Saint John Eudes (1601-1680), whose feast we celebrate on Aug. 19, was one of the leading proponents of devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. He also discerned a close connection between the Heart of Jesus and Divine Mercy.
In the early 19th century, high in the mountains of Lebanon, Youssef Makhlouf dreamed of giving his life to Christ in a radical way. He became St. Charbel Makhlouf,OLM, whose feast we celebrate on July 24.
May 13 marks the 107th anniversary of Our Lady’s first apparition at Fatima. Our Lady continues to invite us to renewed hope, to deeper conversion of our hearts to Christ, and to remind us of her loving intercession before her Son for all our needs and prayers.
As we commemorate the First Martyrs, let us not forget that today, more than ever before, our brothers and sisters in Christ are going home to God because of their fidelity to the faith which saves.