Friends of the Rosary, Today, November 22, we celebrate the Memorial of St. Cecilia, a virgin and martyr, one of the most venerated of Roman saints. Her martyrdom probably occurred during the reign of Emperor Alexander Severus, about the year 230. In 1599, her grave was opened, and her body was found incorrupt in a cypress wood coffin. Cecilia led a life of prayer and meditation. She had vowed lifelong virginity, but a youth named Valerian, relying upon the approval of her parents, hoped...

Friends of the Rosary, Today, November 21, we celebrate the Memorial of the Presentation of Mary in the Temple. It’s the mystery of the Blessed Mother’s dwelling as a preparation for Advent. Our Lady's birthday is September 8, the Holy Name of Mary is September 12, and her Presentation is today. These feasts parallel the first three of our Lord in the liturgical cycle: the birth of Christ or Christmas (December 25), the Holy Name of Jesus (January 3), and His Presentation in the Temple...

Friends of the Rosary, Today, in the Gospel (Lk 19:11-28), Jesus instructs us about our spiritual life with scenes drawn from business, investment, risk, and return. God exists in gift form. And if we want the Lord’s life in us, we must learn to give it away. Everything we own comes from the Divinity: life, being, powers, talents. If we cling to them, they wither away, not growing. The reading shows how the first two servants doubled their wealth as they risked it. The third one didn’t...

Friends of the Rosary, Today, in the first reading of the Gospel (RV 3:1-6, 14-22), the Lord reproves lukewarmness. He told John: "I know your works; I know that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either cold or hot. So, because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. For you say, ‘I am rich and affluent and have no need of anything,’ and yet do not realize that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. I advise you to buy from me gold...

Friends of the Rosary, Today, November 18, the Catholic Church celebrates the dedication of the Basilicas of Sts. Peter and Paul in Rome. Today’s feast is a spiritual journey to two holy tombs, the place of each apostle’s martyrdom. The Basilica of St. Peter at the Vatican was built over the tomb of St. Peter, where he was executed, and where Nero’s Circus stood. St. Paul-Outside-the-Walls, situated at the other end of the city on the Ostian Way, is built near where St. Paul was martyred....

Friends of the Rosary, Our Gospel’s reading for today features the scene (Mark 13:24-32) of the Second Coming and the arrival of God’s definitive kingdom. Jesus said, "The powers in the heavens will be shaken. And then we will see ‘the Son of Man coming in the clouds’ with great power and glory." Only then the eternal peace will come. The Second Coming of Christ signals the end of the world as we know it. However, the Son of Man is coming on the clouds of heaven even now, in the life of...

Friends of the Rosary, At that time, Jesus said to his disciples: “It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give you. This I command you: love one another.” These three sentences that we read today summarize the extraordinary teaching of Jesus. “I have told you this so that my joy might be in you and your joy might be complete. This is my commandment: love one another as...

Friends of the Rosary, As we read today (Luke 17: 26-37), Jesus said to his disciples: “As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be in the days of the Son of Man; they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage up to the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. Similarly, as it was in the days of Lot: they were eating, drinking, buying, selling, planting, building; on the day when Lot left Sodom, fire and brimstone rained from the sky to...

Friends of the Rosary, This month is dedicated to praying for the holy souls in purgatory, all in the purifying suffering, awaiting to join the heavenly glory. These souls include our family members and friends who died in grace and are assured of their eternal salvation. But these elected people still need to achieve full glory. They fell asleep, imploring the Lord to grant them a place of happiness, light, and peace. It's critical, therefore, to remember that purgatory is temporary. Its...

Friends of the Rosary, Today, November 13, we honor St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, an Italian missionary who spent much of her life working with Italian immigrants in the U.S. She is the patron of immigrants. Mother Cabrini established orphanages, hospitals, convents, and schools to help immigrants and to care for the sick and abandoned. Orphaned herself in Italy before she was 18, she joined the Sisters of the Sacred Heart and took on the name “Xavier” in honor of St. Francis Xavier, the...

Friends of the Rosary, Today, on the feast day of Saint Josaphat, bishop and martyr, we see in the Gospel (Lk 17:7-10) what it means to be obedient and a faithful servant. Christ is Lord, and the proper response to a King is obedience.  Our lives are about serving the King of Kings by listening and surrendering to Him. We are built for obedience. Our lives are not about us. The servants must listen. As we read today, ‘We are unprofitable servants; we have done what we were obliged to...

Friends of the Rosary, Today, November 11, Veterans Day, we remember those who have served our country in the armed forces in our prayers. We pray for those in service and for their families, so God bless them, giving them courage, hope, and strength. In the Gospel today (Lk 17:1-6), Jesus speaks about faith. Our faith is the confidence that we are being guided and cared for. It connects us to the reality of God to the point of noticing that when some people ask in a spirit of trust,...

Friends of the Rosary, The poor widow of today’s reading (Mk 12:38-44 or 12:41-44), who, in the words of Jesus, “contributed all she had, her whole livelihood,” remained confident that God would be pleased with her sacrifice. “Christ Jesus sat down opposite the treasury and observed how the crowd put money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. A poor widow also came and put in two small coins worth a few cents. Calling his disciples to himself, he said to them, “Amen, I...

Friends of the Rosary, Today, November 9, the Catholic Church celebrates the Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome. It is the oldest church in the West and one of the four major basilicas in Rome. It was built in Emperor Constantine's time and consecrated by Pope Sylvester in 324. We are reminded that the temple of stones is a symbol of the living Church, built by God with "living stones," namely, Christians themselves, upon the one foundation of Jesus Christ, who is...

Friends of the Rosary, Our Christian community — our family in Christ — extends across time and space. It embraces the departed alongside the living. It’s important to highlight that no one is saved alone. We are saved in and through others. For the faithful, physical death is not a barrier or wall of separation, and that’s why we look for companionship to the living and those who have completed their earthly course. This month is dedicated to the holy souls in purgatory, our loved ones,...

Friends of the Rosary, We continue with our prayer of thankfulness and petitioning after the 2024 U.S. election outcome. We ask for the intercession of our Blessed Mother, the patroness of the U.S., to promote the dignity of the human person, especially the most vulnerable among us, including the unborn, the poor, the stranger, the elderly and infirm, and migrants. Americans are urged to pray for all elected officials so that they might rise to meet the responsibilities entrusted to...

Friends of the Rosary, With relief after the result of the U.S. presidential election, we pray for this country's future and the adoption of Catholic values. At the core of Christianity is the commandment to love God and then love everything else for the sake of God. But, as St. Augustine said, almost everyone falls into the trap of forgetting the Author of Life and loving the creature. We even make our family members little gods. This is why Jesus tells his followers they must choose by...

Friends of the Rosary, November is dedicated to the Holy Souls in Purgatory, whose feast was celebrated on November 2. Also, this month, on November 24, the last Sunday of the Liturgical Year, is the Solemnity of Christ the King. This feast highlights Jesus’ royalty as God the Creator, the Word Incarnate, and the Redeemer. As we read in the Gospel today (Luke 14:15-24), the King of Kings invites us to a wedding feast in Heaven. And we must respond. It’s a critical invitation to enter into...

Friends of the Rosary, While we continue praying for the Faithful Departed, especially from November 1 through the 8th, today we celebrate the Memorial of St. Charles Borromeo (1538-1584), the bishop of Milan. He was from a wealthy, aristocratic Italian family. During a plague, he walked barefooted in the public streets, carrying a cross with a rope around his neck, offering himself as a victim to God for the transgressions of his people. He died in 1584 at forty-six, dressed in sackcloth...

Friends of the Rosary, The foundation of our Christian holy religion is the love of God and neighbor. And we understand that loving our neighbor means offering him or her help, advice, encouragement, and consolation. All the other commandments are expansions of these two. In today's Sunday reading (Mark 12:28-34), Jesus said to the scribes: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul,  with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second [commandment] is...

Friends of the Rosary, Today, November 2, after celebrating the feast of All Saints, the Catholic Church prays for all who are in the purifying suffering of Purgatory, awaiting the day to join the heavenly glory. It’s the Commemoration of the All the Faithful Departed, All Souls’ Day. The Catechism states (CCC 1030-1031), “All who die in God’s grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death, they undergo purification to...

Friends of the Rosary, Today, November 1, is the Solemnity of All Saints, a feast that inspires tremendous hope. From November 1 to the 8th, we pray for the Faithful Departed.  The Catholic Church celebrates all the saints, canonized or beatified, and the multitude of those in heaven enjoying the beatific vision. We all have a universal call to holiness to join the company of the saints in heaven. To achieve this, we must devote ourselves with all our being to God’s glory and our...

Friends of the Rosary, Today, October 31, is the Eve of All Saints, also known as All Hallows’ Eve or Hallowe’ en, and commonly known as Halloween. In England, saints or holy people are called “hallowed,” meaning “All Hallows’ Day.” Halloween or All Hallows’ Eve is not a liturgical feast on the Catholic calendar. However, the celebration has deep Catholic meaning. The three consecutive days — Halloween, All Saints Day, and All Souls Day — illustrate the Communion of Saints. In other words,...

Friends of the Rosary, From time immemorial, the human race has wondered who will be saved and who will go directly to heaven, purgatory, or hell. This is the critical question of our existence. At that time, Jesus was asked (Lk 13:22-30): "Lord, will only a few people be saved? He answered them, "Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough. We have free will, and it’s up to us to accept his merciful love or reject it...