Prayer

Originally known in the Roman Missal as the celebration of Our Lady of Compassion, the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows has been commemorated in the Church since the 15th century. The Seven Sorrows of Mary focus mainly on the Passion of Our Lord. I would like to suggest that there is a wider understanding

This day of hosannas and palms begins a very sacred week in our liturgical year, one that is filled with both terrifying and glorious moments. It is actually the triumph of the Incarnation which we celebrated on Christmas and puts a “period” at the end of the sentence… and God became human. These seven days

For centuries, the Church has observed Lent as a season for examining our personal spiritual growth. We can recall the practice as children of giving up something that we especially liked for those forty days. But as we grow older, we try to reflect Saint Paul’s insight: “When I was a child I thought as

As the season of winter deepens its hold on us, nature provides us the opportunity to pursue an increased awareness of the gift of silence. There appears to be a death to growth all around us. Nature presents to us a picture of stillness which other seasons lack. But it is the silence of nature

Sister Mary Murray, OP, president of the Dominican Sisters of Sparkill, reflects on the humble birth of Jesus and its meaning for our world. Sister Mary offers a wish for Christmas blessings to all on behalf of the Sparkill Dominican Sisters and Associates. Christmas Blessings 2021 from Dominican Sisters of Sparkill

When asked to reflect on Our Lady of Guadalupe, I felt confident that I would be able to sit and write effortlessly about the Patroness of the Americas. How could this be a difficult task when I know, so well, the story of Juan Diego and his encounter with the Virgin Mary on the hill

Angel Gabriel was first to proclaim Mary’s immaculate conception when he addressed her: “Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee!” God had a plan and had prepared her for it. From her conception in the womb of her mother Saint Anne, Mary was free from sin. This belief has been held and

We need Advent, this time of hope, expectation, light shining in the darkness. We need to hear once again those Advent scriptures—of a lion lying down with a lamb, of valleys being raised and mountains made low, crooked paths becoming straight, the rough ways smooth, and the dawn from on high breaking upon us, guiding

Have you ever noticed a blade of grass coming through the middle of an asphalt driveway? The slender blade is so strong that it can push its way right through the asphalt. Yet that same blade of grass is so delicate that even a child’s fingers can pull it apart into a dozen pieces. A