As to persons living in the world, they shall find in this devotion all the aids necessary in their state of life: peace in their homes, consolation in their work, the blessing of heaven upon all their enterprises, comfort in their sorrows, a secure refuge during life and especially at the hour of death. It is plainly evident that there is no one in the world who will not receive all kinds of heavenly blessings if they have a true love of Jesus Christ manifested by a devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. – St. Margaret Mary

The family is the foundation stone of civilization. In and through family life, the Catholic faith is passed from generation to generation. By the proper education and training of children, by hidden, constant practice of virtue, by fidelity to daily duty, Catholic parents form the shape of souls and of society. This is surely why the family is, and long has been, so viciously under attack.

As we prepare for this great Feast of Pentecost, let us foster in our minds and hearts a great desire for this greatest of friends, God the Holy Ghost. Let us ask for His aid and an increase of His Gifts by which He elevates, ennobles and divinizes our natural virtues and our faculties of intellect and will. He works in us, because of and in spite of, our inherent frailty and tendency to evil, to make us like unto Christ, Our Lord and Exemplar.

Candles are among the Church’s most cherished sacramentals and are rich in spiritual symbolism. They represent Christ: the pure wax, traditionally made from the labor of virginal bees, signifies His pure flesh born of the Blessed Virgin Mary; the wick represents His human soul; and the flame, His eternal Divinity. For centuries, Catholics have lit blessed candles as a visible prayer offered to God—an outward sign of faith in Christ, the Light of the World.