CATHOLIC BELLATOR

  Pope Benedict XVI Image Credit: Catholic Church England “With sorrow I inform you that the Pope Emeritus, Benedict XVI, passed away today at 9:34 in the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery in the Vatican." —Matteo Bruni, Director of Holy See Press Office Pope Benedict XVI died earlier this morning. Eternal rest grant unto him O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him. May he rest in peace. Pray for the soul of Pope Benedict XVI. Pope Benedict XVI was born in Germany in 1927. He was ordained a priest in 1951 and became a bishop in 1977. In 1981, he was appointed Archbishop of Munich and Freising and Cardinal by Pope John Paul II. He served as the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith from 1981 to 2005. He was elected Pope in 2005, succeeding Pope John Paul II. He resigned in 2013, becoming the first Pope to do so since 1415. Pope Benedict XVI was a traditionalist who upheld Catholic doctrine. He wrote extensively on theology and philosophy. His major works include

St Thomas Becket Cnbrb, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Thomas Becket , also known as Saint Thomas of Canterbury, Thomas a Becket or Thomas á Becket (21 December 1119 – 29 December 1170, was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 until his murder in 1170. He is venerated as a saint and martyr by both the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion. He engaged in conflict with Henry II, King of England, over the rights and privileges of the Church and was murdered by followers of the king in Canterbury Cathedral. Soon after his death, he was canonized by Pope Alexander III. The main sources for the life of Becket are a number of biographies that were written by contemporaries. A few of these documents are by unknown writers, although traditional historiography has given them names. The other biographers, who are all monks of Christ Church, Canterbury, relied heavily on William of Canterbury's account of the martyrdom, which was itself ba

  ADVENT Kittelendan, CC BY-SA 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons Advent is an important Christian holiday, celebrated annually from the fourth Sunday before Christmas to the day before Christmas. This period of anticipation, reflection and spiritual preparation for the coming of Jesus Christ, is marked by members of many denominations all over the world. Advent begins with the lighting of the first candle of a four-candle Advent wreath. These four candles commemorate the hope, love, joy, and peace of the season. Each candle is symbolically lit successively on each of the four Sundays preceding Christmas. The candles are traditionally placed in a holder called an Advent wreath. The wreath is usually made of evergreens, symbolizing the everlasting life that was promised to us through Jesus Christ. The candles are placed in the wreath in a circle, symbolizing God's eternal love. As the candles are lit and extinguished, many believers participate in a daily devotional practice that is focus

Feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary December 8: Hour of Grace | Feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary “With Prayers and Penance. Pray the 51st Psalm with outstretched arms three times. During the Hour of Grace, many spiritual graces would be granted. The most hard-hearted sinners will be touched by the grace of God.” (Our Lady to Sister Pierrina) Request of Our Heavenly Mother for the Hour of Grace: To be started from 12 noon until 1 p.m. (one full hour of prayer); During this hour the person making the Hour of Grace either at home or in a church must put away all distractions; Begin the Hour of Grace by praying three times the 51st Psalm (below) with outstretched arms; The rest of the Hour of Grace may be spent in silent communication with God, adoring the Sacred Host, meditating upon the Passion of Jesus, saying the Holy Rosary, praising God in your own way or by using favorite prayers, singing hymns, etc. *** As always, be in a s

  Today is the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows Zarateman, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons 'Blessed are you, O Virgin Mary; without dying you won the martyr's crown beneath the Cross of the Lord.' Hymn AT THE CROSS HER STATION KEEPING (Stabat Mater) At the cross her station keeping, Stood the mournful Mother weeping, Close to Jesus to the last. Through her heart, his sorrow sharing, All his bitter anguish bearing, Now at length the sword had passed. Oh, how sad and sore distressed Was that Mother highly blessed Of the sole begotten One! Christ above in torment hangs, She beneath beholds the pangs Of her dying, glorious Son. Is there one who would not weep, 'Whelmed in miseries so deep, Christ's dear Mother to behold? Can the human heart refrain From partaking in her pain, In that mother's pain untold? Bruised, derided, cursed, defiled, She beheld her tender Child, All with bloody scourges rent. For the si

MAY IS THE MONTH OF MARY

The Gospel of Mark | Full Movie Happy Feast of St Mark!

Happy Feast of Divine Mercy Sunday! “I desire that the Feast of Mercy be a refuge and shelter for all souls, and especially for poor sinners. On that day the very depths of My tender mercy are open. I pour out a whole ocean of graces upon those souls who approach the fount of My mercy. The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment . On that day all the divine floodgates through which grace flow are opened. Let no soul fear to draw near to Me, even though its sins be as scarlet.” (St. Faustina’s Diary 699) Indulgence for Divine Mercy Sunday Source: DivineMercy.Life O God, your mercy knows no bounds and the treasure of your goodness is infinite…” (Prayer after the “Te Deum” Hymn)  “The paschal mystery is the culmination of this revealing and effecting of mercy, which is able to justify man, to restore justice in the sense of that salvific order which God willed from the beginning in man, and through man, in the wo

So Simon Peter also *came, following him, and he entered the tomb; and he *looked at the linen wrappings lying there, and the face-cloth which had been on His head, not lying with the linen wrappings but FOLDED UP in a place by itself.  —John 20:6-7 So why did Jesus fold up the cloth that covered His face in the tomb? Why did John include this detailed part in the Gospel? The answer may be connected to old Jewish custom in that time. Watch the video:  

Where Can We Find Salvation? Is the means of salvation only found in the Catholic Church? Is the catholic church the only one true church? This video will walk us through and to better understand the teachings of the church and what the saints say about salvation through the Catholic Church.  

  Indulgence for Divine Mercy Sunday ​ ​ SOURCE:  DivineMercyLife O God, your mercy knows no bounds and the treasure of your goodness is infinite…” (Prayer after the “Te Deum” Hymn)  “The paschal mystery is the culmination of this revealing and effecting of mercy, which is able to justify man, to restore justice in the sense of that salvific order which God willed from the beginning in man, and through man, in the world” (Encyclical Letter  Dives in misericordia , n. 7). “And so with provident pastoral sensitivity and in order to impress deeply on the souls of the faithful these precepts and teachings of the Christian faith, the Supreme Pontiff, John Paul II, moved by the consideration of the Father of Mercy, has willed that the Second Sunday of Easter be dedicated to recalling with special devotion these gifts of grace and gave this Sunday the name, “Divine Mercy Sunday” (Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, Decree  Misericors et miserator , 5 May 2000

Happy Feast of St Vincent Ferrer Saint Vincent Ferrer with Wings and Crucifix Preach for Crowd Image: Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo (1727-1804) Vincent Ferrer, (born c. 1350, Valencia, Aragon—died April 5, 1419, Vannes, France; canonized 1455; feast day April 5)  Today (April 5) is the Feast of one of my favorite saints - St Vincent Ferrer.  He was gifted by God with many graces to perform miracles, great preaching, multitude conversions, raised dead people back to life and many other miracles and gifts. He is the patron saint of brick makers, builders, construction workers, plumbers and tile makers.   Why does Saint Vincent Ferrer have wings? “Saint Vincent Ferrer was drawn with a trumpet because when he preached, his voice could reach 3 miles away, and it was a miracle,” the caretaker said. The saint was pictured with wings because a number of people have seen him assume wings and fly off to a suffering person while preaching. (Source: popularanswers.org ) St Vincent Ferrer was known

  Passiontide | Passion Sunday: Fifth Sunday of Easter Passiontide | The veiling of the Crucifix and statues [Image Credit: Bene16, CC BY-SA 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons ] End of Lent is drawing near. Easter is only two weeks away. But before Easter, we must accompany Jesus in His Passion.  Today starts Passiontide or known as  'Passion Sunday'.   This is the time to focus and meditate more on the Passion and death of Jesus.  A time to accompany our Lord on his way to Calvary to be crucified. Our sins/brokenness led our Lord to go though horrific sufferings, from being assaulted verbally/physically to being nailed to the cross and died in agony. Traditionally, we observe two-week Passiontide by veiling the crucifix and all statues in the church in purple cloths on Passion Sunday and kept covered until the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday night. This is an old custom as a way of focusing on the penitential aspect on Lent season. Also, the veiling in purple cloth is relat

Eucharistic Rosary Procession to Abortion Clinic In New York City Saturday | March 26 | NYC Rescue those being led to death; —Proverbs 24:11 Last Saturday, the day after the Feast of the Annunciation, I joined the Eucharistic Rosary Procession to Parkmed NYC from Holy Innocents Church — in connection with the 40 Days for Life prayer campaign. Mysteries of the Holy Rosary was prayed to and from the abortion mill as well as the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. Benediction of the Most Blessed Sacrament was given at the clinic. Pray to end abortion. Because God did not make death, nor does he rejoice in the destruction of the living. For he fashioned all things that they might have being, —Wisdom 1:13-14 We have many wars happening all over the world, and now mainly the war between Russia and Ukraine. It still is an on going battle. It is tragic and many lives have been lost. But we cannot ignore the fact that people, especially the unborn are being killed by abortion than dying in war...

2022 Traditional Marriage Crusade Marriage is between a man and a woman [Photo credit: StockSnap | Pixabay ] Holy Rosary rally in front of Macy's as a public act of reparation for the sins of abortion and same-sex 'marriage' on the Feast of St Joseph.  We were verbally attacked right before we began praying the rosary.  #TraditionalMarriage #EndAbortion #Rosary #Reparation #NYC #HeraldSquare Marriage between a man and a woman was instituted by God with Adam and Eve.   “Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and cleaves to his wife, and they become one flesh.” —Genesis 2:24 Jesus reaffirms this: “He answered, ‘Have you not read that he who made them from the beginning made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one’?”  —Matthew 19:4-5