As of yesterday, the fifth Sunday in Lent called Passion Sunday, Holy Church has entered the 2-week time of Passiontide.

From The New Marian Missal: “The Mass of Passion Sunday is full of the thought of the Passion of Jesus and of the infidelity of the Jews…” We are now beginning to contemplate more deeply, the sufferings of Our Blessed Lord for these final 2 weeks of Lent. Let us merge these contemplations with the sufferings of the Church at this time. Let us offer up our Passiontide for the great needs of the Holy Father and the entire Body of Christ, the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. May we pray for any areas where the public celebration of the Easter Mass will be prohibited, which is an abuse of basic human rights.

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Today is my First Holy Communion Anniversary, the feast of Saint Isidore the Farmer. I am so grateful that I have been able to remember this date because it is the greatest of anniversaries, the union with Christ Himself. It is sad many do not remember the date of their First Holy Communion. Parents should try to instill this in their children and perhaps even celebrate it in some way. Going to Mass would be wonderful and also reciting prayers in honor of the Blessed Sacrament. Actually, the dates of all our sacraments should be well-recorded and remembered in some way. If you can’t remember, I might suggest just choosing a date near when you think it was and begin celebrating it on that day.

I pray for my catechism teachers at Saint Patrick’s School in Smithtown, New York, who gave me the knowledge that I was receiving Jesus that day. God bless them!

Was God trying to tell me something about Saint Isidore? He is an inspiration to me and his story relates to the mission of Nomen Christi Apostolate. I had wanted to write about him today, but the project spiraled in an amazing direction and I was not able to complete it. Look for this post later in the week…