Bishop Sheen Rosaries
Our Tainted Nature’s Solitary Boast
This pleasant descriptor of Mary used as the title for this article comes from an 1822 poem by William Wordsworth. Wordsworth, however, was a Protestant, but like Martin Luther, he had a profound love for Our Lady. This is a common thread that can be seen outside Catholicism – even Muslims revere Mary as the model woman. Staunch atheists may go on the worst of tirades against Christ, but when the name of Mary is brought up the heart softens. Why is this?
Preserved from the taint of original sin, Mary was pure from the beginning; something most Catholics...
The Relevance of Religion
Where Are You Going, America? — Sheen on Patriotism, Revolution, and Piety
Over fifty years ago, Fulton Sheen spoke to his TV audience about a seemingly lost virtue – patriotism. His address is eerily prophetic; if it were given without the blurred graphics and muted colors, you would be likely to think he were speaking in the middle of 2020.
What is Patriotism?
For St. Thomas, patriotism is actually a daughter of the virtue of pietas – piety. Piety is a form of justice, a respect given to those to whom we cannot repay a debt: God, parents, and yes, country. Thomas holds this under the virtue of justice because...
Bishop Fulton Sheen: From Small Town to Show Time
Driving down the streets of El Paso, Illinois, you will notice a few things. Located just north of Bloomington on Interstate 39, you can expect the handful of highway amenities like gas stations, fast food and hotel chains. There is one grocery store for the whole town. Corn and soybean fields extend out in every direction; central Illinoisans will pride themselves on having the most fertile soil in the world. You will see American made trucks, you will see quaint farmhouses, and if you venture a few blocks north of Main Street, you may come across St. Mary’s Catholic Church.
The Weapon of Mass Restoration — Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary
Stick around after any Catholic Mass and you’re bound to see a group elderly women gathering around a statue of Mary to pray the rosary. The sight has become so common as to be a point of derision. An old pious practice, it certainly only exists to bring comfort to the blind believer… Or is it, perhaps, a weapon… A weapon we should all wield? Perhaps it is the most powerful of weapons, not of destruction, but restoration – it is the Weapon of Mass Restoration.
The Origin of the Rosary
In medieval times, the monks at the local...