–Tison Thomas– In 1854, Pius IX solemnly proclaimed: “The most Blessed Virgin Mary, in the first instant of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege granted by almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the savior of the human race, was preserved free from all stain of original sin.” In Luke 1:28 the angel Gabriel, speaking on God’s behalf, addresses Mary as “full of grace” or “highly favored”. In that context, this phrase means that Mary is receiving all the special divine help necessary for the task ahead. The logic......

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What is faith? -Tison Thomas- Faith is believing in something of which we do not have proof.  Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1; Catechism 146).   What are some examples of faith? When we buy a can of beans at the grocery store, we do not have proof that the can contains beans, because we cannot see inside it.  It is possible that the factory mislabeled the can.  Even though we do not have proof until we open the can at home, we do have......

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-Tison Thomas- Sometimes every one of us feels like no one really cares or understands us. This is especially true for many of the youngsters that we teach. There are times when we all feel lonely, having the feelings of emptiness and hopelessness and questioning the real meaning and purpose of life. St. Ignatius of Loyola went through many of these during his conversion. He calls this a state of desolation.  Desolation often manifests into the state of loneliness. St. Ignatius of Loyola has a beautiful prayer that helped him in his state of isolation......

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-Tison Thomas- “Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of faith is to see what you believe” – St. Augustine St. Thomas the Apostle, who is our father in faith made what is certainly the most explicit statement of faith in the New Testament: “Yahweh Elohim” in Hebrew, which means “My Lord and My God!” (John 20:24-28). This is one of the most profound pronouncement of the Divinity of Jesus. This declaration of Jesus as God demonstrates the unconditional acceptance of St. Thomas in the Son of God.......

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-Tison Thomas – June 24th marks the Feast Day of Saint John the Baptist, one of the greatest saints. Jesus Himself said of John – “Amen, I say to you, among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist” – (Matthew 11:11)  The Gospel of Luke states that John was born about six months before Jesus; therefore, the feast of John the Baptist was fixed on 24 June, six months before Christmas Eve. It is one of the “quarter days”, signaling the beginning of each quarter of the year and welcoming......

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Tison Thomas Did you ever wonder why the first announcement of the birth of Jesus was made to shepherds?  Why weren’t the angels sent to kings, nobles or to fishermen and tax collectors?  Instead the angles of heaven was dispatched to some shepherds abiding in the field keeping watch over their flock by night.  Why were these particular shepherds chosen to be the first on earth to receive the good news that the Savior had been born? It’s important to understand that these shepherds were not ordinary shepherds.  The shepherds to whom......

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By Tison Thomas Holy Qurbana The Holy Qurbana is the central act of our Catholic life, then going to Holy Qurbana must surely remain one of the most indicative of these factors. The Holy Holy Qurbana is the holiest thing we have here on earth. Why? Because it is the action of Christ. The main thing in the Holy Qurbana is not what is read from the Holy Scriptures, even though this is the word of God and should be listened to as such, nor what the people do or sing. The......

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