Pope Benedict proclaimed St. John of Avila Doctor of the Universal church on Saturday at a Mass for young seminarians in the cathedral of Santa María la Real de La Almudena in Madrid.

St. John Eudes,  the great disciple of the two hearts of  Jesus and Mary….it is ALL about the heart! 

He believed in the unity of the hearts of Jesus and Mary and wrote:”You must never separate what God has so perfectly united. So closely are Jesus and Mary bound up with each other that whoever beholds Jesus sees Mary; whoever loves Jesus, loves Mary; whoever has devotion to Jesus, has devotion to Mary.”

We “heart” St. John Eudes!
May this great lover of the two hearts, pray for us!

                                           

Word for Word [Edge] from Life Teen on Vimeo.

Fr. Robert Barron’s “Catholicism: a journey to the heart of the faith” is wonderful. A beautiful exploration of the Roman Catholic faith and it’s gift to the world and to culture.

[powerpress]

From randomhouse.com

What is the Catholicism? A 2,000 living tradition? A worldview? A way of life? A relationship? A mystery? In Catholicism Father Robert Barron examines all these questions and more, seeking to capture the body, heart and mind of the Catholic faith.
Starting from the essential foundation of Jesus Christ’s incarnation, life, and teaching, Father Barron moves through the defining elements of Catholicism – from sacraments, worship, and prayer, to Mary, the Apostles, and Saints, to grace, salvation, heaven, and hell – using his distinct and dynamic grasp of art, literature, architecture, personal stories, Scripture, theology, philosophy, and history to present the Church to the world.
Paired with his documentary film series of the same title, Catholicism is an intimate journey, capturing “The Catholic Thing” in all its depth and beauty. Eclectic, unique, and inspiring, Father Barron brings the faith to life for a new generation, in a style that is both faithful to timeless truths, while simultaneously speaking in the language of contemporary life.

  Find out more about the book Fr. Barron’s website :  wordonfire.org

On this date, in 1909, a remarkable woman died…Mother Mary MacKillop.  Her story is almost as wild as the outback she grew up in.  Born the oldest of 7 children, her parents sojourn to Australia alone would have been quite the tale.  Taken as a whole, the life of St. Mary MacKillop should have been the “Australia” movie made recently, instead of that Baz Lurhman never-ending epic thing.  Her life was filled with adventure, struggle, suffering, persecution (she was even excommunicated at one point, but later completely exonerated), joy, triumph, and, to be sure, a great deal of faith, hope and love.

She was foundress of the School Sisters of St. Joseph of the Sacred Heart (known affectionately as the Brown Joeys).  She and her community were dedicated to the education of the poor.  Think about that…Australia…late 1800’s…former criminal colony…poor…outback…wow, what a challenge (not to mention the big heavy brown habits).  And of course, throw Pope Leo XIII into the story as well (St. Katherine Drexel and St Therese the Little Flower can tell you about him); now HERE is the movie that should be made!  I wonder who could play her…maybe Emily Blunt.  Anyway…she is Australia’s ONLY saint (recognized as a saint October 2010).  Let’s pray for more…her homeland can use more right now.  Acutally, we all could use more heroes of virtue right now.   You can read more about her here.

It seems appropriate to honor her life with this production done by an Australian confirmation student.  It’s a little hard to read sometimes, but I think it would make St. Mary MacKillop smile.

(and I think she would have smiled at the use of Beyonce too…reclaiming the temporal order.  Way to go kid!)

Join Fr. Joseph Michael Mary as he reflects upon the Message of Our Lady of Fatima.