Resurrection Cemetery, Staten Island, NY

08/08/2026

Did Saint Dominic Teach That Holiness Is Passive?

Dear Beloved in Christ,

In Saint Dominic de Guzmán we see that holiness is a burning desire to carry Christ to the world—one soul, one word, one rosary bead at a time. It is this fire that quiets every restless heart and steadies every anxious spirit, gently drawing us from Saint Dominic's witness into the very stillness he himself sought in prayer.

Saint Dominic was a man of contemplation who could not keep silent amid the troubled age he lived in; for what he received in prayer he poured out from every valley and hilltop, believing that love of God and love of neighbor are but two flames rising from the same sacred hearth. As we honor him today, we are reminded that holiness is a fire first kindled in silent prayer and then carried outward into the tumultuous world.

Born in Spain in 1170, Saint Dominic was a priest who founded the Order of Preachers to carry the light of sound doctrine—those truths rooted in Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition—into an age darkened by heresy and confusion. He taught the Church that truth need never fear the light, for truth is Christ Himself.

Sensitive with sinners yet unyielding with error, poor in possession yet rich in wisdom, Saint Dominic showed that contemplation and action are partners travelling along the same road of life's journey. He insisted his friars "pass on the fruits of contemplation": the silence kept with God in prayer is never meant to stay silent—it must overflow into how we treat others, speak truth, and serve those in need, including ourselves.

For our own souls, this teaching corrects two familiar temptations: private religious fervor that never touches daily life, and activity with no roots in prayer. Dominic lights a third way, likening prayer to a hound running wild with a torch in its mouth, setting the world ablaze. The image is perhaps inelegant, but acute nonetheless—for this is how holy fire spreads: not by force, but by love that cannot stay contained.

For us, his spiritual children across eight centuries, he bequeathed the Holy Rosary itself—that divine chain of beads by which Our Lady still draws every wandering and restless heart home to her Son.

Thank you, Saint Dominic, for the rosary and for teaching us to carry that same twin flame toward every soul in need, including our own, for we must be gentle with our own hearts.

May peace be with you, and all those you hold dear...

08/07/2026

Cómo la Transfiguración fortalece nuestras almas

Queridos en Cristo:

No dude en ver la misa desde la Catedral de San Patricio (6:15): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0lx8-6eu7U

Hoy nuestra Iglesia levanta sus ojos al milagro divino en el Monte Tabor, donde Jesús llevó a Pedro, Santiago y Juan hasta la cima de la montaña y se transfiguró ante ellos. Su rostro brilló como el sol y sus vestiduras se volvieron blancas como la luz: la gloria de su divinidad, que siempre habitó bajo la humildad de su carne, se manifestó por un instante luminoso.

Allí, a su lado, estaban Moisés y Elías, la Ley y los Profetas, dando testimonio de que todo anhelo encuentra su cumplimiento en Él. Y desde la nube resplandeciente, la voz del Padre declaró: «Este es mi Hijo amado... escúchenlo», para que pudiéramos saber, sin lugar a dudas, quién camina entre nosotros.

Los Padres de la Iglesia consideraron este uno de los mayores milagros de Cristo, porque en él reveló la verdad misma de su Persona. Y lo hizo deliberadamente antes de su Pasión, para que, cuando llegara la oscuridad del Calvario, sus seguidores llevaran dentro de sí esta semilla de luz que sostuviera su esperanza.

Esta es la tierna misericordia oculta en la Transfiguración: Cristo no nos muestra su gloria para deslumbrarnos, sino para fortalecernos, dándonos un anticipo de lo que espera a todos los que permanecen fieles a través de los valles oscuros de sus vidas. Aquel que fue transfigurado promete que nosotros también seremos transfigurados con Él en la gloria de la resurrección, cuando nuestra humilde carne sea hecha radiante por la gracia.

Así que aferrémonos a la verdad de que la misma voz que habló sobre Jesús también nos invita tiernamente a confiar en Él.

Que la paz esté contigo, y que la luz de la Transfiguración vaya delante de ti en cada valle que debas cruzar, hasta el día en que contemples esa misma gloria revelada en todo su esplendor.

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08/06/2026

How the Transfiguration​ Strengthens Our Souls

Dear Beloved in Christ,

Today our Church lifts her eyes to ​the divine miracle on Mount Tabor, where Jesus led Peter, James, and John up to the mountain's peak and was transfigured before them: His face shining like the sun, His garments white as light—the glory of His divinity that had always dwelt beneath the humility of His flesh breaking through for one luminous moment.

There beside Him stood Moses and Elijah, the Law and the Prophet, bearing witness that every longing finds its fulfillment in Him, and from the bright cloud the Father's voice declared, "This is my beloved Son... listen to Him," so that we might know beyond doubting who walks among us.

The Fathers of the Church called this the greatest of Christ's miracles, for in it He revealed the very truth of His own Person—and He did so deliberately before His Passion, that when the darkness of Calvary came, His followers might carry within them this seed of light to sustain their hope. This is the tender mercy hidden in the Transfiguration: Christ does not show us glory to dazzle us, but to fortify us, giving us—a foreshadowing of what awaits everyone who remains faithful through the dark valleys of their lives, since He who was transfigured promises that we too shall be transfigured with Him in the glory of the resurrection, our own humble flesh made radiant by grace.

So let us hold fast to the truth that the same voice that spoke over Jesus speaks tenderly over us, inviting us to trust in Him.

May peace be with you, and may the light of the Transfiguration go before you into every valley you must cross, until the day you behold that same glory unveiled in radiant light.

07/31/2026

From Wounded Soldier to Warrior of the Spirit: The Story of St. Ignatius of Loyola

Dear Beloved in Christ,

Today we honor a warrior for Christ, a soldier who traded the sword of ambition for the sword of the Spirit—wounded at Pamplona in 1521, Saint Ignatius' broken leg became the doorway through which grace entered. As he lay convalescing, his heart began to discern the difference between fleeting worldly delight and the deep, lasting peace that comes from God alone—and from this humble discernment was born the "Spiritual Exercises," a treasure the Church still uses to guide souls into deeper communion with the Lord.

In 1540, Saint Ingatius founded the Society of Jesus, sending his brother Jesuits not away from the world but boldly into it—into classrooms, courts, and far-off missions—convinced that God could be found not only in majestic cathedrals and humble churches but in all things—literature, nature, every corner of human life, for we are created "to praise, reverence, and serve God our Lord" in all things. Saint Ignatius calls us to seek God's presence in ordinary things and ordinary days.

And so, as we carry his witness forward—finding God in labor and in rest, and in the physical and emotional wounds that reroute our lives toward Him—may peace be with you; and may we all discover that every ordinary moment is fertile soil in which God may plant His grace.

07/29/2026

Santos Marta, María y Lázaro: un solo hogar, tres caminos del amor

Queridos hermanos en Cristo:

Hoy nos sentamos a la mesa en el hogar de Betania junto a tres almas a las que Jesús amaba profundamente; en su amistad, vislumbramos la esencia misma de la vida cristiana.

Marta, que se apresuraba a servir y no temía expresar en voz alta su dolor y su fe —«Creo que tú eres el Cristo, el Hijo de Dios»—, nos enseña que el amor activo y la confesión valiente son, en sí mismos, una forma de oración.

María, que se sentaba a los pies del Señor y más tarde los ungía con un perfume costoso, nos muestra que el silencio, la adoración e incluso una devoción generosa —y aparentemente poco práctica— nunca son en vano ante Dios.

Y Lázaro, llamado a salir del sepulcro por una voz que impera incluso sobre la muerte, se erige como prueba viviente de que nuestro Señor no es solo un maestro de la resurrección, sino su fuente y autor mismo: «Yo soy la Resurrección y la Vida».

Juntos, estos tres hermanos de Betania conforman un único hogar de santidad, revelando que el discipulado tiene espacio para las manos que trabajan, el corazón que contempla y el alma que simplemente recibe la vida nueva como un don gratuito. Por ello, el Papa Francisco, en su sabiduría, unió sus nombres en una sola memoria litúrgica, para que la Iglesia honre la hospitalidad, la contemplación y la esperanza de la resurrección en un mismo acto.

Al llevar su ejemplo a nuestros propios hogares —a nuestras cocinas, a nuestras capillas silenciosas y a nuestros momentos de pérdida—, pidamos la gracia de imitar el servicio generoso de Marta, la atención plena de María y la confianza de Lázaro en Dios.

07/29/2026

Saints Martha, Mary, and Lazarus: One Household, Three Paths to Love

Dear Beloved in Christ,

Today we sit at the table of the Bethany household with three souls whom Jesus loved dearly, and in their friendship, we glimpse the whole shape of the Christian life.

Martha, who rushed to serve and did not fear to speak her grief and her faith aloud—"I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God"—teaches us that active love and bold confession are themselves a form of prayer.

Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and later anointed them with costly oil, shows us that stillness, adoration, and even lavish, seemingly impractical devotion are never wasted before God.

And Lazarus, called forth from the tomb by a voice that commands even death, stands as living proof that our Lord is not merely a teacher of resurrection but its very source and author—"I am the Resurrection and the life."

Together these three Bethany siblings form a single household of holiness, revealing that discipleship has room for the hands that labor, the heart that contemplates, and the soul that simply receives new life as pure gift; this is why Pope Francis, in his wisdom, joined their names as one memorial, so that the Church might honor hospitality, contemplation, and resurrection hope all in the same breath.

As we carry their example into our own homes, our own kitchens and quiet chapels and moments of loss, may we ask for Martha's generous service, Mary's undivided attention, and Lazarus's trust in the God.

07/25/2026

The Feast of Saint James the Apostle, the First Martyr

Dear Beloved in Christ, Saint James the Greater shines before us as a pillar of apostolic courage, the first among the Twelve to drink deeply of the chalice of martyrdom, and a witness who teaches us that true discipleship is measured by love poured out in sacrifice. He is the patron saint of pilgrims and Spain. As the brother of John and companion of our Lord, he beheld the Transfiguration, trembled in Gethsemane, and learned that the path to glory passes through the Cross, inviting us to a faith that is lived with steadfast devotion, pilgrim-hearted perseverance, and a readiness to serve Christ in humility and zeal; venerated across the Church, especially through the ancient pilgrimage of Compostela, he reminds us that our earthly journey is itself a sacred road toward God, where every step, offered in grace, becomes prayer, and every trial becomes purification, drawing us nearer to the Heart of Christ.

May peace be with you, and may the intercession of Saint James strengthen your faith, guide your pilgrimage, and lead you more deeply into the love and truth of Our Lord.

07/25/2026

¿Por qué y qué rezamos antes de escuchar el Evangelio?

Antes de escuchar el Evangelio, hacemos una pausa para orar porque Cristo nos habla a través de su Palabra. En ese momento sagrado, pedimos un corazón abierto, oídos atentos y la gracia de recibir el Evangelio con fe, para que transforme nuestra vida.

Santa María Magdalena (cuya fiesta celebramos el 22 de julio) nos mostró lo que significa escuchar verdaderamente al Señor. Permaneció junto a Jesús, le fue fiel incluso en el dolor y fue la primera en anunciar la alegría de la Resurrección. Que nosotros, como ella, sepamos escuchar la voz de Cristo y compartir la Buena Nueva con nuestra vida.

En la homilía de la Misa de este jueves por la mañana en la Catedral de San Patricio, el padre Enrique Salvo explica el significado de la oración que rezamos antes de la proclamación del Evangelio.

Puede ver la homilía del padre Salvo aquí en The Good Newsroom​ (12;19 mark; ve a la configuración y selecciona español en la pista de audio): https://thegoodnewsroom.org/fr-enrique-salvos-homily-july-23-2026/

Fr. Enrique Salvo explains the prayer we do before listening to the Gospel. By the virtue of our Baptism, we are invited to hear the good news of Christ.

07/25/2026

¿Por qué y qué rezamos antes de escuchar el Evangelio?

Antes de escuchar el Evangelio, hacemos una pausa para orar porque Cristo nos habla a través de su Palabra. En ese momento sagrado, pedimos un corazón abierto, oídos atentos y la gracia de recibir el Evangelio con fe, para que transforme nuestra vida.

Santa María Magdalena (cuya fiesta celebramos el 22 de julio) nos mostró lo que significa escuchar verdaderamente al Señor. Permaneció junto a Jesús, le fue fiel incluso en el dolor y fue la primera en anunciar la alegría de la Resurrección. Que nosotros, como ella, sepamos escuchar la voz de Cristo y compartir la Buena Nueva con nuestra vida.

En la homilía de la Misa de este jueves por la mañana en la Catedral de San Patricio, el padre Enrique Salvo explica el significado de la oración que rezamos antes de la proclamación del Evangelio.

Puede ver la homilía del padre Salvo aquí en The Good Newsroom​;Ve a la configuración y selecciona español en la pista de audio: https://thegoodnewsroom.org/fr-enrique-salvos-homily-july-23-2026/

Fr. Enrique Salvo explains the prayer we do before listening to the Gospel. By the virtue of our Baptism, we are invited to hear the good news of Christ.

07/24/2026

Why, and What, Do We Pray Before Listening to the Gospel?

Before we listen to the Gospel, we pause in prayer because God is about to speak. In that sacred moment, we ask for open hearts, humble ears, and the grace to receive Christ’s word with faith.

Saint Mary Magdalene (whose feast we celebrated on July 22) demonstrated what that kind of deep listening is truly like. She stayed close to Jesus, remained faithful in sorrow, and was the first to proclaim the joy of the Resurrection. May we, like her, be attentive to the Lord and ready to share the Good News with our lives.

In his homily from this Thursday morning’s Mass at Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, Fr. Enrique Salvo explains the prayer we do before listening to the Gospel.

Please feel free to watch Father's Salvo's homily (12:19 mark): https://thegoodnewsroom.org/fr-enrique-salvos-homily-july-23-2026/

Fr. Enrique Salvo explains the prayer we do before listening to the Gospel. By the virtue of our Baptism, we are invited to hear the good news of Christ.