Above: Carl Larrson, "In the Carpenter Shop" (1905). “God created us to love and to be loved, so it is our test from God to choose one path or the other. Any negligence in loving
Prologue: When I got to San Francisco in 1988, I expected an endless funeral procession to be moving down Castro Street – there wasn’t. Instead, I saw hundreds of boys, just like me: rather wide-eyed,
Be of good courage; God will be present, as we now feel, to us who seek, who promises a certain most blessed body after this, and an utter plenitude of Truth without any falsehood. –
“The Gospels clearly describe the fatherly responsibility of Joseph toward Jesus. For salvation-which comes through the humanity of Jesus-is realized in actions which are an everyday part of family life, in keeping with that ‘condescension’
St. Augustine said of anger: “It is better not to allow anger, however just and reasonable, to enter at all, than to admit it in ever so slight a degree; once admitted, it will not
At the moment of Christ’s intervention in my life, I saw the beautiful countenance of Jesus in the Image of Divine Mercy; at the time, I had no idea the history or background of the
“…the Eucharist is the sacrament of Christ’s Passion according as a man is made perfect in union with Christ Who suffered.” ~ St. Thomas Aquinas Every gay man is a broken individual. For, in early
Sadly, nowadays, St. Joseph is most often invoked by those trying to sell a home – yet, he is the most powerful Saint, after Our Lady, that has ever been. For, St. Thomas Aquinas wrote:
“When I go to confession, it is in order to be healed, to heal my soul, to heal my heart and to be healed of some wrongdoing. The biblical icon which best expresses them in
“God found in St. Joseph, as in a second David, the man that His heart desired, the man whom he could entrust with the deepest and most sacred mystery of His heart. To him as
“The evil spirits, cunning thieves that they are, can take us by surprise and rob us of all we possess. They are watching day and night for the right moment. They roam incessantly seeking to
“Now Israel loved Joseph above all his sons, because he had him in his old age: and he made him a coat of diverse colors. And his brethren seeing that he was loved by his
“And it came to pass, in those days, Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And forthwith coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened,
“And Joseph was of a beautiful countenance, and comely to behold. And after many days his mistress cast her eyes on Joseph, and said: Lie with me. But he, in no wise consenting to that
Speaking of St. Joseph the Worker, St. Josemaria Escriva said: “He [Joseph] was not one for easy solutions and little miracles, but a man of perseverance, effort and, when needed, ingenuity. The Christian knows that
“Saint Joseph, our Father and Lord: most chaste, most pure. You were found worthy to carry the Child Jesus in your arms, to wash him, to hug him. Teach us to get to know God,
“Joseph loved Jesus as a father loves his son and showed his love by giving him the best he had. Joseph, caring for the child as he had been commanded, made Jesus a craftsman, transmitting
“I don't agree with the traditional picture of St Joseph as an old man, even though it may have been prompted by a desire to emphasize the perpetual virginity of Mary. I see him as
“We must behave as people do in a besieged city: they watch where the attackers are strongest and the defenses weakest. If they fail to do this, the city is lost. In the same manner
And immediately the father of the boy crying out, with tears said: I do believe, Lord: help my unbelief. And when Jesus saw the multitude running together, he threatened the unclean spirit, saying to him:
Since leaving the "gay" community in 1999, and rededicating my life to chastity, I have found the following Saints to be very efficacious in terms of battling all sorts of sexual vices, including: porn addictions, promiscuity,
“You wrote to tell me that you have at last gone to confession and that you experienced the humiliation of having to open the sewer — that is what you say — of your life
St. John of the Cross once wrote, to one of his many correspondents, who were constantly asking him for spiritual advice: “God deliver from ourselves.” Truer words were never put down on paper by a
"Christ on the Cross," (above) Pietro da Cortona: 1661 and "St. Francis of Assisi embracing the crucified Christ," (left) Bartolome Murillo: 1668-69. “Our Lord proclaimed through St. Matthew: ‘My yoke is sweet and my burden
When I read this quote, the first person I think of is my dear protector Saint Joseph: "There is nothing so strong as gentleness and there is nothing so gentle as real strength." ~ Saint
I am often asked: “Why the devotion to St. Joseph?” Without going into a lengthy explanation, which I do in my book, I usually say that everyone, especially males, young or old, should have a
Meditation is something I came to rather late in life. Until I was in my late-twenties and early-thirties, I never gave it any thought at all. When I entered a religious community, I began to
I recently discovered a great contemporary religious artist by the name of Joseph F. Brickey. I have not seen such exquisitely beautiful works since the great neo-classical artists of the 19th Century: i.e Bouguereau, Ingres,
