Ave Maria Press

“Hear Mass daily; it will prosper the whole day. All your duties will be performed the better for it, and your soul will be stronger to bear its daily cross. The Mass is the most holy act of religion; you can do nothing that can give greater glory to God or be more profitable for [...]

Today is the anniversary of Our Lady’s apparition at La Salette, France, high in the French Alps, on September 19, 1846, to two cow-herding children, Mélanie Calvat and Maximin Giraud. Appearing within a brilliant sphere of light, Our Lady sat weeping, with Her elbows on Her knees and Her face bowed in Her hands. When [...]

Catching up on The Fatima Centers 2024 Initiatives! The Fatima Center has had a busy summer with numerous outreach activities. In May, we participated in the March for Life and Pro-Life Expo in Ottawa (see “I Will Never Forget You”). In June we partnered with local organizations to host micro-conferences in New Hampshire and Maine. [...]

The Fatima Center hosted the Fatima for the Next Generation conference in Buffalo, New York, on August 16-18, 2024.   Informative, devotional, and uplifting talks were given by Father Michael Rodríguez, renowned Mariologist Father Karl Stehlin, John-Henry Westen (editor of LifeSiteNews.com), Dr. Andrew Childs, Kevin Roerty, Angelica Filipe, and David Rodríguez. The video and audio recordings [...]

Sacramental Theology 101 A valid sacrament is one where the sanctifying grace unique to that sacrament is conferred upon the recipient.[1] A valid sacrament must have the proper matter and form.[2] For example, in Baptism valid matter constitutes water poured over the forehead and the valid form are the words “N., Ego te baptizo in [...]

This is a continuation of the article titled “How Modern Philosophy Attacks Christian Truths.” Decartes and Kant Gave Rise to Modern Philosophy Along with Rene Descartes, perhaps no other philosopher is as instrumental in ushering in the “modern era” as Immanuel Kant (1724-1804).[1] Many textbooks cite him as “The Father of Modern Philosophy.” His work [...]

The Loss of Ancient and Medieval Philosophy Has Seriously Harmed Society Ancient philosophers such as Aristotle and Plato came to understand that that there was something out there greater than the human person, a First Cause, that initiated everything. Thus, they knew there was a reason for existence, yet they were not able to discern [...]

Evangelization As a Duty for All Catholics  While not included in most lists of the “Precepts of the Church,” we still have a responsibility to obey a “Seventh Precept,” which is to participate in the Church’s mission of evangelization. We all bear the responsibility to help bring about the conversion of souls. For that reason, [...]

The Fatima Center invites you to personally consecrate yourself to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The Dreadful Problem As you well know, the Church and the world are in a dire situation. The terrible crisis we face in every facet of our lives is unprecedented. Every day we hear of alarming situations. Elon Musk predicts [...]

In a previous article (LINK TEXT), we discussed the Six Precepts of the Church. However, since precept simply means “a command or principle intended especially as a general rule of action” (Webster’s Dictionary, 1828 edition), it is obvious that the Church has more precepts than just six. Precepts Are Essential to the Church  The Church [...]

What Are Precepts? In a Catholic context, the word “precept” is nearly synonymous with the word “commandment.” In general, the word “commandment” makes us think of the ten moral laws which God revealed to Moses on Mount Sinai (see Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5). However, since Our Lord has entrusted His authority to the Catholic [...]

Confession Is Obligatory More Than Once a Year in Certain Situations While Catholics should be well aware that it is a precept of the Church to confess at least once a year – and that we are required to make a Sacramental Confession for any mortal sins before receiving Our Lord in Holy Communion – [...]