Category: Saints / Mary
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A Sequence in Honor of St. Francis of Assisi (PDF)
I share it with those who might want to conclude this year’s Season of Creation by praying this reflection on the gift of Saint Francis’ life, his stigmata, and his protection on all those who attempt to live by his values.
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The Potluck Rosary
In our new “Popular Piety” series: Katherine Grimm Bowers on the communal Rosary and the Body of Christ.
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A Mother’s Heart: Devotion to the Seven Sorrows of Mary
A Holy Week reflection on the mother of Jesus.
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At a loose end – Read St. Patrick’s Autobiography!
Today is St. Patrick’s Day. But for most people it won’t be observed as other years. This morning I celebrated a “private” Mass in the Seminary Chapel of St. Patrick’s College Maynooth perhaps the most beautiful Catholic church in Ireland. I think that many visitors to PrayTell may well have a little time on their…
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St. Patrick’s Day should be a Solemnity in the U.S.
In this post I am making a very simple proposal, that the USCCB upgrade the celebration of St. Patrick’s Day to the status of Solemnity. There has always been a close connection between Ireland and the United States. Many believe that St. Brendan the Navigator was the first to discover present-day North America during his…
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“Almost obligatory” Irish contribution to the Sunday of the Word of God
This coming Sunday marks the first time we will observe the Sunday of the Word of God. PrayTell already covered this new observance. Regular readers may also have noticed that I tend to be critical of the state of the liturgy in my native Ireland (for example see here and here). However, for the record, I am just as critical of…
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Review Essay: Maternal Body
Michael Plekon reviews Carrie Frederick Frost’s latest book Maternal Body: A Theology of Incarnation from the Christian East
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Ars Praedicandi: Ed Foley’s Homily for the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception
Mary had the gift of saying yes And so the gift of incarnation lives in the world.
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Devotional Prayer and Community
In early October, I was in Nairobi teaching at a program for contemplative nuns, and afterward I spent a few days with the Benedictine nuns at Our Lady of the Angels Monastery outside the city, in rural Kiambu. As I have written about before, this is still a fairly new community, and it is fascinating…