The Narrow Gate Blog

Originally published by The Catholic Weekly  When pre-production began on a docu-fiction film chronicling the life of St Mary MacKillop, Catholic media company Shalom World never expected that the highly-anticipated Aussie project would be shelved.Significant financial challenges threatened to end the production before it could begin and consequently the script was set aside.Seeking intercession from St Mary Mackillop herself, the team experienced a “miracle” as a series of p …

Originally published by www.EWTN.com The Transfiguration of Jesus is one of the key events in Jesus’ life. He took three apostles – Peter, James, and John – up to a high mountain to pray. As they were praying, His appearance changed, and His clothes became “dazzling white.” At that point, Moses and Elijah appeared and spoke to the Lord about His upcoming death. A cloud overshadowed the group, and God the Father’s voice came from the cloud saying, “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!”The Ch …

This article was originally published at ncregister.com The Solemnity of the Sacred Heart is celebrated throughout the world on the Friday following the Feast of Corpus Christi.Every year, 19 days after Pentecost, the Catholic Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. But where did that tradition originate?Devotion to the wounded heart of Jesus has its origins in the eleventh century, when pious Christians meditated on the Five Wounds of Christ. There grew up among the faithf …

This article was originally published at catholicweekly.com.au The feast day to Mary Help of Christians has been celebrated in Australia since 1844 but the history to this day dates back to the start of the 1800’s.Napoleon Bonaparte had jailed Pius VI who died in jail. When Pope Pius VII was elected he too was jailed by Bonaparte, who kept him prisoner at Fontainbleau.The Holy Father vowed to God that if he were restored to the Roman See, he would institute a special feast in honour of Mary.The …

This article was originally published at edwardsri.com. Imagine a Pope approaching a statue of Mary, carrying a bullet in his hand, putting the bullet in Mary’s crown, and repeatedly saying to her, “You saved me…You saved me…”That’s what happened in 1982 when St. Pope John Paul visited the apparition site of Our Lady of Fatima in Portugal, a year after he had been shot in St. Peter’s Square. But the pope wasn’t just giving thanks to Mary in a general way. He was recognizing the crucial role …

This article was originally published by Decided Excellence Catholic Media. September marks the month of the Sorrowful Mother, Mater Dolorosa, the woman who faithfully stayed with the Lord through his most vulnerable and physically weak moments on earth. In order to understand Our Lady’s role (especially during the Passion), we must first look to her Son, who set the stage for this great drama of our redemption. It is within his Passion that our suffering is made sweet and by which our frai …

This article first appeared at: catholicweekly.com.au The Saturday night rosary was a cornerstone of my family life growing up. After dinner was finished, all 12 of us would gather in the living room, sitting on the couch, chairs or the floor.The lights would be switched off and the candles next to the statue of Our Lady holding the child Jesus would be lit.Mum and Dad would then list all the people we were going to pray for and if any child had anybody else to add to the list they could do so. …

This article first appeared at: stpaulcenter.com In contemporary society, most people have no awareness that the offering of sacrifice to God is a central act of the virtue of religion and thus a good and morally obligatory thing. Even Catholics who attend Mass are generally unaware that they are participating in an infinite offering to God or that that is the principal reason why there is a Sunday Mass obligation. The more society becomes secularized, the more the notion of sacrifice and its ob …

This article first appeared at: stpaulcenter.com Amidst the somber beauty of the many readings at Easter Vigil Mass, there’s a line from the prophet Isaiah which feels rather jarring: “For a brief moment I abandoned you, but with great tenderness I will take you back” (Is 54:7, NABRE). For souls whose hearts have been pierced by deep suffering, this verse might feel disconcerting. Why would our loving Father ever abandon us, even for a brief moment? And does that mean He might be abandoning me r …

This article first appeared at: fireupministries.comThe one thing we all want, without question, is to be loved by others.Sadly, we assume that we get the love we want by working super hard to hide our flaws and weaknesses from others so that they won’t be repulsed by us. In fact, it is almost directly the opposite.The love you desire is on the other side of being vulnerable and honest about your weaknesses. Contrary to what most of us think, when we let our guard down in front of a trusted love …