Is the Annunciation an isolated incident, something that happened to our Blessed Mother Mary and that we acknowledge once a year in celebration? Or is the message of the Archangel Gabriel and the response given by the young virgin to whom he brought it intended to speak to us even today?

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After the Second Vatican Council, it wasn’t uncommon to hear people say, “We don’t do that anymore”—a common response based on the erroneous assumption that Vatican II threw out just about everything in favor of Latin-free liturgies and statue-free churches. That wasn’t the case, but it is definitely true that, in Catholicism, there are devotional practices that have fallen in and out of fashion over the centuries. One such concept—Ember Days.

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Some people say that everyone is Irish on St. Patrick’s Day. But wouldn’t it be great if everyone were like St. Patrick on St. Patrick’s Day? If instead of, “Hey! Let’s find a bar and have a few beers!” we’d say, “Hey! Let’s find a bar, buy a round for some people and talk to them about Christ and His Church.”

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We all know the current Francis of Rome. But before him, there was a “Frances” of Rome. She was an uptown girl of noble birth—a holy girl, wholly unimpressed by her position. She wanted to devote her life to Jesus Christ.

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Don’t you wish we had a Catholic infomercial channel? EWTN is great, but we could really use something to get us as excited about being Catholic as we do about a miracle cleaner that takes spots out of pets…or whatever those miracle cleaners do. Cue the hyper-energetic spokesperson: “Are you ready, out there? It’s Ash Wednesday! And you know what …

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Seven Common Misconceptions About Lent Whether you’ve been a Christian for 40 years or 40 minutes, there’s probably something you’re confused about when it comes to the season of Lent. Don’t worry. It’s nothing to be ashamed of. Your own pastor may have to check with the bishop once in a while to make sure he’s got everything straight for …

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“Are you ready for Lent?” It’s one of those questions you don’t quite know how to answer. Of course, sometimes people aren’t really looking for an answer—just an opportunity to tell you about their own superhuman Lent. Be ready to look on in admiration as you hear all about the bread & water regimen they’re adopting, along with the twelve complete rosaries each week and the family Summa nights they have planned.

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If there’s one thing we Catholics are good at, it’s blessing things. You name it and we’ll probably bless it. We even have a whole day dedicated to the blessing of throats—the Feast of Saint Blaise, patron saint of throat illnesses.

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This is a special week for all of us at Aquinas and More. January 28 is the feast day of one of our namesakes—St. Thomas Aquinas.

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Giving Deacons Their Due It can be easy to take little notice of a deacon in the Catholic Church unless he comes plainly into view. You know, “Oh, look. Deacon Joe is going to do the homily, today.” Other than that, it’s fairly safe to say that we Catholics don’t necessarily think about our deacons all that much. Sure, we …

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