easier: scarves, jewelry, items for the kitchen, the list is endless. But there are just so many ties that Dad can fit into his closet!We have a few suggestions to help this year. Instead of that ubiquitous tie, why not get something special that Dad will treasure, that will improve his life, that he’ll return to again and again?Two great books are available to help Dad get his life organized and on track: When...

Being a father is difficult. You’re supposed to do everything: earn a good living, fix everything that breaks around the house, help with homework, have a close relationship with your kids… and still see mothers get most of the props for parenting!It’s difficult to find the time to be the kind of father you’d like to be, but there are things you can do to make it clearer, if not easier! Here are five ways you can increase your interactions with your kids and enrich both ...

We asked a few fathers we know what they’d really like to have for Father’s Day. You might enjoy their responses… and please feel free to add to them! We’d love to hear what you’d truly like for Father’s Day, too! What would make a great gift or activity for your special day?“Honestly, my favorite thing is playing board games with my wife and daughters. We do it once a month, have a nice supper then make some popcorn and play games for hours on end. Som...

We all bless ourselves “in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” And most of us are pretty clear about God and Jesus. But what about the Holy Spirit?The Holy Spirit can often feel like the “hidden” part of the Trinity. So let’s enter into an understanding of it in the same way that we enter the life of the Church: through a consideration of baptism.The Catholic sacrament of Baptism brings a person—usually a child or even a baby&mdash...

Welcome to the month of May, Our Lady’s special month! It’s a month of hope, of starting new gardens—and maybe even new habits. We all seem to do the same things, over and over again, even in our prayer lives; why not, this month, adopt a special devotion to Mary under one of her many titles? This could become an annual tradition for you and your family: learn about a new Marian devotion each May. May is a wonderful time to reconnect with your rosary beads. Yes, the ones t...