BIG C CATHOLICS

(This Sunday's Gospel, for the second Sunday of Easter, is the story of Thomas' profession of faith upon encountering the risen Lord in the Upper Room.)  Saint Thomas, the Apostle who at first did not believe, has become for the Church one of the first and most compelling witnesses to the Resurrection of Christ. His initial skepticism mirrors that of many. May his profession of faith upon touching Our Savior's wounds, "My Lord and my God!", redound through the ages to convince and confirm others that Christ's Incarnation, ministry, and victory over sin and death are empirically and existentially real. Jesus' reply to Thomas, "Have you come to believe because you have seen me?" Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed," is less a condemnation of Thomas and more a confirmation of the demands of faith. Among the Apostles, Thomas does not stand out. His knowledge of Jewish scripture and well-formed conscience enabled him to r

[On the night of Our Savior's Birth] The Angel announces that a king is born, and the choirs of angels join their voices, and rejoicing together they cry, 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to those of good will.' Before our redeemer was born in the flesh there was a discord between us and the angels, from whose brightness and purity we stood afar, not only as the result of original sin but also because of our daily offenses. Because through sin we had become strangers to God, the angels as God's subjects had cut us off from their fellowship. But because we have now acknowledged our King, the angels have received us as fellow citizens. ― St. Gregory the Great  _______________________________________ Collect Prayer for the Nativity of the Lord Almighty ever-living God, who gladdens us year by year as we wait in hope for our redemption grant that, just as we joyfully welcome your Only Begotten Son our Redeemer, we may also merit to face him c

The Feast of Saint Andrew, one of the twelve apostles selected by Our Lord, is November 30th. Andrew has the distinction of introducing his brother Peter to Jesus, saying, "We have found the Messiah." Overshadowed henceforth by his brother, Andrew nevertheless appears again in the Gospels as introducing souls to Christ. After Pentecost, Andrew took up the apostolate on a much wider scale, and is said to have been martyred at Patras in southern Greece on a cross which was in the form of an "X". This type of cross is known as a "St. Andrew's cross." Andrew did not belong to the inner circle of the apostles, Peter, James and John, and the evangelists record nothing extraordinary concerning him [John 6:8]; but tradition extols his great love for the Cross and for the Savior. The Church distinguishes him in the Mass [his name occurs in the Canon and in the Libera since the time of Pope Saint Gregory I] as well as in the Divine Office. The story of hi

May 27th, is the optional memorial of St. Augustine of Canterbury. He was born in Rome and died in Canterbury, England. An Italian Benedictine monk, at the behest of Pope Saint Gregory the Great, he founded the See of Canterbury and preached the Catholic faith to Britain’s Anglo-Saxon pagans during the late 6th and early 7th centuries. St. Augustine was the first Archbishop of Canterbury. _______________________________________________ St. Augustine of Canterbury, "Apostle of the English" (534 – 604) St. Augustine was the agent of a greater man than himself, Pope St. Gregory the Great. In Gregory's time, except for the Irish monks, missionary activity was unknown in the western Church, and it is Gregory's glory to have revived it. He decided to begin with a mission to the pagan English, for they had cut off the Christian Celts from the rest of Christendom. The time was favorable for a mission since the ruler of the whole of southern England, Ethelbert of Ke

On February 10th, the Church celebrates the memorial of Saint Scholastica (c. 480 – 547), the sixth century nun and twin sister of Saint Benedict of Nursia. In possession of numerous spiritual gifts, as a young girl, she dedicated her life and her virginity to God. What little we know about her comes from Saint Gregory the Great's Dialogues , (Chapters 33 and 34) in passages concerning Benedict. Once a year, she would visit her brother and together, they would spend the day praying, reading Sacred Scripture and discussing issues. She is the foundress of the women's Order of Benedictine Monasticism. The two siblings were born to a wealthy Roman noble family in Nursia, Italy, around the year 480. Their mother Claudia, died at their birth. When Benedict left to pursue his studies in Rome, Scholastica remained behind. It was customary for a young Roman woman of Scholastica's standing to reside with her family until marriage or her entrance into religious life. Accounts diff

"You should be aware that the word 'angel' denotes a function rather than a nature. Those holy spirits of heaven have indeed always been spirits. They can only be called angels when they deliver some message. Moreover, those who deliver messages of lesser importance are called angels; and those who proclaim messages of supreme importance are called archangels. And so it was that not merely an angel but the archangel Gabriel was sent to the Virgin Mary. It was only fitting that the highest angel should come to announce the greatest of all messages. Some angels are given proper names to denote the service they are empowered to perform. In that holy city, where perfect knowledge flows from the vision of almighty God, those who have no names may easily be known. But personal names are assigned to some, not because they could not be known without them, but rather to denote their ministry when they came among us. Thus, Michael means 'Who is like God'; Gabriel is 

September 3rd, is the memorial of Pope Saint Gregory I, also known as Saint Gregory the Great. He was the pope of the Catholic Church between 590 and 604 AD. During his 14-year pontificate, he accomplished much for the Mystical Body of Christ. Although he was the first pontiff from a monastic background, his prior political experiences helped him to successfully uphold clerical holiness, reform the sacred liturgy and establish papal supremacy. Gregory is considered the first medieval pope. He was born into an affluent family around 540 in Rome. His father, Gordianus, was a senator and a prefect of Rome. His mother, Sylvia, and his aunt, Pateria, are both recognized as saints in the Catholic and Orthodox churches. In addition to being wealthy, Gregory’s family was highly privileged. During his youth, Rome suffered disease and war so his family moved their estates to Sicily. Gregory was well-educated learning grammar, rhetoric, the sciences, literature, and law. He became such an aut

Saint Thomas, the Apostle who at first did not believe, has become for the Church one of the first and most compelling witnesses to the Resurrection of Christ. His initial skepticism mirrors that of many. May his profession of faith upon touching Our Savior's wounds, "My Lord and my God!", redound through the ages to convince and confirm others that Christ's Incarnation, ministry, and victory over sin and death are empirically and existentially real. Jesus' reply to Thomas, "Have you come to believe because you have seen me?" Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed," is less a condemnation of Thomas and more a confirmation of the demands of faith. Among the Apostles, Thomas does not stand out. His knowledge of Jewish scripture and well-formed conscience enabled him to recognize Christ as the Messiah foretold by the Prophets and to follow him as soon as he was called. When Christ traveled the road to Jerusalem to offer himself as a