Our Faith

The history of the rosary traces to the 13th century. It is believed that Mary gave St. Dominic the rosary to rescue the church from the Albigensian heresy.

Initially, 150 Hail Marys were prayed as a part of the rosary.

"The prayer of the rosary, originally composed of 150 Hail Marys, is based on the 150 psalms of the Psalter prayed in monasteries since antiquity," said Gretchen Crowe, editor-in-chief of OSV Newsweekly in Huntington, Indiana, and author of the new book "Why the Rosary, Why Now?"

VATICAN CITY – Christians who pray the rosary unite their own lives with Christ by meditating on his life, ministry and death, Pope Francis said.

"This simple prayer, in fact, helps us to contemplate all that God in his love has done for us and for our salvation and helps us understand that our life is united to Christ's," the Pope said in a video message June 18 to pilgrims of the Ta Pinu Marian Shrine in Gozo, Malta.

In appreciation for "the givenness of life" helps people thrive in their daily existence. The world around them needs this appreciation too. But what is "the givenness of life"?

On the eve of Pentecost 2014, Pope Francis attended a conference in an Italian stadium with 50,000 Catholics who appeared every bit as excited as the soccer fans who had swarmed the venue a few weeks later.

Here we are, summer is just about at its usual close and most of us have been able, I hope, to get some time for a break or vacation. We all need to refresh ourselves and to focus on things other than work and the usual chores of living. It is a necessary human experience.

Our focus on the 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time turns to a consideration of the meaning of faith.

"It is the church which brings Christ to me and me to Christ; parallel journeys are dangerous," he told some 200,000 members of Catholic lay movements and groups during a Pentecost Mass in St. Peter's Square.

What can God and nature have had in mind when they designed the aging process? Why is it that just when our mental prowess, our human maturity, and our emotional freedom are at their peak, the body begins to fall apart?

With the month of February, my favorite month of the year, comes some very special events. Granted my birthday being one of them, I would like to focus on the two days that begin the month, Feb. 2 and Feb. 3.

Q. I was wondering whether you’re allowed to change your child’s godparents and, if so, how to go about it and have it be acceptable to the Church. The situation is this: When we chose our daughter’s godparents, seven years ago, they were Catholic and went to church. But over the years, they stopped going to church, and I’m not even sure that they still consider themselves Catholic.

Jan. 13 | Through our Baptism, we enter new life in Christ
It is not unusual for us at times to be looking for the right thing but still looking in the wrong place or the wrong direction.

We suffered a computer’s death in our household a few days ago. Perhaps it failed after contracting a virus through an infected e-mail.

What is noteworthy is that acquiring a new computer immediately became a top priority for us. I guess the reality is that we now regard the computer and quick Internet access as lifestyle necessities.