Mary

Long ago, people living in the desert or in monasteries used pebbles, sticks, or lines drawn in the sand to count their prayers. Herein lies the early roots of the Catholic Rosary. People progressed to counting knots on a cord, then to the beads we know today.

Fostering devotion to Mary JAMES BLANKENSHIP Jesus’ final gift from the cross to all believers was the gift of his mother, Mary. From its very...

What is so darn fascinating about royalty?

Pope Francis has created a new Marian feast day. The Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, will be celebrated the Monday...

BY PAT GOHN The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that Mary, the Mother of God, is truly our Mother "in the order of grace" (see CCC,...

by Jessica Gordon CLICK HERE to download a pdf of this activity. Copyright 2016, Bayard, Inc. All rights reserved. This article is protected by United...

ANNE E. NEUBERGER  During May, the traditional month of Mary, we can give children an understanding of the Second Vatican Council's teachings on the role...

Catechists: Use this activity to explore the themes of today’s Gospel with teens. A downloadable PDF of this page is available at the bottom of...

Catechists Need Role Models to Light the Way

It started with a "noise like a gust of wind," explained the fourteen-year-old teen we now know as St. Bernadette Soubirous. Today, more than 150 years later, millions of pilgrims still travel to the once-small town in southern France where that gust of wind first heralded the presence of our Blessed Mother. The pilgrims come to pray for healing and reconciliation, to bathe in the waters, and to remember the 18 appearances, or apparitions, of the Virgin Mary to Bernadette at Lourdes.