Fr. Scott Haynes A Meditation for His Feast Day, July 11 On July 11, the Church remembers Pope Saint Pius I, one of the early successors of Saint Peter, a shepherd of the Roman Church in the second century, and traditionally honored as pope and martyr. His name may not be as familiar as those of Saint Peter, Saint Clement, or Saint Leo the Great, yet he belongs to that heroic age when the Church was still young, still persecuted, and still living close to the memory of the ap

Fr. Scott Haynes Most religious orders begin with one great soul. St. Benedict went into the cave of Subiaco, and from that hidden solitude came the Benedictines. St. Francis of Assisi stripped himself of wealth before the bishop of Assisi, and from his poverty came the Franciscans. St. Dominic saw the danger of heresy and ignorance, and from his zeal came the Dominicans. But the Order of Servants of Mary began in a different way. It began with seven men. Seven friends. Seven

Fr. Scott Haynes In the Franciscan convent of St. Clare in Coimbra, Portugal, behind the high altar, there rests a queen. Her shrine is not merely a monument of stone and metal. It is a sermon in silver and glass. The sarcophagus is placed beneath a graceful arch, raised in quiet dignity, as though the whole sanctuary has gathered itself around a mystery. Small circular windows open into the upper portion of the reliquary. The pilgrim bends close and looks down. At first, the

Fr. Scott Haynes Novena to Saint Mary Magdalene July 14-22 You are invited to pray this novena from July 14-22 to see the intercession of St. Mary Magdalene. Send in your holy intentions to be remembered in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Participate Submit prayer requests Make a donation Daily Novena Prayer Saint Mary Magdalene, beloved disciple of the Lord, who wast forgiven much and didst love much in return, lead us in the way of conversion, purity of heart, and stea

Pray the Novena to Our Lady of Mt. Carmel (July 7 to 15) to prepare for her feast on July 16th. Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, pray for us.

Fr. Scott A. Haynes In the Gospels there are two accounts of Christ multiplying loaves and fishes: the feeding of the 5,000 and the feeding of the 4,000. Why two accounts? What is the difference between them? The obvious answer: 1,000. All joking aside, there is a salient difference—location. As they say in real estate, what matters is, location, location, location. The feeding of the 5,000 took place near Bethsaida, close to the Sea of Galilee. In contrast, the feeding of th

The young girl, Maria Goretti, was not only pure and virtuous, but full of courage and love.

Study 1 Peter 3:8–15 and learn how Christians are to live in harmony. Unity in Christ calls for a communion of hearts grounded in divine charity. This is evidenced in the life of St. Thomas More.

Fr. Scott Haynes St. Cyprian of Carthage, writing on the sin of envy, gives us a sentence that seems to have been written for every age in which grace is resented: “It is a persistent evil to persecute a man who belongs to the grace of God. It is a calamity without remedy to hate the happy.”¹ He is not speaking merely of irritation, rivalry, or wounded pride. He is uncovering a deep spiritual disorder: the heart that suffers because another soul belongs to God, the heart that

Imagine being born into royalty, raised in castles, surrounded by luxury—and yet choosing prayer over power, humility over pride, and service over self. That was the life of St. Henry, a man who held the highest earthly crown of his time yet never let go of the heavenly one.

Learn the Biblical wisdom of avoiding gossip, slander, and backbiting. St. Monica explains.

Today, Holy Mother Church celebrates with solemn joy the joint feast of Saints Peter and Paul, the twin pillars upon which Christ built His Church in the world.

Fr. Scott Haynes Among the most mysterious images in the Book of Revelation is the vision of the two witnesses: "These are the two olive trees and the two candlesticks, that stand before the Lord of the earth." (Revelation 11:4) At first glance, the imagery appears obscure. Yet St. John expects his readers to recognize it immediately. He is drawing upon the vision of the prophet Zechariah, where two olive trees continually supply oil to a golden lampstand. The Old Testament p

Fr. Scott Haynes A Scriptural Study 4 kings 24:8-17 Psalm 78 Matthew 7:21-29 As we listen to these passages from the Fourth Book of Kings, Psalm 78, and the Gospel according to St. Matthew, the Lord places before us two houses: Jerusalem, fallen into ruin, and the house built firmly upon rock. In the first reading, Jerusalem falls. The Temple of the Lord is plundered. The gold vessels made by Solomon are broken and carried away. The king, his mother, the nobles, the soldier

Fr. Scott Haynes A Meditation on Ecclesiasticus 45:1-6 for the Feast of St. William June 21 “Moses was beloved of God, and men: whose memory is in benediction” (Ecclus 45:1). These words, chosen by the Church as the Epistle for the feast of St. William the Abbot on June 25, first praise Moses, the great lawgiver and servant of God. Yet in the liturgy, the same words are placed like a crown upon the head of a saint who, in another age and another land, also became a friend of

Fr. Scott Haynes A Meditation on the Introit of the Fourth Sunday After Pentecost Julius Caesar once remarked that even the shouts of his enemies were music to his ears, but, on the other hand, he was terribly afraid of thunder. When it vaguely looked like a storm was brewing, he began to shiver and shake and crawl underneath the covers. Peter the Great, considered by many to have been the greatest czar of Russia, was terrified to cross a bridge. He would tremble in his b

Fr. Scott Haynes Feast of Our Lady of Montserrat April 27 There are moments in life when words fail us. When suffering presses too deeply, when confusion clouds the mind, when even prayer seems distant or difficult. In such moments, the Church places on our lips not a long formula, but a single word—ancient, universal, and full of power: Mother. This is how the Christian heart learns to pray when it can no longer rely on its own strength. It is the cry of the child who does n

Let me introduce you to the saint who brought us the first Christian wedding song and the saint who introduced the ringing of bells at Mass.

Among the ruins of Pompei there are markings on the wall of what was once a tavern. These jottings show the debts unpaid.

Fr. Scott Haynes A Meditation on Romans 8:18–23 St. Paul gives us one of the most majestic visions in all of Sacred Scripture when he writes, “For we know that every creature groaneth and travaileth in pain, even till now. And not only it, but ourselves also, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit: even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption of the sons of God, the redemption of our body” (Romans 8:22–23). These words are not gloomy words. They are not