Daily Collection: Ash Wednesday

Collect: Grant, O Lord, that we may begin with holy fasting this campaign of Christian service, so that, as we take up battle against spiritual evils, we may be armed with weapons of self-restraint. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son... "Grant, O Lord, that we may begin with holy fasting this campaign of Christian service" - Christian service is a "campaign," meaning it is like an army making a strategic attack against an enemy. Not only is the Christian life a battle, but the ability to fight is itself a gift; thus, we have to ask for the grace to...Read More

Revenant or Reverent?

Whoa! If I had to pick one word to describe The Revenant, it would have to be "intense." This movie has made something important very clear to me... people are crazy to live that far north! Grizzly bears, deadly snowstorm, treacherous frozen rivers... Why in the world would someone want to live in such a place?! I know I wouldn't. Thankfully, it's usually pretty warm on the internet with all the electric currents and what not. And what is their to fear? A few viruses, some snobby trolls? Bah, no big deal! With a backup server and a little mental...Read More

Log on for Lent?

Say what?! Lent is in one week?!!!1!!!!!1!!1! What am I going to sacrifice? What can I possibly give up that will give me all the holiness? Cue the mass exodus of Catholics (and protestants?) from Facebook! Every year, thousands of Christians shut off their accounts in an effort to cut out some noise and make room for listening to God. Not a terrible idea, and it kind of touches on of the three pillars of Lent (and Christian life in general): Almsgiving, Prayer, and Fasting. If that's what you really want to do, go for it, but I have a little proposal...Read More

Throwing Stones

Mon 4th week OT, Year II - Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy Deacon Alexander Albert Notre Dame Seminary   https://sites.google.com/site/fatheralbertmedia/mp3/Mon_OT_4-II_-_NDS.mp3   “He threw stones at David… he was always bruising himself with stones… And as they were stoning Stephen… he cried out… ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit…’ ‘he who is without sin cast the first stone.” So, why does Scripture love to throw stones into its stories? Why? Because you’d have to be stupid as a stone to commit even a tiny sin in the face of the almighty, all-loving God.  And yet, that is exactly what we do. And how...Read More

Daily Collection: Angela Merici

Collect taken from the Memorial of St. Angela Merici Collect: May the Virgin Saint Angela never fail to commend us to your compassion, O Lord, we pray, that, following the lessons of her charity and prudence, we may hold fast to your teaching and express it in what we do. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son... "May the Virgin Saint Angela never fail to commend us to your compassion, O Lord, we pray" - When we pray to a saint, we are essentially asking them to pray for us because they are closer to God and, quite simply, they pray better...Read More

Daily Collection: Timothy & Titus

Collect taken from the memorial of Sts. Timothy & Titus Collect: O God, who adorned Saints Timothy and Titus with apostolic virtues, grant through the intercession of them both, that, living justly and devoutly in this present age, we may merit to reach our heavenly homeland. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son "O God, who adorned Saints Timothy and Titus with apostolic virtues" - As always, we start our prayer by calling to mind the good that God has done. In this case, it is the virtues found in these two men who served as the first generation of leaders immediately...Read More

Men, Memory, Monuments, and Meaning

Heyo! After floating around the ether of the Internet for a while, I began to wonder where it all came from. Pondering on the history of the internet left me with a kind of homesickness for a place I've never been, so I decided to go there. What I'm saying is that I decided to take a pilgrimage to the place it all began... Al Gore's Brain! ... ... Alright, not really. It's hard to pin down a single "birthplace," but with the help of a "tour guide" of sorts, I was able to see how it all began... I...Read More

Daily Collection: St. Hilary of Poitiers

Collect from the optional memorial of St. Hilary of Poitiers, Bishop and Doctor Collect: Grant, we pray, almighty God, that we may rightly understand and truthfully profess the divinity of your Son, which the Bishop Saint Hilary taught with such constancy. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son... "Grant, we pray, almighty God, that we may rightly understand and truthfully profess the divinity of your Son" - Jesus Christ is God and every generation has had trouble accepting this fact, so the Church prays for us to not only accept it, but actually profess it in the face of worldly denial. "which...Read More

Shall we drink?

Tue 1st week OT, Year II Alexander Albert Notre Dame Seminary “What is this? A new teaching with authority. He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him.” I don’t know about you, but I often wonder whether my preaching would produce more converts if I could just throw down a miracle when I needed to make a point. I often wonder about this as a pray with the New Testament stories of the miracles of the Apostles. Healings, exorcisms, supernatural knowledge, speaking new languages… Me, I’ve never seen… much less performed an outright miracle. This sometimes pains me and I...Read More

Daily Collection: The First Day of Ordinary Time

Collect taken from the mass of the day, Monday of the First Week of Ordinary Time  Collect: Attend to the pleas of your people with heavenly care, O Lord, we pray, that they may see what must be done and gain strength to do what they have seen. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son... "Attend to the pleas of your people with heavenly care, O Lord, we pray" -Short and to the point, the Church begs of God to hear us and care for us. Yet, the request the Church is about to make of us is not for our own...Read More