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Did you know that St. Joseph built a staircase in New Mexico?The sisters at the Loretto Chapel needed a miracle. St. Joseph used his carpentry skills to help them!
In 1873, construction on the Chapel of Our Lady of Light in Santa Fe, New Mexico hit a roadblock. The beautiful Gothic-style chapel had no staircase to get from the main level to the choir loft. The original architect had died, and his plans for a staircase were unknown.
The sisters of Loretto, who had commissioned the chapel, were distraught. They consulted with several architects and carpenters, but the answer was always the same: it couldn’t be done. There just wasn’t enough space to build a staircase to the choir loft. They were going to have to accept that they couldn’t access the choir loft.
Not quite ready to give up, the sisters said a novena to St. Joseph, the master carpenter, asking him to help them find a builder with a solution. As soon as the sisters finished the novena, a man arrived at their doorstep saying that he could build them a staircase—his only request was to work in complete privacy. The sisters agreed, and the man locked himself in the chapel to work. Some say it only took him one night, while others say it took months. However long it took to build, the staircase the man crafted for the sisters was nothing short of incredible.
The miraculous staircase
The man departed just as mysteriously as he had arrived, leaving behind one of the most marvelous pieces of woodworking ever seen. The staircase has two 360-degree spirals in it and was built with no central support, resting only on its base. It was built without nails—just wood pegs. Carpenters and scientists have said that the construction is nearly impossible and shouldn’t be able to support anyone walking on it. Yet the staircase stands solid to this day.
The chapel has become a museum now, but it is a must-see if you’re ever in New Mexico.
And who was the mysterious builder? Well, the Sisters of Loretto were confident that their mystery man was none other than St. Joseph himself. Bring St. Joseph into your daily life and work with our St. Joseph Decade Rosary Bracelet. This beautifully simple wooden piece suits both men and women and is sturdy enough for daily wear. A wonderful reminder to call on the intercession of Jesus’ foster father in all your labors! Order yours today!
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Why do we celebrate Corpus Christi?Today, we remind ourselves and the world just Who the Eucharist is.
The year 1264 saw the proclamation of a new feast for the Church.
Years before, a holy nun had received a dream indicating the need for this feast. Various delays slowed its institution, until a Eucharistic miracle in 1263 finalized the Church’s decision to declare the feast. Its lovely Office—admired to this day by Protestants as well as Catholics—was written by St. Thomas Aquinas.
This feast is what we all know as Corpus Christi—the Feast of the Body of Christ.
Like the three previous feasts of Easter, Pentecost, and Trinity Sunday, Corpus Christi solemnly celebrates one of the fundamental mysteries of the Church.
In the celebration of this feast, we honor Jesus as He is among us in the Holy Eucharist. The feast focuses specifically on “transubstantiation,” the miracle of the “change of substance” which the bread and wine undergo at Consecration.
The Church chose to set the feast on a Thursday because that is the day on which the first Mass was sacrificed. Just as every Sunday is a mini-celebration of the Resurrection, so every Thursday reflects the first Consecration.
Today, we adore Jesus—truly Emmanuel, God with us, through the Eucharist—telling Him with jubilance and solemnity how much we love Him.
On several occasions, the bread and wine have miraculously manifested themselves as what they are after Consecration—real flesh and real blood. A Cardiologist Examines Jesus takes five of these Eucharistic miracles and presents the scientific data backing them up. Fascinating and factual, this riveting book shows how all Eucharistic miracles are linked in one crucial way. Get your copy today at The Catholic Company!
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Meet the Denver Saint who loved the Sacred Heart...Julia Greeley, Servant of God, was Denver’s angel of Charity.
Everybody in Denver knew Julia Greeley by sight. On any given day she’d be walking the streets regardless of weather, pulling an old red wagon loaded with food, linens, and little toys.
“There goes the one-man St. Vincent de Paul society,” someone would say, and everyone else would smile and nod.
Julia with a young friend
Nobody—including Julia herself—knew how old she was because she had been born into slavery, around the mid-1800s. Her first years were spent in Missouri under a cruel master. All her life, her right eye bore testimony to his horrible treatment: it had been cut by a whip when she was little, and she always carried a handkerchief to dab away the fluids streaming from it.
Finally, the Civil War gave Julia her freedom, and she moved to Denver, Colorado, with her employer. There she picked up other odd jobs cleaning and cooking, often working at night so that her employers wouldn’t be embarrassed by people seeing her.
That’s when she discovered the Catholic Church. Instantly, Julia was inflamed with piety and zeal. She was baptized at Sacred Heart Parish in 1880, and from that time to the day of her death worked tirelessly to care for the poor. She made very little money at her jobs, but most of it went to buying food and material for charity.
Julia’s greatest devotion was to the Sacred Heart. She promoted the devotion everywhere she went, but especially among the city’s firefighters. It was on the Feast of the Sacred Heart in 1918 that she died and entered the next life, mourned by the people of Denver.
Ignite the fire of your own devotion to the Sacred Heart during this month of June—the month of the Sacred Heart! Our 8” statue of the Sacred Heart, hand-painted in vivid and tasteful colors, wonderfully depicts Our Lord’s Heart, burning with love for you. A perfect addition to a prayer space or bookshelf. Order yours today!
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Who are the "Premonstratensians"?If that name leaves you tongue-tied, just call them the “Norbertines.”
In the 11th century, the Catholic world was divided into two sharply distinct vocations: the layman and the monk or nun. The two never mixed: monks and nuns lived in seclusion—frequently in the desert or wilderness—and the laymen remained in the secular sphere.
Then St. Norbert came on the scene.
Norbert was a priest living in the French town of Prémontré. He collected a little band of followers, and together they sought holiness, bound by no rule but charity for one another. For some time they remained this way—but Norbert wanted something more.
He wished to live as the Apostles did—adhering to the beautiful disciplines of monks yet moving about in the world among laymen, preaching and ministering to them. This life would be called a canonical life.
Norbert consulted various priests and bishops for advice on what to do. They gave him conflicting feedback—some advised him and his followers to become monks, others suggested staying in the world as priests. No one seemed to consider the possibility of mixing the two lives.
Troubled, Norbert asked his followers to pray for guidance. Their prayers were quickly answered—St. Augustine of Hippo came to the rescue. He appeared to Norbert in a dream and gave him rules for a canonical way of life. If Norbert and his followers lived by this rule, Augustine said, they would face the Last Judgment without fear.
St. Norbert
Since then, the Premonstratensians—the Canons Regular of Prémontré, commonly known as the Norbertines—have flourished throughout the Catholic world. Their five objectives are a mixture of priestly, monastic, and purely Norbertine practices: 1) singing the Divine Office; 2) zealousness for the salvation of souls; 3) habitual penance; 4) special devotion to the Holy Eucharist; and 5) devotion to the Blessed Mother, especially her Immaculate Conception (these last two were unique in the early 12th century).
If you share St. Norbert’s desire to pray like a monk, In Sinu Jesu: When Heart Speaks To Heart is a must. Written by a Benedictine monk during his time before the Holy Eucharist, these communications from Our Lord and Our Lady have changed the spiritual lives of religious and laity alike. Within these pages, you’ll find instruction on the fundamentals of a rich spiritual life, consolation, healing, and much, much more. Get your copy today at The Catholic Company!
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What are the 12 promises of the Sacred Heart?Let’s remind ourselves of these beautiful graces!
You’ve probably read them before, but—during this month of the Sacred Heart—let’s review the magnificent promises of Our Lord to those devoted to His Heart!
Sacred Heart of Jesus with Saint Ignatius of Loyola
And Saint Aloysius Gonzaga by José de Páez
Revealed to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque in the 17th century, these promises show us in no uncertain terms just how much Our Lord desires that we devote ourselves to His loving Heart.
For those who do, He promised:
- I will give them all the graces necessary in their state of life.
- I will establish peace in their homes.
- I will comfort them in all their afflictions.
- I will be their secure refuge during life, and above all, in death.
- I will bestow abundant blessings upon all their undertakings.
- Sinners will find in my Heart the source and infinite ocean of mercy.
- Lukewarm souls shall become fervent.
- Fervent souls shall quickly mount to high perfection.
- I will bless every place in which an image of my Heart is exposed and honored.
- I will give to priests the gift of touching the most hardened hearts.
- Those who shall promote this devotion shall have their names written in my Heart.
- I promise you in the excessive mercy of my Heart that my all-powerful love will grant to all those who receive Holy Communion on the First Fridays in nine consecutive months the grace of final perseverance; they shall not die in my disgrace, nor without receiving their sacraments. My divine Heart shall be their safe refuge in this last moment.
The twelfth promise refers to the First Friday devotion—a very easy way to insert devotion to the Sacred Heart into our monthly routines. All we have to do is receive Holy Communion on nine consecutive First Fridays (ensuring we go to Confession beforehand if we are not in a state of grace), offering these Communions in reparation for the sins committed against the Sacred Heart.
There are many other additional, daily ways to place ourselves in the Heart of Christ. A simple thought of love and affection means so much to Him. “Jesus, I trust in You!” or “Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us!” are other little prayers we can offer to more firmly bind ourselves to this Heart that loves us so much.
Remind yourself of the love of Our Lord’s Heart with our bestselling Sacred Heart Wooden Wall Plaque. Uniquely designed with a vintage, distressed-wood look and a beautiful depiction of Our Lord, this piece is sure to become a focal point in your home. Available today at The Catholic Company!
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Why did we celebrate the Blessed Trinity yesterday?Doesn’t the Mass always honor the Trinity?
In the Church’s early days, she did not have a specific feast for the Blessed Trinity. The Trinity was honored through certain prayers in the Mass—the Gloria especially focuses on this fundamental Mystery, praising and adoring our Triune God—but there was not yet a dedicated feast day.
For years, the Church remained content with this quiet daily way of honoring the Blessed Trinity. However, when the heresy of Arianism came on the scene, she knew that it was necessary to loudly and decisively proclaim belief in the Blessed Trinity.
Andrei Rublev’s famous depiction of the
Holy Trinity’s visit to Abraham
Arianism rejected the Church’s central dogma of the Blessed Trinity, claiming that Jesus Christ was not truly divine. Jesus, the heresy said, was created by God as a sort of secondary god, clothed with divinity but not eternal and uncreated. This secondary god’s role was to create and redeem the world.
To stem the Arian heresy, the Church Fathers wrote a special Office for the Blessed Trinity to be prayed on Sundays. In this way, the Church honored the Trinity for several centuries. Then, in the 14th century, Pope John XXII declared a universal, annual Feast of the Blessed Trinity and set it on the Sunday after Pentecost.
The Church chose this Sunday in order to reflect the honor we pay to the Blessed Trinity throughout the liturgical year.
At Easter we celebrate Jesus Christ, Who shows us the Father. At Pentecost, the Holy Spirit receives particular honor as He comes to the Apostles and enables them to preach the Gospel. The Holy Spirit’s coming marks the beginning of the Apostles’ mission to the world. They now fulfill Christ’s last command to them: to baptize every nation in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit—the Blessed Trinity.
Honor the Blessed Trinity in your own home with this captivating reproduction of Rublev’s famous icon depicting the visit of the Trinity to Abraham. Housed in a gold frame, this stunning icon reminds us of the greatest Mystery with an otherworldly composition of symbolism and shape. A work that inspires loving meditation. Available today at The Catholic Company!
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Single-handedly, he preserved the Old Testament...Here’s the story of one of the greatest apologists in Church history.
Justin was a pagan young man with a voracious appetite for Truth—for God. He searched far and wide to find someone who could teach him—someone who was a true philosopher, not a wage-exacting idea-peddler.
In his hometown of Flavia Neapolis in northern Israel, he could access many schools of thought brought over the Mediterranean by the Greeks and Romans. He tried them all—Stoics, Peripatetics, Pythagoreans, Platonists…
He saw Christians too, and admired their fortitude in persecution, but they seemed a bit crazy.
Icon of St. Justin Martyr
Then one day, Justin met a mysterious old man who told him—after a long debate—that Truth is not something that can be reached by human knowledge alone. Truth must reveal Itself through prophets.
That’s when Justin knew Christianity was the only answer to his quest—Christianity with its beautiful Scriptures and the truths they revealed.
After that, Justin became Christianity’s greatest defender of the 2nd century. His rich philosophical background and his intense love of Christ combined to make him a prominent apologist—and when the Scriptures he knew were important came under attack by heretics, he stood right up to defend them.
Some said Christians had to adhere to every Jewish law; others that the Old Testament should be abolished completely; Justin proved that the middle line must be taken. Scripture Wars: How Justin Martyr Rescued The Old Testament for Christians tells you all about this gripping fight for the Scriptures. True-life, exciting, and inspiring, this book is the best kind of page-turner for your summer reading list! Get your copy today at The Catholic Company!
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What did St. Elizabeth tell us about her holy cousin Mary?Elizabeth’s words of greeting reveal the fulfillment of a sign.
After the Annunciation, the Blessed Mother dropped everything to hurry to her cousin Elizabeth and help her in the last few months of her miraculous pregnancy.
When Mary appeared on her doorstep, Elizabeth cried out, “And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me?”
Mariotto Albertinelli’s Visitation
Elizabeth’s words echo those spoken by King David a thousand years earlier.
David received the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem. Containing the Law of Moses, the staff of Aaron the High Priest, and heavenly manna from the desert, the Ark was the dwelling place of the Lord. To be in the presence of the Ark was to be in the presence of God.
Aware that he was in the presence of God, David was filled with holy fear and cried out, “How can the Ark of the Lord come to me?”
So, by repeating David’s awe-filled query, Elizabeth reveals who Mary is: the Ark of the New Covenant.
Mary contained within her body the Messiah, who would give the final law as the new Moses; who would offer the final sacrifice as the great High Priest; and who would give the final heavenly bread—His very presence—in the Eucharist.
St. Elizabeth knows that she is standing in the presence of God.
John the Baptist—unborn as he is—confirms this. Like David before the previous Ark, he leaps with joy before Jesus and His Mother.
Commemorate the Blessed Mother’s response to Elizabeth with a stunning reproduction of the Madonna of the Magnificat. Encased in an ornate, round gold frame, Boticelli’s masterpiece reminds us of the glory Mary enjoys in being the perfect Handmaid of the Lord. Available today at The Catholic Company!
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What did Joan of Arc mean when she said, "I am not afraid...I was born to do this"?The context of her words reveals a far deeper meaning than, perhaps, we might suppose.
Joan of Arc’s famous quote is cherished by Catholics and non-Catholics alike. While she did say something like this, it is important to understand the context of her original words in order to grasp the deep spiritual meaning behind them.
On impact, Joan’s quote makes her sound like a believer in self-aggrandizing personal empowerment.
But if we take a look at what she said and why she said it, a much different meaning emerges.
The Capture of Joan of Arc by Adolf Alexander Dillens
Joan was just about to start her mission of saving France from the English. With a tiny escort of three men, she prepared to ride from Vaucouleurs to Chinon where she would meet the Dauphin. Her perilous route lay through English-watched territory.
Before she set out, a woman approached her and cried, “How can you make such a journey when on all sides are soldiers?”
“I do not fear the soldiers, for my road is made open to me,” Joan instantly replied. “And if the soldiers come, I have God, my Lord, who will know how to clear the route that leads to my lord the Dauphin. It was for this that I was born!”
“I have God, my Lord.” Joan was not boasting about her own bravery or empowerment—quite the opposite! She was humbly expressing her total confidence in God.
She knew that she—an illiterate peasant girl—could not protect herself, let alone save her country. God watched over and guided her, and that is why she had nothing to fear. He had entrusted her with the mission of saving France, and He would enable her to carry it out.
This complete trust in God marked the whole of Joan’s life, military action, and infamous trials. And did you know that our beloved American author, Mark Twain, wrote about her? In fact, he considered his book, Joan of Arc, to be his best book! Written with the engrossing flow of a novel and the factual accuracy of a legal document, Twain’s most surprising work brings to life the faith, courage, and humanity of this heroine of the Church. Get your copy today from The Catholic Company!
