According to the Church’s liturgical calendar, the feast held on Feb. 2 each year is in honor of the Presentation of the Lord. Some Catholics recall this day as the feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary because such was the feast day named until the 1969 changes in the Church’s calendar. The…
Month: January 2020
St. Blaise and the Blessing of throats.
On February 3, on the memorial of St. Blaise, the custom is to bless the throat of the faithful after Mass. For the blessing the priest uses the following words: “Through the intercession of St. Blaise, Bishop and Martyr, may God deliver you from every disease of the throat and from every other illness. In…
Blessing of candles on the Feast of the Presentation
With the beginning of February, we have some very meaningful practices in our Catholic calendar. On Sunday, February 2, the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, we think of Jesus, the Light of the world, being brought into the Temple by Mary and Joseph. The Vatican document Ceremonies of the Liturgical Year describes the…
Bible Study: The Letter to the Romans
Saint Augustine, in his Confessions, said he was converted to Christianity by reading two verses from Saint Paul’s letter to the Romans. Dr. Swafford and Jeff Cavins provide an authentically Catholic, comprehensive, yet simple way to understand the overarching theme of Romans. Join this interactive study with video presentation and small-group discussions beginning Saturday, February…
The Meaning of Baptism
Leon Bloy once wrote, “The only real sadness, the only real failure, the only great tragedy in life, is not to become a saint.” The vocation to become a saint is the vocation of each baptized person, therefore it is a vocation for all of us who have been baptized. This Sunday we celebrate the…