Posted by Samantha Laveau on 12/05/19
The Immaculate Conception: An Ancient Belief
Guess who has appeared on the U.S. stamps more than any other person: The Blessed Virgin Mary. Yep, you read right. Mary has appeared on the stamp more than any president, founding father or entertainer.
The reason, of course, is all the religious-themed ... Read More »
Posted by Samantha Laveau on 12/05/19
Last weekend we celebrated the Feast of Christ the King: the last Sunday of Ordinary Time. It is one of my favorite liturgical feasts because it was established by one of my favorite popes, Pius XI (1922-1939) and because it was written to stave off a growing secularism in society.
And there is no better example of that growing secularism than the crazy commercialism of Christmas. We celebrate the birth of Jesus the Messiah in Christmas, and yet nearly every mention of Him is done away with. It’s like celebrating your child’s or friend’s birthday and telling them about how great the party is going to be but then asking them not to come. It is ... Read More »
Posted by Samantha Laveau on 11/22/19
The month of November happens to contain one of my favorite feast days. Since 1925 the last Sunday of ordinary time has been dedicated to Christ the King. It’s one of my favorites because it was established by one of the most underrated popes in recent history, Pius XI (1922-1939).
Pius established the feast in his encyclical letter, “Quas Primas,” which was written to address a growing secularism in the first part of the 20th century. We would do well to read the writings of this pope, who reigned between the two world wars, to see how he was a prophet for the world at the beginning of the 21st century. In fact I would say as a certified “popeaholic” he is certainly in my top ten popes of all ... Read More »
Posted by Samantha Laveau on 11/21/19
On November 21, the church celebrates the liturgical feast called the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The feast commemorates the event of Mary at the age of 3 being brought to the Temple in Jerusalem and left there to be raised by holy women. It is a feast ... Read More »
Posted by Samantha Laveau on 11/13/19
If you are an outdoorsman, November is the most wonderful time of the year! Hunting is in the air, and although hunting is an interest of both sexes, I certainly see more wives alone at Mass during this time than I see husbands. Often, women will refer to themselves ... Read More »
Posted by Samantha Laveau on 11/05/19
In any profession, or even anything we do, there are routines, things that come up so often that you don’t have to give it a lot of thought. Routines by their nature are repetitive and so often seemed diminished in importance.
My life as a pastor has lots of ... Read More »
Posted by Samantha Laveau on 10/28/19
I love Johnny Cash. My parishioners know it, and certainly the kids know it, since my “Ring of Fire” ring tone goes off occasionally while I am visiting their classrooms.
I have always loved Johnny Cash, even when I was really young. I saw him in concert for the ... Read More »
Posted by Samantha Laveau on 10/11/19
You may have heard it said that in the history of the human race, religion has been the cause of war more than anything else. Honestly, I do not believe that. As an amateur student of world history, I think land has been the biggest reason for war between peoples.
Whatever the biggest reason has been, I think we all can agree that religion has been a major cause of conflict, both on an international level and a very personal level. I would guess that every person reading this column has at one point or another been in conflict with another over religion. It happens, and it happens a ... Read More »
Posted by Samantha Laveau on 10/07/19
October is the month of the rosary, but there is good reason to focus on the rosary in the month of April as well.
The last day of April is the feast day of St. Pius V, A Dominican pope who was very much devoted to the rosary and ... Read More »
Posted by Samantha Laveau on 10/04/19
October includes the feast day of one of the most popular saints in the history of the Catholic Church, St. Giovanni di Bernardone. This super popular saint is better known by his nickname, Francis, and his feast day is Oct. 4, which happens to be the day after the ... Read More »