The practice of praying to the saints for intercession is as old as Christianity. So why is it so misunderstood? Can the saints hear us? Aren't they dead? Doesn't this take away honor from God? Do we worship them? Fr. Chris Alar answers all this and more!

Fr. Mark reminds us that Advent is not Christmas—it is a penitential season meant to awaken our souls, sharpen our spiritual vision, and prepare us to stand before the Lord. Across the 24 Churches that make up the Catholic Church, Advent (or its equivalent) is lived with deep seriousness: 40-day fasts, vegan disciplines, weeks of total abstinence, and long seasons of preparation. Their witness challenges us in the Roman Rite to rediscover what this season truly is: a call to repentance, renewal, and readiness.

Fr. Chris Alar in his second talk spoke to us of the importance and profound depths of the apparition of Our Lady at Knock and how she said ‘nothing’! Yet said everything … in order that the entire focus should be on the Lamb of God.