Author Archives: stceceliastgabriel

On June 11, the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, I had the privilege of attending a Mass at St. Mary’s Church in New Haven where Mr. Patrick Kelly was installed as the 14th Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus.  The Knights of Columbus are the largest Catholic fraternal organization in the world, with overContinue reading “Guardians of the Family, Guardians of Truth”

In October 1986, Pope John Paul II made a pilgrimage to a place called Paray-le-Monial, a town in eastern France.   Paray-le-Monial is called the “City of the Sacred Heart” because it was the home of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, a 17th century religious sister whose visions of Christ led to widespread devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. During an audience, Pope John Paul II saidContinue reading “The Sacred Heart”

 A couple of weeks ago, the New York Times featured a story by journalist Ruth Graham about a young religious sister who spends her days encouraging people to remember not just the dead, but to remember death itself.  Sr. Teresa Aletheia, a member of the Daughters of St. Paul, has developed a huge online following by encouraging people to cultivate the daily habit of reflecting on their mortality. Memento mori, in Latin, was a practice of ancient pagan philosophers but has also been part of Christian lifeContinue reading “Memento Mori”