Blessed Isidore Bakanja is the first martyr of the Brown Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel whose feast we celebrate on Monday, July 16th. Isidore Bakanja was a young black teenage martyr from the Boangi tribe in Zaire, Africa with plenty of zeal, valor, and faith for the gospel and Our Lady. Receiving the… [Read More]
The New Age of Martyrdom (Review: “To the Martyrs”)
Daily Mass once moved me to tears. I used to work in campus ministry, so I went to Mass every day. It was not unusual to have the diocesan vocations director visit us. While I was working at the University Catholic Center, the vocations director was Fr. Brian McMaster, so we had him for Mass… [Read More]
The Catholic Roots of Halloween
Every year the questions about the acceptability of celebrating Halloween arise in Catholic and Christian circles: Can my family to celebrate Halloween? Is it okay for my child to dress up and trick-or-treat? Is Halloween a pagan, satanic or secular holiday? These, and a myriad of other questions about Halloween haunt the consciousness of Catholics… [Read More]
