March 19, 2022 Joanne Natale Spigonardo Zeppole di San Giuseppe If you are originally from Italy, or an Italian American, you’ve certainly celebrated St. Joseph’s Day! It is the traditional Father’s Day in Italy, where everyone honors their own fathers as well as St. Joseph the father to us all. On March 19, everyone who…

March 19th ill be the Feast of Saint Joseph and also fittingly was also Father’s Day in Italy. Christians believe that Joseph was the father of Jesus and the wife of Saint Mary. While many predominantly Catholic nation’s celebrate this day, the day is especially important in Italy and specifically the region of Sicily. The…

It is coming up to Easter and here in Australia, that means hot cross buns. As soon as Christmas is done you can find them in the supermarkets. It is a bit ridiculous really and we always marvel at quickly they start making them after Christmas. Sometimes it is within a day or two. I…

Originally posted on The Godly Chic Diaries: Hear my heart, friends: This past few weeks, I had to remind myself that God does not need the filtered, buttoned-up version of myself. He wants my reality. He wants my honesty. He wants to forge the most honest relationship with me and that means I cannot hide…

Originally posted on The Godly Chic Diaries: I feel closest to God when I’m writing and that’s how I figure out what I’m thinking and feeling. That being said, I’ve been writing non-stop lately just to feel His presence. Today it felt like these words were meant for someone who has dealt with some “pretty…

Originally posted on The Godly Chic Diaries: Let’s be honest we all have our days where we come under spiritual heaviness and forget who God is and what He has made available to us! It’s not something we can beat ourselves up for or be proud of, but we can definitely do something about it!…

23rd December “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to receive Mary into your home as your wife. For this child has been conceived in her womb through the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you shall name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” (Matthew…

As the year of St. Joseph draws to a close today, I thought I’d share a brief reflection that’s stayed with me for most of the year. The Flight to Egypt, 1609, by Adam Elsheimer When [the Magi] had departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise,…

Pointing to St. Joseph as a model for fatherhood, Pope Francis reflected that Joseph had a remarkable “ability to know how to listen to God speaking to his heart.” Source: Pope Francis: There is an Urgent Need for ‘Spiritual Fatherhood’ Today| National Catholic Register Taken December 23, 2019 | OLPH Toronto Opinion: We really don’t…

Haven’t grown closer to St. Joseph? Begin again here … Keep St. Joseph close

Consecration to St. Joseph begins today to end on his feast day March 19th, 2022. We need more than ever to ask St. Joseph to pray for us as the values of family, home, identity and God is slowly being eroded within our secular world. Litany of St. Joseph Lord, have mercy on us.Christ, have…

The Church traditionally dedicates the month of March to the special veneration of St. Joseph, whose feast day is March 19th. “He was chosen by the eternal Father as the trustworthy guardian and protector of his greatest treasures, namely, his divine Son and Mary, Joseph’s wife,” says St. Bernardine of Siena. “He carried out this vocation with…

Originally posted on THRIVING IN HOLINESS: THE BOOK OF EXODUS The second book of the Pentateuch is called Exodus, from the Greek word for “departure,” because its central event was understood by the Septuagint’s translators to be the departure of the Israelites from Egypt. Its Hebrew title,?Shemoth?(“Names”), is from the book’s opening phrase, “These are…

Originally posted on THRIVING IN HOLINESS: THE BOOK OF NUMBERS The Book of Numbers derives its name from the account of the two censuses taken of the Hebrew people, one near the beginning and the other toward the end of the journey in the wilderness (chaps.?1?and?26). It continues the story of that journey begun in…

Originally posted on THRIVING IN HOLINESS: THE BOOK OF LEVITICUS The name “Leviticus” was given to the third book of the Pentateuch by the ancient Greek translators because a good part of this book deals with concerns of the priests, who are of the tribe of Levi. The book mainly treats cultic matters (i.e., sacrifices…

Originally posted on THRIVING IN HOLINESS: THE BOOK OF GENESIS Genesis is the first book of the Pentateuch (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy), the first section of the Jewish and the Christian Scriptures. Its title in English, “Genesis,” comes from the Greek of?Gn 2:4, literally, “the book of the generation (genesis) of the heavens and…

Originally posted on THRIVING IN HOLINESS: The Pentateuch (Greek for “five books”) designates the first five books of the Jewish and Christian Bible (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy). Jewish tradition calls the five books Torah (Teaching, Law) because of the centrality of the Sinai covenant and legislation mediated through Moses. The unity of the…

Originally posted on THRIVING IN HOLINESS: THE BOOK OF DEUTERONOMY The title of Deuteronomy in Hebrew is?Debarim, “words,” from its opening phrase. The English title comes from the Septuagint of?17:18,?deuteronomion, “copy of the law”; this title is appropriate because the book replicates much of the legal content of the previous books, serving as a “second…

Originally posted on Gabriele Romano: Cyril (born Constantine, 826–869) and Methodius (815–885) were two brothers and Byzantine Christian theologians and missionaries. For their work evangelizing the Slavs, they are known as the “Apostles to the Slavs”. They are credited with devising the Glagolitic alphabet, the first alphabet used to transcribe Old Church Slavonic. After their deaths, their pupils continued their missionary work among other Slavs. Both…

Ok, call me “stupid”, but I never associated St. Valentine’s Day to a saint. The first clue should have been the Saint in front of Valentine. Alas, I live in a secular world, and hence influenced by all the hoopla of the day – the excitement surround this day – roses, flowers, chocolate and all…

Happy Valentine’s Day: Valentine’s Day, celebrated on February 14, is widely regarded as the day of expressing love. Couples all around the world look forward to spending time with each other, sharing gifts, chocolates, champagne, etc. But, there’s more to the day than that. It is named after a saint: St. Valentine. Many believe the…

St. Valentine’s Day has become a day where everyone wears red, hanging-up decorations of red hearts, or simply making red a primary color in their house and office. While the color red is clearly being used in connection to the red hearts that are everywhere, in truth the color has a much deeper meaning. The…

In the name of the Father…….. Glory be to the father O glorious advocate and protector, Saint Valentine, look with pity upon our wants, hear our requests, attend to our prayers, relieve by your intercession the miseries under which we labor, and obtain for us the Divine blessing, that we may be found worthy to…