Category Catholic
When Life is Prayer
When is the best time to pray? Always. When we get into the practice of talking to God, Mary, the saints, or our angels all day long, we find it becomes an essential and integrated way of life. This past year has raised the bar on reasons to pray. Family members, friends, neighbors, our country, […]
American Novena
Prayer works. Calling on our God for guidance, assistance, relief, and peace is always answered, as all prayers are in one way or another. And if God is with us, we are never left alone. Back-up and support comes in numerous ways. The following prayer was shared with me by my friend, Marla, who received […]
Mary, the Mother of Jesus
In the Catholic and Orthodox Church, we celebrate Mary throughout the year. We do so because of her position as Mother of Jesus and her purity. Three special days to remember Mary occur over the next few weeks— The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception (December 8) which honors Mary’s conception as a pure vessel in […]
Compassionate and Devout Saint Margaret
November 16th is the Feast Day of Saint Margaret Queen of Scotland and a special day on my calendar. On this day, we remember Saint Margaret because of her piety and works of charity and love. Since childhood, I’ve been obsessed with reading biographies, particularly those of the saints. I enjoy discovering what ordinary people […]
Through the Church Doors
Prior to March, attending weekly Mass was vital to my well-being. Mass set everything right. I prayed for the issues of the past week and the week ahead. Joining with my fellow parishioners in praise and petition invigorated me. The fellowship of community reminded me that I was not alone. We were one body and […]
God Always Wins
My step-nephew, Ron, and I recently had a conversation about the disturbing current events and tension in the world. We talked about how much we need to pray for peace and justice. Ron ended with this thought: “Not to worry, Mary. God always wins.” Those words have continued to echo in my head ever since. […]
October, the Month of the Rosary
With the transition to autumn comes pumpkin spice, falling leaves, cool evenings—and the rosary. The entire month of October is dedicated to the rosary and October 7th is the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary. In addition, on October 13, 1917, Mary appeared to three shepherd children and said she was the Lady of […]
Riches to Rags
One of the gifts of going on a pilgrimage is that you never know what will move you spiritually. You can anticipate significant sites being meaningful and memorable, but others impact you in surprising ways. The tomb of St Francis in the Papal Basilica of Saint Francis in Assisi, Italy was one such site on […]
God’s Kingdom Here and Now
If the current demand for social justice makes us uncomfortable, we might ask why that is so. Perhaps we recognize that we are not truly striving for equality, peace, and compassion for all of our brothers and sisters? We aren’t being as thoughtful and considerate of others as we should be. Social media and consumerism […]
Mary K. Doyle 
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