As friends of a small shrine dedicated to Our Lady, the second luminous mystery has a special significance for our lives: the first of Jesus’ public miracles was mediated by the intercession of Our Lady. Our Lady simply had to look into her Son’s eyes imploringly as she stated the needs of her soon-to-be children…
In the first Luminous mystery, our Saviour comes before the Father in a spirit of humility, submitting himself to John’s baptism of repentance on behalf of the sinner, in order “to fulfill all righteousness” (Matt 3:15). When He comes up out of the water, “the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God…
There are so many directions one could take in unpacking the Fifth Joyful Mystery, but with Christmas approaching, I’d like to turn our attention to the path of evangelization. Stores are in-gear for shopping sprees, our eyes catch the twinkling of Christmas lights, and holiday jingles reach our ears…but how many of our neighbours are…
Forty days after His birth, Jesus is presented in the Temple, in accord with the law of Moses. As devout Jews, Our Lady and St. Joseph observed to the letter the God-given prescriptions of the Torah. The presentation of a first-born son was an act of consecration to God. Just as the Chosen People offered…
Nothing in the life of Christ was arbitrary, least of all His birth and His death. His first sigh and his final breath were marked by telling poverty. There is a ‘magic’ to the story of the Nativity, to be sure: the charm of the tender babe surrounded by the adoring gaze of lowly shepherds,…
Years ago, I was struck by a sign hanging in my friend’s kitchen. It read, “I AM THIRD.” I learned that the sign was a reminder of the proper ordering of our hearts: first God, then our neighbour, and only then ourselves. Last month we reflected on humility, the virtue which is the foundation of…
Last month, we reflected on the purpose of our Catholic Faith: union with God. Charity is the essence of this union, but it is not the actual basis of our spiritual lives. The foundation of our spiritual lives is something deeper, and that something is humility. Humility is the fertile soil in which charity is…