As I write this, Ava is enjoying the first week after making her First Communion last Sunday. Two years ago, at the request of my brother, I started praying for little Ava, who had been diagnosed with brain cancer. Ava is the niece of my nephew’s wife. She is five years old and enjoys the love of her many brothers and sisters. But now, little Ava is experiencing the loss of her ability to walk, and the family is asking for prayers.

On Sunday, April 12th, we will observe Divine Mercy Sunday. It is a day likened to the Jewish day of atonement, dating back almost 4,000 years. It is more than just interesting but noteworthy to understand that after the Israeli people were led out of Egypt by Moses and were freed from slavery, instead of worshipping God, they worshipped a golden calf. Because my parents were of humble means, we avoided the golden calf syndrome, as we were accustomed to having less than most

February 20: Feast of Sts. Jacinta and Francisco Marto This morning, I woke up thinking about Lent and how I wanted to make a special effort this year to focus on reparation for sin. Spiritual Reparation is a sacrificial act of prayer or works that makes restitution for the damage caused by sin. For example: If I speak of someone and damage their reputation, I would confess that sin and make restitution by correcting what I said to the person I said it to. If time has passed

Mary came as a mother to warn God’s children that He urgently asks us to live in fidelity to His laws and in charity with each other. Friends in Christ – I have returned to America from Fatima. The time I spent in Fatima was such a grace-filled experience. What I anticipated doing was not exactly what I ended up accomplishing in Fatima. But I received tenfold more than I expected by focusing on prayer, receiving the sacraments, and taking the time to listen to God in silence

(I met with Jacinta Marto, the niece of St. Jacinta, on Sunday, it was the second time I have met her, the last time being in 2023. See a short video at the end of today’s blog. I wish I had taped her retelling the story of her father, Joao, who was given two coins by Lucia to run to get Jacinta, because she felt the Blessed Mother coming – it is in the book. Also, she discussed how her father and the village were so excited when Lucia visited both in 1946 and the times when

On this Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, we thank God for the apparitions in Mexico in 1531, where over nine million conversions were realized because God sent Mary to turn their hearts to Jesus. At the time, they were worshipping idols and sacrificing humans to appease the gods. To Juan Diego, the pious poor instrument God chose, Mary said . “Am I not here? I who am your mother?” You will note in the 2 nd Apparition (my Sunday blog) she gives the same assurance to the chi

I want to thank all those who have sent me messages regarding your appreciation for this blog. I am encouraged by the number of people who have joined from over 36 countries, with good representation from Canada, Singapore, the Philippines, and the United Kingdom, and of course, the United States, from where I write. Tomorrow, I will begin posting on the apparitions of Mary to the children of Fatima. Thus far, if you have followed the past three posts, they have been about th

Yesterday, December 8th, with thousands of other Catholics in Fatima, Portugal, I participated in the holy sacrifice of the Mass on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. As I was reviewing the video that I took after mass, I thought to myself that our brothers and sisters in Christ of other faiths might be aghast at seeing such a spectacle of white handkerchiefs waiving, the adornment of flowers, and candles burning – even the sacrificial expression of individuals and fami

I was too young to remember, but my older brothers and sisters tell stories of our first home, which was later converted to store hay and eventually torn down to make way for the local church parish center. The only thing I recall is how cozy it felt when Dad would start up a fire in the stove, and Mom would warm our shoes on it; contrary to belief, it does get cold in Texas during the winter. There was a very small kitchen, two small bedrooms shared by my parents and seven

"Pray The Rosary Every Day," Mary to the Children of Fatima On May 13, 2017, my sister Lucia and I found ourselves among nearly one million people who had arrived in Fatima, Portugal, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary to three shepherd children. Two of them, Jacinta and Francisco, would be canonized that day by Pope Francis. From across the world, the respectfully quiet crowds spilled into the entire city. My sister had suffere