Vigilance, that is, being mindful always of Our Lord can give us a certain special blessings and happiness. When the end times come, it will be too late to become mindful and virtuous. This is why St. Paul is adamant that we must turn our minds to the Lord immediately, never missing an opportunity to grow nearer to Him.

On the last Sunday before Advent, Holy Mother Church asks us to reflect on the last things. It is a moment when we are compelled to reflect on Christ not coming only as the redeemer or mediator, but as the Last Judge. Focusing upon this reality is not done out of morbidity or negativity, but rather to remember always that we must account to our Creator how we have lived.

The final judgment of our souls, which is referred to as the General Judgment, is one we do not always place before our minds. Yet it is crucial for us to prepare for it. Confession is indispensable, and for many of us a General Confession that is mindfully given, examining the course of our lives, is of the upmost importance. Once we make it, once we have found the strength, to be truly open about our sins, it is incumbent that we persevere in the grace of God.

In February 1917, Our Lady asked three children in Fatima to make reparation to her Immaculate Heart. Of those sins she requested reparation for was in response to those who fostered in the hearts of children indifference or contempt for our Blessed Mother. Distressingly, in our own time, we witness the Church fostering that very…

When Our Lord performs a miracle, it is not by accident. It is intentional. This is particularly seen in the resurrections Christ performs. He is ridiculed because those present believe there is no hope, no chance for Him to accomplish the miracle that has been asked of Him. Yet we see that the faith of those depending on Him is met with Our Lord’s benevolence. All that God asks is for us to let Him into our homes, into our lives, and He will be there.

Among the hardest questions of the Faith, is why our Lord has not prevented evil, including death? Yet by Lazarus’s death and resurrection, God manifests His glory. He demonstrates His power, as master of life and death.

In the contemporary world, there are many misunderstandings concerning purgatory. Indeed, there are many who no longer believe in it, holding instead that almost all who die go directly to heaven save a few terrible people. However, the reality of purgatory can be found in the Old Testament and has been reaffirmed by the Catholic Church repeatedly. What is purgatory? How are we to understand it? And most importantly, what can we do for the souls who dwell there?

Indulgences are understood poorly today, and many anti-Catholic polemicists falsely hold them up as licenses to sin the future or that absolution is contingent on paying the right amount of money. However, an indulgence is not the forgiveness of sin; it is rather the expiation of temporal punishment due to sin. The Church’s teaching on indulgences is entirely Biblical. Yet it was Martin Luther in the 16th century who, after years of upholding the Catholic position, opted to take his his own private spiritual struggles and elevate them to the level of new doctrines that ultimately rejected indulgences and indeed the teaching that any work can assist in our salvation.

The consecration of the Basilica of St. John Lateran, originally dedicated to Christ the Savior, was first celebrated on November 9, 324 AD by Pope Sylvester I. For over 1,700 hears, this church has stood as a symbol of the Catholic Faith and the home of many historical events, including five ecumenical councils. St. John Lateran’s symbolic value may be more important now than ever as the Church remains beset by modernism and a crisis of faith. This unsettling state of affairs can be seen once again in the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith’s recent rejection, in the name of ecumenism, of certain traditional titles for the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Bearing with one another is a struggle, but in the authentic Christian spirit we are called to do so. When we endure these sufferings of the shortcomings of others, which is part of accepting the cross, is part of uniting ourselves to Christ. We are so inclined to criticize others, regardless of our station of life. What we too often lose sight of is how much giving in to criticizing others and harboring discontent is how these poison our very souls. We quickly see the failures in others while ignoring our own.