Friends of the Rosary, Today, July 26th, is the Memorial of Saints Joachim and Anne, the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the grandparents of Jesus. The couple's faith and perseverance brought them from the sorrow of childlessness to the joy of conceiving and raising the immaculate and sinless woman who would give birth to Christ. Joachim, a wealthy member of one of the Twelve Tribes of Israel, and his wife Anne were deeply grieved by their childlessness. They regarded it as a surpassing misfortune and a sign of shame among the tribes of Israel. Joachim and Anne began to devote themselve ..read more

Friends of the Rosary, Today, July 25th, we celebrate the feast of St. James, the Apostle, also known as James the Greater (to distinguish him from the other Apostle, St. James, who was chosen later.) James the Greater was St. John's brother and the son of Zebedee, the fisherman from Galilee. Christ Jesus called him Boanerges, "son of thunder.” Along with John and Peter, he witnessed the Transfiguration and accompanied later Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemani. He started evangelizing Spain, a country that is his patron saint today. In Saragossa, along with some followers, he ..read more

Friends of the Rosary, Today, in Matthew 13:1-9, Christ Jesus delivers the parable of the sower to a large crowd: “A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky ground, where it had little soil. It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep, and when the sun rose it was scorched, and it withered for lack of roots. Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it. But some seed fell on rich soil, and produced fruit, a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold. Whoever has ears ought to hear.” The parable of the ..read more

Friends of the Rosary, Today is the Feast of St. Mary Magdalene, the "Apostle to the Apostles." She had the honor of being the first recorded witness to the truth of Christ’s resurrection. Mary Magdalene was also the first to testify before the apostles and bring them the good news of the Lord's resurrection. "I have seen the Lord," she said. Jesus chose her to bring the news to them. Mary Magdalene, who stood with Mary at the foot of the Cross, was from Magdala, a small fishing town on the Sea of Galilee. She was known as a "great sinner," a woman of the streets who heard Jesus speak of God's ..read more

Friends of the Rosary, Today's reading in the Gospel of Mark (Mk 6:30-34) brings us the compassion and human understanding of Jesus for humanity. "When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things." The people of Galilee were anxious to hear about God and his mercy. They were simple, uneducated villagers, shepherds, and fishermen who knew little about the Law of Moses. They were ordinary, not overly religious people. They probably cheated on one another and were uncharitable to ..read more

Friends of the Rosary, The love of God is inseparable from the love of human beings. We love our neighbor by loving Christ, as we learn in the second joyful mystery we pray today. If we love the Almighty God, we must love and forgive our neighbor.  "He who does not love the brother whom he sees cannot love God whom he does not see." (1 Jn 4:20) We receive divine grace to put it into action. Divine grace is not for our exclusive gain; it's for the gain of others, as we belong to one another.  Ave Maria! Jesus, I Trust In You! Come, Holy Spirit, come! To Jesus through Mary! + Mikel Ami ..read more

Friends of the Rosary, Lord Jesus wants us to be merciful and charitable rather than being caught in rituals. In the Gospel (Mt 12:1-8), today we hear His words: “I say to you, something greater than the temple is here. If you knew what this meant, I desire mercy, not sacrifice, you would not have condemned these innocent men. For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.” Pharisees were portraying Jesus as violating the Jewish law by curing on the Sabbath and allowing the disciples to eat on this day after they were picking grain. They didn’t understand that Jesus is above all rituals, and ..read more

Friends of the Rosary, As we read today (Matthew 11:28–30), Jesus said: "Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light." Christ Jesus offers us a view of the Trinity from the inside. He invites us to rest and achieve joy in Him. Most people wrongly think that joy will come from filling the ego with goods. But joy only comes by emptying ourselves, turning life to God's direction, and following the divine will. Jes ..read more

Friends of the Rosary, In today's reading (Mt 11:25-27), the Son of God talks to His Father. We learn how the inner life of God takes place in the unity of the Holy Spirit. Pure love is the language. "I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike. Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him ..read more

Friends of the Rosary, Today, July 16th, the Catholic Church celebrates the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, also known as the feast of the Brown Scapular. Mount Carmel is a mountain in Galilee where the prophet Elijah defended the purity of Israel's faith in the living God. In the 13th century, hermits and monks began living and praying on the mountain. They later founded the Carmelite order devoted to the contemplative life under the patronage of Mary, the holy Mother of God. They venerated the Virgin Mary as Our Lady of Mount Carmel, from which the name Carmelite was derived. On July 16 ..read more