Fifteen chapters · then the song
Chapter I
The Annunciation
“The birth of the Son of God in the flesh is made to hinge on the consent of a woman.”
Words: Fulton J. Sheen · Painting: Leonardo da Vinci (public domain) · Music: “Anima Christi” by Msgr. Marco Frisina, sung by the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles (Martyrs at Ephesus). Used with permission. Shared, not made.
Chapter II
The Visitation
“Mary rose up and went with all haste…”
Words: Fulton J. Sheen · Painting: Domenico Ghirlandaio (public domain) · Music: “Anima Christi” by Msgr. Marco Frisina, sung by the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles (Martyrs at Ephesus). Used with permission. Shared, not made.
Chapter III
The Nativity
“All love tends to become like that which it loves. God loved man. Therefore He became man.”
Words: Fulton J. Sheen · Painting: Gerard van Honthorst (public domain) · Music: “Anima Christi” by Msgr. Marco Frisina, sung by the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles (Martyrs at Ephesus). Used with permission. Shared, not made.
Chapter IV
The Presentation
“Every child is an arrow shot out of the bow of its mother, but its target is God.”
Words: Fulton J. Sheen · Painting: Master of the Prado Adoration of the Magi (public domain) · Music: “Anima Christi” by Msgr. Marco Frisina, sung by the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles (Martyrs at Ephesus). Used with permission. Shared, not made.
Chapter V
The Finding in the Temple
“There are two kinds of souls in the world. Those who hide from God and those from whom God hides.”
Words: Fulton J. Sheen · Painting: William Holman Hunt (public domain) · Music: “Anima Christi” by Msgr. Marco Frisina, sung by the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles (Martyrs at Ephesus). Used with permission. Shared, not made.
The song · Canticle of MaryLuke 1:46–55
1 Samuel 2Genesis 22Micah 7Luke 1
Sung by Harpa Dei · Watch on YouTube(opens in a new tab)
Magnificat anima mea Dominum:
My soul doth magnify the Lord.
et exsultavit spiritus meus in Deo salutari meo.
And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.
1 Sam 2:1Hab 3:18
Quia respexit humilitatem ancillae suae: ecce enim ex hoc beatam me dicent omnes generationes.
Because he hath regarded the humility of his handmaid; for behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
1 Sam 1:11
Quia fecit mihi magna qui potens est: et sanctum nomen ejus.
Because he that is mighty hath done great things to me; and holy is his name.
Ps 111:9
Et misericordia ejus a progenie in progenies timentibus eum.
And his mercy is from generation unto generations, to them that fear him.
Ps 103:17
Fecit potentiam in brachio suo: dispersit superbos mente cordis sui.
He hath shewed might in his arm: he hath scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart.
Ps 89:10
Deposuit potentes de sede, et exaltavit humiles.
He hath put down the mighty from their seat, and hath exalted the humble.
1 Sam 2:7–8
Esurientes implevit bonis: et divites dimisit inanes.
He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away.
1 Sam 2:5Ps 107:9
Suscepit Israel puerum suum, recordatus misericordiae suae:
He hath received Israel his servant, being mindful of his mercy:
Isa 41:8–9
Sicut locutus est ad patres nostros, Abraham et semini ejus in saecula.
As he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his seed for ever.
Gen 22:17–18Mic 7:20
Where older Scripture sounds through. Hebrew Scriptures cited by modern chapter and verse.
Words: Fulton J. Sheen. Paintings: public domain, named on each chapter. Music: “Anima Christi” by Msgr. Marco Frisina, sung by the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles (Martyrs at Ephesus). Used with permission. [Audio slot: Anima Christi file pending] Captions on every film. Shared, not made.
Two heroes. St. Maria Goretti forgave. St. Maximilian Kolbe gave his life.
Sources: Vatican.va; Vatican News; Auschwitz Memorial; Treccani; Kolbe Mission (Conventual Franciscans).
On film
A Kolbe film belongs here. We ask first.
Triumph of the Heart, dir. Anthony D’Ambrosio: donate and stream at triumphoftheheart.com. Also asking: “A Great Day (Catholic Short Film)”, Our Lady of Mount Carmel Studios.
Two pictures
Our Lady. A woman in the field. A kitchen, a road home.
Church bells were tuned to soothe. The tower behind them wasn’t. Photo: Sin Know More.
The cry · 1926 · 2026
VIVA CRISTO REY y Nuestra Señora! — the Cristero War song Catholics need today. One hundred years.
Sung by Hussarborn · Watch on YouTube(opens in a new tab)
A question
Fulton J. Sheen asked it on Life is Worth Living. The question still stands: Where are you going, America?
Fulton J. Sheen, Life is Worth Living, Episode 1: “Quo Vadis, America?” · Video: Vision Video on YouTube. Shared, not made. Watch on YouTube(opens in a new tab)
Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen content used by permission of St. Bernard's School of Theology and Ministry and FultonSheen.com
This land
1926 · 1945 · 1962 · 1984 · 2001 · 2026
The flag is not a god. The country is not a church. Both are owed what is theirs. The same Sunday. Different radios.
For the ones who came home and the ones who did not. For the mill town parish that outlasted the mill. For the immigrant who knelt before he could speak the language. A man still has a table, a wife, a shop, a parish — in every decade of the last hundred years.
The pillars
Named at the altar. Not a modern shortlist.
Our Lady. St. Joseph. Peter, Paul, Andrew, James, John, Thomas, James, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Simon, Jude.
Linus, Cletus, Clement, Sixtus, Cornelius, Cyprian, Lawrence, Chrysogonus, John and Paul, Cosmas and Damian.
John the Baptist, Stephen, Matthias, Barnabas, Ignatius, Alexander, Marcellinus, Peter, Felicity, Perpetua, Agatha, Lucy, Agnes, Cecilia, Anastasia.
The house
A perfect marriage is not two people performing. Kids feel coldness. Let them feel love.
Eat at the same table. Bless the food. Put the phones down. A child who is sung to will remember it when the world is loud.
Prefer the family shop. Pay the man who actually works. Learn the name of the woman at the counter.
Sunday is not a brand. It is a roast, a walk, a nap, Mass, and the same people again next week.
Luke 1:46
My soul doth magnify the Lord.
Before you close the tab
Not a brand. Seven acts.