The Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary is the historical announcement by the angel to the Virgin Mary that she would conceive and become the mother of the Savior, Jesus Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit (Cf. Luke 1:26-38). The Evangelist Luke tells us that this event occurred Read more
Two weeks back, I started sharing why we, Catholics, honor Mary. Now I want to share why we believe in the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Immaculate Conception is our faith that the Virgin Mary was free of original sin from the moment of her conception. She received Read more
Very often the point disputed passionately among the Protestant brethren is that why we, Catholics have devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. If I am not wrong, some of the Catholics too raise such a question in their mind. I would like to explain briefly, why we have devotion to Read more
The Fifth Petition: Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us While praying this petition, we acknowledge our sinfulness before God, our Father, like the prodigal son, and ask for his forgiveness (Cf. Luke 15:11-32). The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches: “… in this new Read more
The third Petition: Thy Will be done on earth as it is in heaven The word ‘Will’ means the same as ‘desire’. Hence, by praying “Thy will be done as it is in heaven”, we pray that what God desires might be done, not in the sense that God should Read more
The Prayer that Jesus, our divine Savior, taught us, begins with the first invocation as, “Our Father who art in heaven”. Following this invocation, there are seven petitions. The first three petitions refer to the sanctification of his name, the coming of his kingdom and the fulfillment of his will. Read more
All of us pray almost everyday the prayer “Our Father…”. Jesus himself has taught us this prayer and thus has initiated us into a new relationship with God. We need to understand the deep significance of this relationship. First of all, by teaching us to call God “Our Father”, Jesus Read more
Most of us try sincerely and earnestly to pray. In spite of our efforts, we are, in a few moments, led to daydreaming, either about our conversation with someone or any of our meetings or any of our work etc. and thus get distracted from prayer. We all know that Read more
According to spiritual writers, Prayer is distinguished as vocal and mental prayer, public and private prayer, reflective and affective prayer, guided and spontaneous prayer etc. However, the Catechism of the Catholic Church underscores three major ways of prayer: Vocal Prayer, Meditative Prayer and Contemplative Prayer (Cf. CCC #2699). Vocal Prayer Read more
Prayer is a loving conversation between us and God. It comprises of Adoration & praise, Thanksgiving and Petition: Adoration and Praise: An act of Adoration and Praise is an essential part of prayer, because it involves our recognition of God’s magnificence and grandeur on account of his love and goodness. Read more