Why pray the Rosary every day for a year?


Each time the Blessed Virgin has appeared-- whether it be to Saint Bernadette Soubirous at Lourdes; to Lucia, Jacinta, and Francisco at Fatima; or to Mariette Beco at Banneux-- she has asserted the importance, saving grace, and power of praying the Holy Rosary on a daily basis. Based upon her words, the Rosary is penance and conversion for sinners, a pathway to peace, an end to war, and a powerful act of faith in Jesus Christ. Pope Paul VI presented the Rosary as a powerful means to reach Christ "not merely with Mary but indeed, insofar as this is possible to us, in the same way as Mary, who is certainly the one who thought about Him more than anyone else has ever done."

To show us how this is done, perhaps no one has been more eloquent than the great Cardinal Newman, who wrote: "The great power of the Rosary consists in the fact that it translates the Creed into Prayer. Of course, the Creed is already in a certain sense a prayer and a great act of homage towards God, but the Rosary brings us to meditate again on the great truth of His life and death, and brings this truth close to our hearts. Even Christians, although they know God, usually fear rather than love Him. The strength of the Rosary lies in the particular manner in which it considers these mysteries, since all our thinking about Christ is intertwined with the thought of His Mother, in the relations between Mother and Son; the Holy Family is presented to us, the home in which God lived His infinite love."

As Mary said at Fatima, "Jesus wants to use you to make Me known and loved. He wishes to establish the devotion to My Immaculate Heart throughout the world. I promise salvation to whoever embraces it; these souls will be dear to God, like flowers put by Me to adorn his throne."



July 27, 2013: The Seven Sleepers of Ephesus

Posted by Jacob

Today, July 27, we celebrate the feast day of the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus-- Saints Maximian, Malchus, Martinian, Dionysius, John, Serapion, and Constantine—martyrs for the faith. As recorded in the Golden Legend, the story of the Seven Sleepers is one where good men fall asleep, only to wake up to a world changed for the better. Akin to the resurrection of the body, which we shall all experience on earth, the story of the seven sleepers is a foretaste of the glory of the Risen Christ. The Church’s martyrology describes the feast as the "Commemoration of the seven Holy Sleeper of Ephesus, who, it is recounted, after undergoing martyrdom, rest in peace, awaiting the day of resurrection."

It was during the time of Christian persecution that our story unfolds. Emperor Decius (249-251) traveled to the town of Ephesus (in modern-day Turkey) to enforce his laws against Christians. In Ephesus, Decius found seven noble young men (depicted in art as beardless, and often in legend referred to as “boys”), named Maximian, Malchus, Martinian, Dionysius, John, Serapion, and Constantine. Each of these young noblemen had proclaimed the Christian faith, being baptized into it. Following a brief trial, Decius sentenced them to death, but gave them some time to consider changing their faiths. He declared that should they still be Christian upon his return to the town, they would be executed.

Following his departure, the young men held firm in their faith. They gave their property to the poor, and taking only a few coins with them traveled to a cave on Mount Anchilos to pray and prepare for death. There they lived in hermitude, contemplation, and holy prayer until the emperor returned to Ephesus. Upon his return, he asked their whereabouts, and upon his approach to their cave, the martyrs said their last prayer, giving themselves up, and falling asleep. Decius told his soldiers to find them, and when they were found asleep in the cave, he ordered it to be closed up with huge stones and sealed. Buried alive, and deprived of food and water, the seven became martyrs for the faith. Shortly thereafter, local Christians visited the sealed entrance to the cave, and wrote the names of the seven and their story on the cave wall for all to see. Their sacrifice became a living witness to the Christian faith.

Two centuries later, during the reign of Emperor Theodosius the Younger (408-450), persecution of Christians had ceased in Europe. In fact, Christianity was now the official faith of the empire. In is during this time that some heretics denied the resurrection of the body. While this controversy went on, a rich landowner named Adolios had the Sleepers' cave opened, to use it as a cattle-stall. The seven youth awoke from their sleep, unaware that almost two hundred years had passed. Their bodies and clothing were completely undecayed. They discovered they were preserved when one went into the city to buy bread and heard the name of Jesus spoken freely, presenting an outdated coin with the image of Decius to buy bread. Bewildered he was taken to the Bishop of Ephesus who eventually spoke to all seven youths and discovered that God allowed this miracle to end the dispute concerning the resurrection of the dead. The Emperor also went to Ephesus to examine this miracle and after speaking with them they were allowed to go back into their cave without the royal honors the Emperor wanted to lavish on them, and there they fell asleep permanently. Overall it has been determined that the holy youths fell asleep in the cave in 250 and awoke in 434, which means that they slept for 184 years. Each year, their feast is celebrated in the cathedral built atop the cave. The cave in which their bodies were found became a place famous for devout pilgrimages, and is still shown to travelers.

The lives of the Seven Sleepers marks a true historical event. While the length of their sleep, and the eventual resurrection of their bodies is difficult to confirm, archeological remains indicate that seven young men were buried in the cave in question in Turkey—the tombs and relics remain, dated from the time period in which the miracles were said to have occurred. The lives of the Seven Sleepers are recorded in numerous sources, including the Koran.









The Seven Sleepers give us hope and confidence in the Lord. Whether historically accurate, or a more mystical metaphor for the joy of the resurrection, we look forward to the moment when our sleeping selves awaken to grace, and purified, and then rest in the Lord for all eternity!

From the Lives of the Seven Sleepers (as recorded in the Golden Legend):


And as soon as the blessed saints of our Lord saw the emperor come, their visages shone like to the sun. And the emperor entered then, and glorified our Lord and embraced them, weeping upon each of them, and said: I see you now like as I should see our Lord raising Lazarus. And then Maximian said to him: Believe us, for forsooth our Lord hath raised us tofore the day of the great resurrection. And to the end that thou believe firmly the resurrection of the dead people, verily we be raised as ye here see, and live. And in like wise as the child is in the womb of his mother without feeling harm or hurt, in the same wise we have been living and sleeping in Lying here without feeling of anything. And when they had said all this, they inclined their heads to the earth, and rendered their spirits at the command of our Lord Jesus Christ, and so died. Then the emperor arose, and fell on them, weeping strongly, and embraced them, and kissed them debonairly. And then he commanded to make precious sepulchers of gold and silver, and to bury their bodies therein. And in the same night they appeared to the emperor, and said to him that he should suffer them to lie on the earth like as they bad lain tofore till that time that our Lord had raised them, unto the time that they should rise again. Then commanded the emperor that the place should be adorned nobly and richly with precious stones, and all the bishops that would confess the resurrection should be assoiled. It is in doubt of that which is said that they slept three hundred and sixty-two years, for they were raised the year of our Lord four hundred and seventy-eight, and Decius reigned but one year and three months, and that was in the year of our Lord two hundred and seventy, and so they slept but two hundred and eight years.



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March 31, 2013: Easter Sunday: Resurrection, Recognition, Rebirth

Posted by Jacob


Today, Easter Sunday, we celebrate with great joy the Resurrection of Our Lord, Jesus Christ! Alleluia! The Resurrection of the Lord is also the first Glorious Mystery of the Holy Rosary. We can imagine that Our Blessed Mother, Mary, having been foretold of His birth by an angel, conceived of the Holy Spirit, and suffered with Him as he died on the cross, knew that Her Son, Our Lord, was unlike any other. Her heart—the heart of a mother—died with Christ, but like ourselves, was reborn in the Resurrection!


We, like Christ, die a thousand times in sin, rising again in the forgiveness of Our Lord. Monsignor Romano Guardini writes, “This dying and entombing of the old self is a constant process within us through every struggle against evil, through every conquest of self, through every suffering which is bravely borne, through every sacrifice of love and charity. But through this dying of the old self, the resurrection of the new man is also accomplished.” We are reminded on Easter Sunday that our own lives must be those of conversion and resurrection. That our daily pain and struggle against sin brings us closer to the newness of life. After the pain of Good Friday, and the silent waiting of Holy Saturday, we find the love and forgiveness of the Lord on Easter morning.


1On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. 2They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. 5In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, "Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 7'The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.' " 8Then they remembered his words.



9When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. 10It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. 11But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense. 12Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.

13Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. 14They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. 15As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; 16but they were kept from recognizing him.


17He asked them, "What are you discussing together as you walk along?"
They stood still, their faces downcast. 18One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, "Are you only a visitor to Jerusalem and do not know the things that have happened there in these days?"


19"What things?" he asked.

"About Jesus of Nazareth," they replied. "He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. 20The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; 21but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. 22In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning 23but didn't find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. 24Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see."

25He said to them, "How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?" 27And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.

28As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus acted as if he were going farther. 29But they urged him strongly, "Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over." So he went in to stay with them.
30When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. 31Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. 32They asked each other, "Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?"


33They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together 34and saying, "It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon." 35Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread. (Luke 24:1-35)

Jesus is risen, just as He told the disciples He would. Of course, they did not quite understand. More interestingly, they didn’t recognize Him. He was mistaken for a traveler and a gardener. He was mistaken for just an ordinary man. And only when He revealed himself, only when the disciples were given reason to search their hearts and view Him with opened eyes, did they perceive the presence of the Lord.

That may be the message of Easter. The Lord resides within each one of us. He resides in you. He resides in me. Through the Resurrection, we are able to find him both within ourselves and within those we come in contact with. And finding Him there, we are called to live lives of His love, peace, and forgiveness—with ourselves, and with all those we come in contact with. During Lent we embrace penance and self-denial. In the newness of Easter, we offer the all-encompassing love, acceptance and forgiveness, first to ourselves (as Christ is there waiting for us in our hearts!) and then to others. Through the Resurrection we are made new, we are changed, we are blessed. Through the Resurrection we are filled with the grace of God and the Holy Spirit. Through the Resurrection we recognize the Lord in our lives, in our bodies, in our neighbors.


Easter Sunday reminds us to have hearts of conversion and transformation. It reminds us that Jesus Christ, Our Lord, is within each of us—all we have to do is recognize Him there. And it reminds us that our beliefs, the very core of our faith, is the Resurrection. Without belief in the Resurrection, we are nothing. But by believing, we become members of the Body of Christ, His Church on earth, and we revel in the promise of everlasting love!



12But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. 15More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. 16For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. 17And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. 18Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. 19If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.


20But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. (1 Corinthians 15: 12-21)


Alleluia! Alleluia!


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Easter: Resurrection, Redemption, and New Life

Posted by Jacob

Today, Easter Sunday, we celebrate with great joy the Resurrection of Our Lord, Jesus Christ! Alleluia! The Resurrection of the Lord is also the first Glorious Mystery of the Holy Rosary. We can imagine that Our Blessed Mother, Mary, having been foretold of His birth by an angel, conceived of the Holy Spirit, and suffered with Him as he died on the cross, knew that Her Son, Our Lord, was unlike any other. Her heart—the heart of a mother—died with Christ, but like ourselves, was reborn in the Resurrection!


We, like Christ, die a thousand times in sin, rising again in the forgiveness of Our Lord. Monsignor Romano Guardini writes, “This dying and entombing of the old self is a constant process within us through every struggle against evil, through every conquest of self, through every suffering which is bravely borne, through every sacrifice of love and charity. But through this dying of the old self, the resurrection of the new man is also accomplished.” We are reminded on Easter Sunday that our own lives must be those of conversion and resurrection. That our daily pain and struggle against sin brings us closer to the newness of life. After the pain of Good Friday, and the silent waiting of Holy Saturday, we find the love and forgiveness of the Lord on Easter morning.


1On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. 2They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. 5In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, "Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 7'The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.' " 8Then they remembered his words.



9When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. 10It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. 11But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense. 12Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.

13Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. 14They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. 15As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; 16but they were kept from recognizing him.


17He asked them, "What are you discussing together as you walk along?"
They stood still, their faces downcast. 18One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, "Are you only a visitor to Jerusalem and do not know the things that have happened there in these days?"


19"What things?" he asked.

"About Jesus of Nazareth," they replied. "He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. 20The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; 21but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. 22In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning 23but didn't find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. 24Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see."

25He said to them, "How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?" 27And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.

28As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus acted as if he were going farther. 29But they urged him strongly, "Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over." So he went in to stay with them.
30When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. 31Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. 32They asked each other, "Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?"


33They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together 34and saying, "It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon." 35Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread. (Luke 24:1-35)

Jesus is risen, just as He told the disciples He would. Of course, they did not quite understand. More interestingly, they didn’t recognize Him. He was mistaken for a traveler and a gardener. He was mistaken for just an ordinary man. And only when He revealed himself, only when the disciples were given reason to search their hearts and view Him with opened eyes, did they perceive the presence of the Lord.

That may be the message of Easter. The Lord resides within each one of us. He resides in you. He resides in me. Through the Resurrection, we are able to find him both within ourselves and within those we come in contact with. And finding Him there, we are called to live lives of His love, peace, and forgiveness—with ourselves, and with all those we come in contact with. During Lent we embrace penance and self-denial. In the newness of Easter, we offer the all-encompassing love, acceptance and forgiveness, first to ourselves (as Christ is there waiting for us in our hearts!) and then to others. Through the Resurrection we are made new, we are changed, we are blessed. Through the Resurrection we are filled with the grace of God and the Holy Spirit. Through the Resurrection we recognize the Lord in our lives, in our bodies, in our neighbors.


Easter Sunday reminds us to have hearts of conversion and transformation. It reminds us that Jesus Christ, Our Lord, is within each of us—all we have to do is recognize Him there. And it reminds us that our beliefs, the very core of our faith, is the Resurrection. Without belief in the Resurrection, we are nothing. But by believing, we become members of the Body of Christ, His Church on earth, and we revel in the promise of everlasting love!



12But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. 15More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. 16For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. 17And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. 18Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. 19If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.


20But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. (1 Corinthians 15: 12-21)


Alleluia! Alleluia!



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July 27: The Seven Sleepers of Ephesus

Posted by Jacob

Today, July 27, we celebrate the feast day of the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus-- Saints Maximian, Malchus, Martinian, Dionysius, John, Serapion, and Constantine—martyrs for the faith. As recorded in the Golden Legend, the story of the Seven Sleepers is one where good men fall asleep, only to wake up to a world changed for the better. Akin to the resurrection of the body, which we shall all experience on earth, the story of the seven sleepers is a foretaste of the glory of the Risen Christ. The Church’s martyrology describes the feast as the "Commemoration of the seven Holy Sleeper of Ephesus, who, it is recounted, after undergoing martyrdom, rest in peace, awaiting the day of resurrection."

It was during the time of Christian persecution that our story unfolds. Emperor Decius (249-251) traveled to the town of Ephesus (in modern-day Turkey) to enforce his laws against Christians. In Ephesus, Decius found seven noble young men (depicted in art as beardless, and often in legend referred to as “boys”), named Maximian, Malchus, Martinian, Dionysius, John, Serapion, and Constantine. Each of these young noblemen had proclaimed the Christian faith, being baptized into it. Following a brief trial, Decius sentenced them to death, but gave them some time to consider changing their faiths. He declared that should they still be Christian upon his return to the town, they would be executed.

Following his departure, the young men held firm in their faith. They gave their property to the poor, and taking only a few coins with them traveled to a cave on Mount Anchilos to pray and prepare for death. There they lived in hermitude, contemplation, and holy prayer until the emperor returned to Ephesus. Upon his return, he asked their whereabouts, and upon his approach to their cave, the martyrs said their last prayer, giving themselves up, and falling asleep. Decius told his soldiers to find them, and when they were found asleep in the cave, he ordered it to be closed up with huge stones and sealed. Buried alive, and deprived of food and water, the seven became martyrs for the faith. Shortly thereafter, local Christians visited the sealed entrance to the cave, and wrote the names of the seven and their story on the cave wall for all to see. Their sacrifice became a living witness to the Christian faith.

Two centuries later, during the reign of Emperor Theodosius the Younger (408-450), persecution of Christians had ceased in Europe. In fact, Christianity was now the official faith of the empire. In is during this time that some heretics denied the resurrection of the body. While this controversy went on, a rich landowner named Adolios had the Sleepers' cave opened, to use it as a cattle-stall. The seven youth awoke from their sleep, unaware that almost two hundred years had passed. Their bodies and clothing were completely undecayed. They discovered they were preserved when one went into the city to buy bread and heard the name of Jesus spoken freely, presenting an outdated coin with the image of Decius to buy bread. Bewildered he was taken to the Bishop of Ephesus who eventually spoke to all seven youths and discovered that God allowed this miracle to end the dispute concerning the resurrection of the dead. The Emperor also went to Ephesus to examine this miracle and after speaking with them they were allowed to go back into their cave without the royal honors the Emperor wanted to lavish on them, and there they fell asleep permanently. Overall it has been determined that the holy youths fell asleep in the cave in 250 and awoke in 434, which means that they slept for 184 years. Each year, their feast is celebrated in the cathedral built atop the cave. The cave in which their bodies were found became a place famous for devout pilgrimages, and is still shown to travelers.

The lives of the Seven Sleepers marks a true historical event. While the length of their sleep, and the eventual resurrection of their bodies is difficult to confirm, archeological remains indicate that seven young men were buried in the cave in question in Turkey—the tombs and relics remain, dated from the time period in which the miracles were said to have occurred. The lives of the Seven Sleepers are recorded in numerous sources, including the Koran.









The Seven Sleepers give us hope and confidence in the Lord. Whether historically accurate, or a more mystical metaphor for the joy of the resurrection, we look forward to the moment when our sleeping selves awaken to grace, and purified, and then rest in the Lord for all eternity!

From the Lives of the Seven Sleepers (as recorded in the Golden Legend):


And as soon as the blessed saints of our Lord saw the emperor come, their visages shone like to the sun. And the emperor entered then, and glorified our Lord and embraced them, weeping upon each of them, and said: I see you now like as I should see our Lord raising Lazarus. And then Maximian said to him: Believe us, for forsooth our Lord hath raised us tofore the day of the great resurrection. And to the end that thou believe firmly the resurrection of the dead people, verily we be raised as ye here see, and live. And in like wise as the child is in the womb of his mother without feeling harm or hurt, in the same wise we have been living and sleeping in Lying here without feeling of anything. And when they had said all this, they inclined their heads to the earth, and rendered their spirits at the command of our Lord Jesus Christ, and so died. Then the emperor arose, and fell on them, weeping strongly, and embraced them, and kissed them debonairly. And then he commanded to make precious sepulchers of gold and silver, and to bury their bodies therein. And in the same night they appeared to the emperor, and said to him that he should suffer them to lie on the earth like as they bad lain tofore till that time that our Lord had raised them, unto the time that they should rise again. Then commanded the emperor that the place should be adorned nobly and richly with precious stones, and all the bishops that would confess the resurrection should be assoiled. It is in doubt of that which is said that they slept three hundred and sixty-two years, for they were raised the year of our Lord four hundred and seventy-eight, and Decius reigned but one year and three months, and that was in the year of our Lord two hundred and seventy, and so they slept but two hundred and eight years.



Year 2: Day 208 of 365
Prayer Intentions: Faith in the resurrection; Hope and peace; Relief from anxiety.
Requested Intentions: Healing, successful relationships for son, financial success (J); Success of a company (L); For a religious society (J); Healing of a husband, strength as a faithful caregiver (D); Healing of a son (T); Financial security, Healing and guidance (M); Healing of a heart and relationship (V); Employment for daughter (J); For a marriage that glorifies the Lord (K); Resolution of family situation, parents’ health (A); Positive results (C); For a son’s employment, faith, and relationships (S); Restored family relationships (A); Healthy conception and delivery of children (J); For a girlfriend’s recovery from a debilitating mental illness (J); For a daughter’s successful examination results (A); Occupational success, health and safety of family (S); Reduction in anxiety for husband, financial freedom (S); Healing for a sister-in-law (J); For a family experiencing a difficult child custody case (M); Reunification of a family struggling with separation (M): For a son struggling with mental illness (M); Successful examination results (B); To be freed from the chains of sin (J); Admission to a good university (M); For successful surgery (T); For a mother’s mental health and for kindness and forgiveness, for housing problems, for dental health (T).

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Saint Cyril of Jerusalem: Baptism as a Symbol of Christ’s Passion and Resurrection

Posted by Jacob

Today, March 18, we celebrate the feast day of Saint Cyril of Jerusalem (313-386), early catechist, and Doctor of the Church. Saint Cyril is remembered for his numerous catechetical writings and defense of the basic tenets of our Catholic faith. Below, an excerpt from a homily he delivered on “Baptism as a Symbol of Christ’s Passion and Resurrection.” As we move through our season of Lent, we look forward to the new birth of baptism of Easter!



You were led down to the font of holy baptism just as Christ was taken down from the cross and placed in the tomb which is before your eyes. Each of you was asked, “Do you believe in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit?” You made the profession of faith that brings salvation, you were plunged into the water, and three times you rose again. This symbolised the three days Christ spent in the tomb.


As our Saviour spent three days and three nights in the depths of the earth, so your first rising from the water represented the first day and your first immersion represented the first night. At night a man cannot see, but in the day he walks in the light. So when you were immersed in the water it was like night for you and you could not see, but when you rose again it was like coming into broad daylight. In the same instant you died and were born again; the saving water was both your tomb and your mother.


Solomon’s phrase in another context is very apposite here. He spoke of a time to give birth, and a time to die. For you, however, it was the reverse: a time to die, and a time to be born, although in fact both events took place at the same time and your birth was simultaneous with your death.


This is something amazing and unheard of! It was not we who actually died, were buried and rose again. We only did these things symbolically, but we have been saved in actual fact. It is Christ who was crucified, who was buried and who rose again, and all this has been attributed to us. We share in his sufferings symbolically and gain salvation in reality. What boundless love for men! Christ’s undefiled hands were pierced by the nails; he suffered the pain. I experience no pain, no anguish, yet by the share that I have in his sufferings he freely grants me salvation.


Let no one imagine that baptism consists only in the forgiveness of sins and in the grace of adoption. Our baptism is not like the baptism of John, which conferred only the forgiveness of sins. We know perfectly well that baptism, besides washing away our sins and bringing us the gift of the Holy Spirit, is a symbol of the sufferings of Christ. This is why Paul exclaims: Do you not know that when we were baptized into Christ Jesus we were, by that very action, sharing in his death? By baptism we went with him into the tomb.

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July 27: The Seven Sleepers of Ephesus

Posted by Jacob

Today, July 27, we celebrate the feast day of the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus-- Saints Maximian, Malchus, Martinian, Dionysius, John, Serapion, and Constantine—martyrs for the faith. As recorded in the Golden Legend, the story of the Seven Sleepers is one where good men fall asleep, only to wake up to a world changed for the better. Akin to the resurrection of the body, which we shall all experience on earth, the story of the seven sleepers is a foretaste of the glory of the Risen Christ. The Church’s martyrology describes the feast as the "Commemoration of the seven Holy Sleeper of Ephesus, who, it is recounted, after undergoing martyrdom, rest in peace, awaiting the day of resurrection."

It was during the time of Christian persecution that our story unfolds. Emperor Decius (249-251) traveled to the town of Ephesus (in modern-day Turkey) to enforce his laws against Christians. In Ephesus, Decius found seven noble young men (depicted in art as beardless, and often in legend referred to as “boys”), named Maximian, Malchus, Martinian, Dionysius, John, Serapion, and Constantine. Each of these young noblemen had proclaimed the Christian faith, being baptized into it. Following a brief trial, Decius sentenced them to death, but gave them some time to consider changing their faiths. He declared that should they still be Christian upon his return to the town, they would be executed.

Following his departure, the young men held firm in their faith. They gave their property to the poor, and taking only a few coins with them traveled to a cave on Mount Anchilos to pray and prepare for death. There they lived in hermitude, contemplation, and holy prayer until the emperor returned to Ephesus. Upon his return, he asked their whereabouts, and upon his approach to their cave, the martyrs said their last prayer, giving themselves up, and falling asleep. Decius told his soldiers to find them, and when they were found asleep in the cave, he ordered it to be closed up with huge stones and sealed. Buried alive, and deprived of food and water, the seven became martyrs for the faith. Shortly thereafter, local Christians visited the sealed entrance to the cave, and wrote the names of the seven and their story on the cave wall for all to see. Their sacrifice became a living witness to the Christian faith.

Two centuries later, during the reign of Emperor Theodosius the Younger (408-450), persecution of Christians had ceased in Europe. In fact, Christianity was now the official faith of the empire. In is during this time that some heretics denied the resurrection of the body. While this controversy went on, a rich landowner named Adolios had the Sleepers' cave opened, to use it as a cattle-stall. The seven youth awoke from their sleep, unaware that almost two hundred years had passed. Their bodies and clothing were completely undecayed. They discovered they were preserved when one went into the city to buy bread and heard the name of Jesus spoken freely, presenting an outdated coin with the image of Decius to buy bread. Bewildered he was taken to the Bishop of Ephesus who eventually spoke to all seven youths and discovered that God allowed this miracle to end the dispute concerning the resurrection of the dead. The Emperor also went to Ephesus to examine this miracle and after speaking with them they were allowed to go back into their cave without the royal honors the Emperor wanted to lavish on them, and there they fell asleep permanently. Overall it has been determined that the holy youths fell asleep in the cave in 250 and awoke in 434, which means that they slept for 184 years. Each year, their feast is celebrated in the cathedral built atop the cave. The cave in which their bodies were found became a place famous for devout pilgrimages, and is still shown to travelers.

The lives of the Seven Sleepers marks a true historical event. While the length of their sleep, and the eventual resurrection of their bodies is difficult to confirm, archeological remains indicate that seven young men were buried in the cave in question in Turkey—the tombs and relics remain, dated from the time period in which the miracles were said to have occurred. The lives of the Seven Sleepers are recorded in numerous sources, including the Koran.









The Seven Sleepers give us hope and confidence in the Lord. Whether historically accurate, or a more mystical metaphor for the joy of the resurrection, we look forward to the moment when our sleeping selves awaken to grace, and purified, and then rest in the Lord for all eternity!

From the Lives of the Seven Sleepers (as recorded in the Golden Legend):


And as soon as the blessed saints of our Lord saw the emperor come, their visages shone like to the sun. And the emperor entered then, and glorified our Lord and embraced them, weeping upon each of them, and said: I see you now like as I should see our Lord raising Lazarus. And then Maximian said to him: Believe us, for forsooth our Lord hath raised us tofore the day of the great resurrection. And to the end that thou believe firmly the resurrection of the dead people, verily we be raised as ye here see, and live. And in like wise as the child is in the womb of his mother without feeling harm or hurt, in the same wise we have been living and sleeping in Lying here without feeling of anything. And when they had said all this, they inclined their heads to the earth, and rendered their spirits at the command of our Lord Jesus Christ, and so died. Then the emperor arose, and fell on them, weeping strongly, and embraced them, and kissed them debonairly. And then he commanded to make precious sepulchers of gold and silver, and to bury their bodies therein. And in the same night they appeared to the emperor, and said to him that he should suffer them to lie on the earth like as they bad lain tofore till that time that our Lord had raised them, unto the time that they should rise again. Then commanded the emperor that the place should be adorned nobly and richly with precious stones, and all the bishops that would confess the resurrection should be assoiled. It is in doubt of that which is said that they slept three hundred and sixty-two years, for they were raised the year of our Lord four hundred and seventy-eight, and Decius reigned but one year and three months, and that was in the year of our Lord two hundred and seventy, and so they slept but two hundred and eight years.


Inspired by the origins and spiritual history of the Holy Rosary, we continue our meditation on the psalms, one each day, in order, for 150 days.
Today’s Psalm: Psalm 93: The Glory of the Lord’s Kingdom


1 The LORD reigns, he is robed in majesty;
the LORD is robed in majesty
and is armed with strength.
The world is firmly established;
it cannot be moved.
2 Your throne was established long ago;
you are from all eternity.
3 The seas have lifted up, O LORD,
the seas have lifted up their voice;
the seas have lifted up their pounding waves.
4 Mightier than the thunder of the great waters,
mightier than the breakers of the sea—
the LORD on high is mighty.
5 Your statutes stand firm;
holiness adorns your house
for endless days, O LORD.



Day 208 of 365
Prayer Intentions: Faith in the resurrection; Hope and peace; Relief from anxiety.
Requested Intentions: For continued blessings on a relationship (S); For a sick grandmother (R); For the building of a Catholic community, family, and law practice (M); For healing of friends and family (B); For healing of an aunt with kidney disease (S); For the total deliverance of P (S); To know and follow the Will of God (M); Employment for husband and wife (K); Wisdom; Closer walk with Jesus (R); For successful conception (I); Thanksgiving for blessings received (K); Healing and financial assistance (F); Employment; Discernment of God’s will (A); Healing of illness (P); Small business assistance, blessings on jobs, financial aid for college student (M); Financial assistance (F); For a recovery and sanctification (X); For a daughter struggling with disease and illness (T); For all lost children (I); Prosperity, health, healing, and conversion for a family (M); Health and healing of a mother (A); Healing of heart and mind (T); Health for an ailing nephew (A); Those suffering from depression (J); Successful adoption (S); Healing of a father battling cancer (S).
Psalm: Psalm 93: The Glory of the Lord’s Kingdom

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