McGrath Institute Blog

Yesterday’s post discussed the human need for counsel on the path to heaven, an important point for today’s feast of Our Lady of Good Counsel. It is the virtue of docility, or “teachableness,” that opens our hearts and minds to receive counsel from prudent friends, mentors and teachers who are also seeking holiness.

It is not good for man to be alone (Gen. 2:18).

The ol’ rugged individualism used to be a mark of American pride, but our culture is discovering the folly of self-reliance.

“Go, eat rich foods and drink sweet drinks, and allot portions to those who had nothing prepared; for today is holy to our Lord. Do not be saddened this day, for rejoicing in the Lord must be your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10).

In the sacrament of baptism, which we recall at Easter, each of us received both a new identity as a child of God and a vocation to live a life transformed by our encounter with the Lord. We received these gifts not only for our own benefit, but also for the benefit of others.

Has your church sent out formal invitations to the Easter Vigil on the evening of Holy Saturday? Don’t worry. The most eloquent words of invitation are front-loaded right into the Easter Vigil liturgy itself. Beginning with the instruction that we in the pews, the whole Church, our world and the angels in heaven should get ready to “exult” tonight, the Proclamation of Easter calls us, in its own words, to an “ardent love of mind and heart.”