Before St. Gregory Barbarigo wore the red of a cardinal, he walked through the plague-stricken streets of Rome, wearing the courage of charity.

There are certain prayers in the Catholic tradition that are very short, but they carry the strength of centuries. St. Anthony’s Brief is one of them.

Fr. Scott Haynes A Meditation for June 15 Saint Vitus, together with Saints Modestus and Crescentia, shines among the youthful martyrs of the early Church, when the Roman Empire still tried to crush the faith of Christ beneath threats, torture, and death. Vitus was born in Sicily, the child of an illustrious pagan family. Though surrounded by the honors of birth and the expectations of worldly greatness, his heart was conquered by a greater King. While still young, he receive

Fr. Scott Haynes St. Anthony’s connection to the Virgin Mary begins with his earliest formation in his hometown of Lisbon, where he entered religious life among the Augustinians. Later, when Anthony joined the Franciscans, his Marian devotion deepened even further. St. Francis of Assisi loved Our Lady tenderly and called her the one who made the Lord of majesty our brother. The Franciscan spirit saw Mary not as distant, but as close to the poverty, humility, and tenderness of

Pray this Triduum of prayer from June 11-13 to ask the intercession of St. Anthony of Padua.

Fr. Scott A. Haynes A Reflection on the Courageous Words of St. Boniface Among the many saints who shed their blood for Christ, few speak with the clarity and courage of St. Boniface. Writing to his fellow clergy and missionaries amid dangers, opposition, and persecution, he left these stirring words: "Let us be neither dogs that do not bark nor silent onlookers nor paid servants who run away before the wolf. Instead let us be careful shepherds watching over Christ's flock. L

St. Boniface’s story is one of zeal, learning, sacrifice, and divine intervention—a life shaped by grace, crowned with martyrdom, and sealed in glory.

One of Texas' most significant religious figures never visited the state. She never left her small community in Spain, but she sparked religious fervor from the Concho River to the Rio Grande.

Fr. Scott Haynes A Meditation for the Sunday after the Ascension World Communications Sunday During the English Reformation, a priest of the Church of England, Edmund Campion, reached great importance in the Anglican Church. When he took the Oath of Supremacy in 1564, he rejected his Catholic faith, the role of Supreme Pontiff to govern the Church, and embraced the Church of England headed by Queen Elizabeth I. For twelve years, he was away from communion with the Catholic Ch

Saint Robert Bellarmine lived during one of the most dangerous and turbulent moments in the history of the Catholic Church.

We honor Our Lady for her apparitions at Fatima, Portugal, and heed the message to repent and believe in the Gospel.

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

Fr. Scott Haynes A Meditation for the Feast of. St. Paul of the Cross April 28 Saint Paul of the Cross was born Paul Francis Danei at Ovada, near Genoa, on January 3, 1694, into a devout Catholic family. From his youth, the Crucified Christ seemed to stand before him not as an idea, but as a living Person. The old Catholic Encyclopedia says of him that “from his earliest years the crucifix was his book, and the Crucified his model.”¹ That sentence contains the whole secret of

Fr. Scott Haynes On April 25, the Church keeps the feast of Saint Mark the Evangelist, one of the four sacred writers of the Gospel. He is often represented by the winged lion, a symbol of courage, majesty, and resurrection. The lion also suits the opening of his Gospel, which begins not with the infancy of Christ, but with the strong voice of Saint John the Baptist crying in the desert: “Prepare ye the way of the Lord” (Mark 1:3). Mark appears in the New Testament under the

St. Anicetus is remembered not because he left behind dramatic writings or because his pontificate was filled with outward spectacle, but because in a moment of strain he helped the Church show her true face.

Saint Justin Martyr stands near the doorway of the early Church like a man holding both a book and a crown. He was a philosopher, a seeker, a defender of Christianity, and at last a martyr. His life has the drama of a soul that would not rest until it found the truth.

Join in nine days of prayer in preparation for St. Mark's feast on April 25.

Fr. Scott Haynes St Gabriel is the Fortitudo Dei (Strength of God) and is one of the three archangels mentioned in the Bible. Only four appearances of Gabriel are recorded: 1) In Daniel 8, he explains the vision of the horned ram as portending the destruction of the Persian Empire by the Macedonian Alexander the Great, after whose death the kingdom will be divided up among his generals, from one of whom will spring Antiochus Epiphanes. 2) In chapter 9, after Daniel had praye

Fr. Scott Haynes The Trial of St. Joan of Arc A Meditation on Psalm 31 “You will free me from the snare they set for me, for you are my refuge… Into your hands I commend my spirit.” Psalm 31 is not a quiet prayer written from the safety of a peaceful chapel. It is the cry of someone hunted, slandered, encircled by enemies who whisper and conspire. The psalmist hears the murmurs before he sees the danger. He senses that forces are gathering against him. His name is being discu

St. Peter of Alcantara challenges the softness of our modern lives. He is a patron of penance.