Early Christian Iconography in St. Priscilla's "Queen of the Catacombs"
St. Priscilla of Rome (1st c.) was a Christian noblewoman who served as a benefactor to the Christian community in Rome. She supported St. Peter the Apostle, the first Bishop of Rome, and her home ...
Earliest-Known Latin Hymn Was Composed by a Bishop for His Daughter
St. Hilary of Poitiers (300–368 A.D.), French-born Doctor of the Church, was one of the great bishops of early Christianity. He was from a noble pagan family and converted to the Catholic Church, a...
Why the Sunday Mass Obligation is a Gift from God
Last Sunday I found myself struck by a thought during Mass. I'm not sure why it occurred to me, or actually why it had never occurred to me before.The thought that came to me was this: our Sunday ...
Epiphany Blessing for The Catholic Company Warehouse: See Photos & Video
Epiphany is one of the Church's major feasts of the liturgical year, the peak of the Christmas season, and as such is accompanied by very special and beautiful blessings in celebration of this sole...
Jesus and the Sacrament of Baptism: God's Extravagance in Recreating Us
The Feast of Jesus' Baptism is usually celebrated on the Sunday after Epiphany, the eighth day in the octave of Epiphany, and marks the final day of the Christmas season. On this feast day we celeb...
Who Were the Three Kings of Epiphany?
The magnificent medieval cathedral of Cologne, Germany, holds one of the treasures of the Christmas story—the relics of the Magi, the famed Three Wise Men who saw Jesus' star rising in the East and...
Does Christmas End on Epiphany?
We all know that Christmas officially begins on Christmas Eve, but when does Christmas officially end? The answer gets a bit complicated.On January 6th, the Feast of the Epiphany (in most places in...
Devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus
The month of January is traditionally dedicated to the Holy Name of Jesus, with January 3rd being the feast of the Holy Name. After the Blessed Virgin Mary had conceived her Child by the Holy Spiri...
10 Scripture Verses to Inspire Your New Year
"Hope smiles from the threshold of the year to come, Whispering 'it will be happier'..." - Alfred TennysonWho doesn't love an inspirational quote for the New Year? Each January comes with the hop...
The Three Kings and the Original Gifts of Christmas Tradition
We can't imagine a Nativity scene without those three royal travelers wearing jeweled crowns and rich robes, holding out their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh for the newborn King of the Jew...