Can The Elect Be Deceived? A Warning From Bishop Strickland

We live in a time of deception, but there are signs of a turnaround coming, as both Bishop Strickland and Archbishop Hector Aguer attest.

7 Forgotten Medieval Castles Where People Still Live Inside

From Medieval Way

Medieval Way explores the survival strategies of seven historic estates that have resisted ruin through centuries of war and financial challenges. By examining the families who maintain these continuous lineages, the footage reveals how ancient homes balance modern preservation, estate management, and the immense pressure of inheritance taxation to keep their legacy alive.

In 1327, a deposed king was carried down into the cellar of a castle in Gloucestershire, and according to the record, he never came back up. His name was Edward the Second. The castle was Berkeley. And the family that owned that castle in 1327 still owns it today. They still sleep in the rooms above the cell where their king died. Seven hundred years later, the lights are still on. And Berkeley is not the only one. We have been sold a story about castles. The story says they are ruins. Empty shells with the roofs caved in, fenced off, a ticket booth at the gate and a gift shop where the great hall used to be. For most of them, that is true. In Britain alone, more than a thousand great houses and castles were torn down in the last century, gutted by death duties and abandoned by families who could no longer afford the tax. But a handful refused to fall. Seven of them still have someone living inside, right now. These are their stories, counting up.

Traditional Catholic Morning Prayers in English | June

Traditional Catholic morning prayers to help start your day in a godly way! The month of June is dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. May our devotion to the mystery of the Sacred Heart of Jesus increase more and more each day. We've included the Memorare of the Sacred Heart and litany of the Sacred Heart. Begin your June with daily morning prayer. This video is a compilation of many traditional morning prayers Catholics say, and should not be considered a replacement for those who have an obligation to pray the Divine Office morning prayers.

This One Catholic Teaching Stops Protestants Cold

From Totus Catholica

The ONE Catholic Teaching That Converts Every Protestant 🙏 If the Eucharist isn’t what the Catholic Church says it is, then Catholics are idolaters. But if it is true—if Jesus truly becomes present in the Eucharist—then this one teaching changes everything. In this transformative video, we explore the biblical, historical, and theological foundations of the Real Presence and why it’s often the turning point for Protestants discovering the fullness of the Catholic faith. 📌 Watch until the end to understand why the Eucharist is not just a symbol—it’s the source and summit of Christian life. ✨ What You’ll Learn in This Video: 📖 The Biblical Basis for the Real Presence (John 6, 1 Corinthians 11) 🌟 How Early Christians Believed in the True Presence of Christ in the Eucharist 👑 Why the Eucharist Is Central to Catholic Faith and Life 🙏 How to Deepen Your Devotion to the Eucharist Today 📚 Resources & Links Mentioned in This Video: 📖 Scripture References: John 6:53–58 – “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you.” 1 Corinthians 11:27–29 – “Whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord.” Exodus 12: The Passover Lamb and Covenant Sacrifice 🔗 Additional Resources: 📖 Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC 1322–1419): The Sacrament of the Eucharist 📖 St. Ignatius of Antioch’s Letter to the Smyrnaeans: Early Christian belief in the Real Presence 📖 St. Justin Martyr’s First Apology: Descriptions of early Christian Eucharistic worship 📖 Pope John Paul II’s Redemptor Hominis: The Eucharist as an encounter with Christ 🙏 Support Our Mission: Donate/Support: https://tr.ee/cIPduM Follow & Engage Us on Socials: https://linktr.ee/totuscatholica 💬 Join the Discussion! Have you ever wrestled with the doctrine of the Real Presence? How has this video helped clarify or deepen your understanding of the Eucharist? Share your thoughts or questions below—I’d love to hear from you!

St Anthony of Padua: Neither Baptized Anthony nor From Padua

It's not surprising that St Anthony, whose Feast is today, was not baptised "Anthony". What is surprising is that he was from Lisbon, not Padua.

From Aleteia

By Francisco Veneto

But he did exist, and he is one of the greatest saints in the history of the Church.

We know him as St. Anthony of Padua, but this title would have confused his parents if they had heard it when he was a child. In fact, his baptismal name was Fernando de Bulhões e Taveira de Azevedo. He only changed his name to Anthony (Antonio) at the age of 25, when he became a Franciscan friar.

Why "of Padua?"

Venerated as one of the most popular saints in the world, he is known almost worldwide as St. Anthony of Padua. The "almost" is on account of Portugal, which, with good reason, calls him St. Anthony of Lisbon. Indeed, it so happens that St. Anthony was actually Portuguese, and born in Lisbon in 1195. 

However, he ended up being better known as St. Anthony of Padua, which is how the Italians (and the rest of us) refer to him. After all, the saint lived most of his life and carried out much of his mission in Padua, the Italian city where he became immensely loved and famous. The city's beautiful and grandiose basilica, which is one of the most important churches in Italy and one of the most popular in the world, is dedicated to St. Anthony.

At the age of 15, the young Anthony —or rather, still Fernando — entered the order of St. Augustine, but 10 years later he joined the Friars Minor of St. Francis of Assisi. The change was due to his desire to preach the Gospel to the Saracen Muslims. He even went to Morocco, but was forced to return to Europe because of a serious illness.

Miracle worker

His fame for performing miracles endures through the centuries. Among his many prodigious deeds is the famous miracle of the "severed foot." In Padua, during a fit of rage, a young man named Leonardo kicked his own mother and, repentant, went to confession to St. Anthony. To illustrate the gravity of that sin, the holy confessor told him, “The foot of one who kicks his own mother deserves to be cut off.” Leonardo took the phrase literally and cut off his own foot. When he learned of the fact, St. Anthony miraculously made the foot reconnect to the young man's body. There are many more miracles attributed to him, such as the mule that knelt before the Eucharist.

He is also known for obtaining miracles through his intercession after his death. There are a variety of prayers commonly used, such as this one or this one or this novena, which we’ve shared in other articles on Aleteia.

Pope Gregory IX canonized St. Anthony of Padua and Lisbon less than a year after his death, on Pentecost, 1232, which fell on May 30. His feast day is June 13.

The Next “What Is a Woman?”

From Brian Holdsworth

Marriage only makes sense as a public institution if it serves a public good. If it is reduced to private romantic attachment or sexual companionship, then the state has no coherent reason to recognize it, limit it, incentivize it, or treat it as distinct from any other consenting arrangement. Defending the Faith Conference: https://bit.ly/4dTkdUH Use code Brian25 Support the channel by visiting: https://brianholdsworth.ca/help 0:00 – The conservative nightmare scenario What if today’s radical progressivism becomes tomorrow’s “conservatism”? 1:05 – Steubenville Promo Details on the Franciscan University conference, speakers, and discount code. 1:34 – Why conservatives keeps losing Conservatism often settles for “this far and no further,” while progressivism keeps advancing. 4:38 – The one conservative counterattack that worked Matt Walsh’s “What is a woman?” exposed gender ideology by forcing progressives to define their own claims. 6:31 – The next question conservatives should ask The same strategy can be applied to the redefinition of marriage: “What is a marriage?” 7:42 – Why the new definition collapses If marriage is merely consenting adults in a romantic relationship, why not relatives, three people, or more? 10:28 – The problem with modern commitment No-fault divorce has hollowed out the meaning of marital vows and lifelong commitment. 11:23 – Why the state cares about marriage Marriage is not just a private romantic arrangement; it matters publicly because of children, family, and social stability. 14:06 – The real purpose of marriage Marriage deserves recognition because it orders sexual union toward family life, sacrifice, and the common good.

Dom Prosper Guéranger's Prayer to St Anthony of Padua

O glorious Anthony, the simplicity of thine innocent soul made thee a docile instrument in the hand of the Spirit of Love. The Seraphic Doctor, Saint Bonaventure, hymning thy praises, takes for his first theme thy childlike spirit, and for his second thy wisdom which flowed therefrom. Wise indeed wast thou, 0 Anthony, for, from thy tenderest years, thou wast in earnest pursuit of divine Wisdom; and wishing to have her alone for thy portion, thou didst hasten to shelter thy love in some cloister, to hide thee in the secret of God’s face, the better to enjoy her chaste delights. Silence and obscurity in her sweet company was thine heart’s one ambition; and even here below her hands were pleased to adorn thee with incomparable splendor. She walked before thee; and blithely didst thou follow, for her own sake alone, without suspecting how all other good things were to become thine in her company. (Wisdom 7) Happy a childlike spirit such as thine, to which are ever reserved the more lavish favors of eternal Wisdom! “But,” exclaims thy sainted panegyrist Bonaventure, “who is really a child nowadays? Humble littleness is no more; therefore love is no more. Naught is to be seen now but valleys bulging into hills, and hills swelling into mountains. What saith Holy Writ? When they were lifted up, thou hast cast them down. (Psalms 72:18) To such towering vaunters, God saith again: Behold I have made thee a small child; but exceedingly contemptible among the nations such infancy is. Wherefore will ye keep to this childishness, 0 men, making your days an endless series of inconstancy, boisterous and vain effort at garnering wretched chaff? Other is that infancy which is declared to be the greatest in the land of true greatness.  (Matthew 18:4) Such was thine, O Anthony! and thereby wast thou wholly yielded up to Wisdom’s sacred influence.”

In return for thy loving submission to God our Father in heaven, the populace obeyed thee, and fiercest tyrants trembled at thy voice. (Wisdom 8:14-15) Heresy alone dared once to disobey thee, dared to refuse to hearken to thy word: thereupon, the very fishes of the sea took up thy defense; for they came swimming in shoals, before the eyes of the whole city, to listen to thy preaching which heretics had scorned. Alas! error, having long ago recovered from the vigorous blows dealt by thee, is yet more emboldened in these days, claiming even sole right to speak. The offspring of Manes, whom, under the name of Albigenses, thou didst so successfully combat, would now, under the new appellation of Freemasonry, have all France at its beck; thy native Portugal beholds the same monster stalking in broad daylight almost up to the very Altar; and the whole world is being intoxicated by its poison. O thou who dost daily fly to the aid of thy devoted clients in their private necessities, thou whose power is the same in heaven as heretofore upon earth, succor the Church, aid God’s people, have pity upon society, now more universally and deeply menaced than ever. O thou Ark of the Covenant, bring back our generation, so terribly devoid of love and faith, to the serious study of sacred letters, wherein is so energizing a power. O thou Hammer of heretics, strike once more such blows as will make hell tremble and the heavenly powers thrill with joy.

Tony, Tony Come Around. Something's Lost and Must be Found

Today is the Feast of St Anthony of Padua, Patron of lost objects. Here's my St Anthony story in honour of his Feast.

Years ago, I was a storekeeper at the gymnasium at Kansas University in Lawrence, Kansas. One of my duties was to unlock the gym and Allen Field House in the morning when I was on the early shift so I had all the keys to both buildings. One cold, snowy winter morning, when I wasn't on the early shift, the C&SH needed the car to drive to work, so I helped her get the kids ready for day-care and rode with her while we dropped them off. Then I walked from the day-care to the gym. I was wearing an old army great coat with my keys on a belt loop. When I got to the gym, I took my coat off and instinctively reached for my keys. They were gone!

I panicked and called the building supervisor and told him I was taking off to look for them. I carefully retraced my path all the way to where I had started and then back, looking at the ground the whole way. No luck! I got back to the gym and called the university locksmith to tell him that he would need to change all the locks on the buildings. The locksmith, a fellow Catholic, reminded me of St Anthony, so I asked him for his intercession and promised a Mass in his honour if he would help me.

During the lunch hour, as people were coming in to work out or play sports, someone asked me how I was doing. I replied, 'Not so good' and told him what had happened. He told me to check in his department office across the street because one of their grad students had found some keys that morning. I ran across the street to find that my keys had been found in the slush in the middle of one of the busiest intersections in town with no damage and no evidence that they had even been run over.

Another one for the Miracle Worker of Padua! The humourous end to the story is that I sent the Mass stipend to the missions via 'The Irish Catholic' which publishes thanksgiving prayers. I signed my letter in full form as Jovan Weismiller, T.O.Carm. They publish only initials and when it was printed it came out as 'JWT O'Carm'! 

The Forgotten Customs of the Sacred Heart

Mr Plese, an unending fount of information on Catholic customs, takes us through some of the sadly discarded customs of the Feast of the Sacred Heart.

From One Peter Five

By Matthew Plese, TOP

The Carillon-Sacré-Coeur – flag of French Canadians.

Look at this Heart which has loved men so much, and yet men do not want to love Me in return. Through you My divine Heart wishes to spread its love everywhere on earth (Words of our Lord Jesus Christ to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque)

The History of the Feast of the Sacred Heart & Its Forgotten Octave

While the entire month of June is devoted to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Feast of the Sacred Heart is unique kept to honor the mercy and love of God while making reparation for the serious sins committed against Our Blessed Lord. Traditionally up until 1955, the Feast of the Sacred Heart immediately follows the Octave Day of Corpus Christi. After having celebrated 8 days devoted to the Blessed Sacrament, we immediately turn to the Sacred Heart, which also traditionally had its own octave as well.

The Institution of the Feast of the Sacred Heart was a result of the appearances of our Lord to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque in 1675. St. Margaret Mary suffered contempt from many people who refused to believe the authenticity of the visions. In these appearances, Our Lord told her twelve graces that He would give to anyone devoted to His Sacred Heart. Our Lord said to her, “I ask thee that the first Friday after the octave of Corpus Christi be set apart as a special feast to honor My Heart.” He also promised 12 promises to those who are devoted to the Sacred Heart:

1. I will give them all the graces necessary for their state in life.
2. I will give peace in their families.
3. I will console them in all their troubles.
4. They shall find in My Heart an assured refuge during life and especially at the hour of death.
5. I will pour abundant blessings on all their undertakings.
6. Sinners shall find in My Heart the source and infinite ocean of mercy.
7. Tepid souls shall become fervent.
8. Fervent souls shall speedily rise to great perfection.
9. I will bless the homes in which the image of My Sacred Heart shall be exposed and honoured.
10. I will give to priests the power to touch the most hardened hearts.
11. Those who propagate this devotion shall have their name written in My Heart, and it shall never be effaced.
12. The all-powerful love of My Heart will grant to all those who shall receive Communion on the First Friday of nine consecutive months the grace of final repentance; they shall not die under My displeasure, nor without receiving their Sacraments; My Heart shall be their assured refuge at the last hour.

In 1693, three years after the death of St. Margaret Mary, the Holy See imparted indulgences to the Confraternities of the Sacred Heart, and in 1697 granted the feast to the Visitandines with the Mass of the Five Wounds, but refused a feast common to all, with special Mass and Office. The devotion spread, particularly in religious communities. The Marseille plague in 1720 furnished perhaps the first occasion for a solemn consecration and public worship outside of religious communities. Other cities of southern Europe followed the example of Marseille. In 1726 Rome was again asked for a feast with a Mass and Office of its own; this was refused in 1729 but granted in 1765. In that year, at the request of the queen, the feast was received quasi-officially by the episcopate of France. Hence, the Mass and Office in Honor of the Sacred Heart were not approved for any use until 1765 by Pope Clement XIII – one hundred years after the request was made by our Lord!

Finally, in 1856, at the urgent entreaties of the French bishops, Pope Pius IX extended the Feast of the Sacred Heart to the Latin Church under the rite of double major. In 1889 it was raised by the Latin Church to the double rite of first class. In 1928, Pope Pius XI raised the feast to the highest rank, Double of the First Class, and added an octave; the 1955 reforms of the general Roman calendar suppressed this octave and removed most other octaves.

On November 9, 1921, Pope Benedict XV established the Feast of the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus on the Thursday within the Octave of the Sacred Heart, which in a sense, further established the connection of the Sacred Heart with Corpus Christi and its just-concluded Octave.

Devotion to the Sacred Heart Dates Back to the Middle Ages

Long before the apparition to St. Margaret Mary, devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus existed. On the December 27th feast day of St. John the Evangelist in 1256 AD, St. Gertrude the Great had a profound vision in which she laid her head near the wound in the side of Jesus and heard the beating of the Sacred Heart. This is especially profound since St. John the Evangelist reclined his head to the heart of the Divine Savior at the Last Supper.

The First Friday Devotion

When Our Lord later appeared to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque in the 1600s, He appeared to her on the feast day of St. John the Evangelist. Our Lord requested three things: frequently receiving Holy Communion, receiving Holy Communion especially on the first Friday of each month, and observing a Holy Hour in front of the Blessed Sacrament, with the aforementioned promises.

Father Weiser writes in Christian Feasts and Customs this short excerpt on Devotions to the Sacred Heart, mentioning this practice:

As a result of the revelations granted to Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque (1690), the practice developed from the seventeenth century on of devoting the first Friday of every month in a special way to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Since 1889 a Roman indult has given this custom a liturgical expression through the “Mass of the Sacred Heart” which, under certain conditions, may be celebrated as a solemn votive Mass. Other liturgical devotions, too, have been provided for “First Friday”; they may be held in churches with the approval of the bishop and according to his regulations. Through the pious exercises of the “Nine Fridays” and the “First Fridays,” the custom grew in many places of performing on every Friday some devotion in honor of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, partly in church (by attendance at Mass, Communion, evening devotions), partly at home (by family prayer, burning of vigil lights before the Sacred Heart statue.

Hence, priests should be offering extra Masses each Friday in honor of the Sacred Heart and encouraging the faithful to make the nine First Fridays (and repeating it often throughout life). And families should also have statues of the Sacred Heart in their home which are housed on or near our home prayer altars.

Act of Dedication to the Sacred Heart

What is Consecration to the Sacred Heart? Fr. Peter Scott explains:

Consecration to the Sacred Heart is consequently an act of individuals, of families, of parishes, of nations, and will bring all the more graces as it is clearly understood as an act of returning love for love, and is accomplished fervently by an entire community. What, then, is consecration? It is much more than a formula, a passing pious act to be repeated from time to time. It is a complete gift of oneself, in this case to divine love. It is an interior belonging to Christ, that might be accomplished the words of the Apostle: “it is no longer I that live, but Christ lives within me” (Gal 2:20). It is a donation of our whole being and life, as of a victim, to be immolated to divine love. It is the living of our baptismal vows, by which we renounced entirely Satan and his allurements to serve Christ our King and Him alone.

There is no one act of consecration to the Sacred Heart. St. Margaret Mary in fact requested that her novices write their own, as she herself did. However, in a letter of 1684 to one of her superiors, she describes what it must contain: “If you desire to live for Him alone and to attain to the perfection that He desires from you, you must offer to his Sacred Heart the entire sacrifice of yourself and all that belongs to you, without any reserve, so that you may no longer like anything but what he likes; may act only according to his inspirations, undertaking nothing without first asking his counsel and his aid, giving unto him the glory of all-glorifying Him for everything… (Cf J.B. Bainvel SJ).

We can honor Heaven’s request to honor the Sacred Heart by making the Act of Consecration as written by St. Margaret Mary:

I, ______________, give myself and consecrate to the Sacred Heart of our Lord Jesus Christ, my person and my life, my actions, pains and sufferings, so that I may be unwilling to make use of any part of my being, save to honor, love and glorify the Sacred Heart. This is my unchanging purpose, namely, to be all His, and to do all things for the love of Him, at the same time renouncing with all my heart whatever is displeasing to Him. I therefore take Thee, O Sacred Heart, to be the only object of my love, the guardian of my life, my assurance of salvation, the remedy of my weakness and inconstancy, the atonement for all the faults of my life and my sure refuge at the hour of death.

Be then, O Heart of goodness, my justification before God Thy Father, and turn away from me the strokes of His righteous anger. O Heart of love, I put all my confidence in Thee, for I fear everything from my own wickedness and frailty, but I hope for all things from Thy goodness and bounty. Do Thou consume in me all that can displease Thee or resist Thy holy will; let Thy pure love imprint Thee so deeply upon my heart, that I shall nevermore be able to forget Thee or to be separated from Thee; may I obtain from all Thy loving kindness the grace of having my name written in Thee, for in Thee I desire to place all my happiness and all my glory, living and dying in very bondage to Thee.

We can also pray the Act of Consecration to the Sacred Heart which was written by Pope Leo XIII.

Honor the Sacred Heart as a Family Throughout June

This Feast of the Sacred Heart, in addition to dedicating ourselves and our families to the Sacred Heart, we can and should make the Act of Reparation to the Sacred Heart (which is an indulged prayer) and having our home enthroned to the Sacred Heart (if it has not already been). Lastly, after we conclude our daily Rosaries, each day of June we can add the Litany of the Sacred Heart. Other less common prayers like the Daily Offering to the Sacred Heart for the Dying are also worth practicing with fervor during this month.

While the Sacred Heart is a newer feast day in the life of the Church and has not developed customs like more ancient feast days, we can nevertheless live out the customs that have arisen in the past few centuries. After all, Our Lord asked for reparation to the Sacred Heart in the form of the nine First Fridays and if God Himself asks it of us, who can dare refuse?