🧵 ANNOUNCEMENT 🧵 I recently traveled around Europe and spent a great deal of time in Rome and Assisi. While in those two particular cities, I had what can only be described as a life-altering conversion. I have decided to quit sex work. To repent of my innumerable sins. To give up my life of sin, wealth, vice and vain self-obsession. This is a humbling experience and one that I know may be mocked or questioned by many. I am giving up all my income and turning my life over to Christ. I am leaving behind my life of rampant sin, vice, pride, debauchery, vanity and lies to—with God’s grace—live a life of truth, beauty, obedience to God’s divine will, virtue and humility. I have been going through RCIA since the autumn and will be officially joining the Catholic Church during the Easter Vigil in late March. Thank you, Jesus, for not giving up on such a wretched sinner. Thank you Blessed Mary, Mother of God, for your immense love and consolation. God’s forgiveness and mercy is real. If someone as broken and sinful as me can be redeemed and converted, there is no doubt anyone reading this can also be saved by His divine mercy. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. And my soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden. A Happy New Year to you all and a blessed Feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God.

Deep in the woods near Bellevue, Ohio, is one of the most beautiful and peaceful Catholic pilgrimage sites I’ve visited: the Sorrowful Mother Shrine. Founded in 1850 by Father Francis de Sales Brunner, a missionary of the Precious Blood, this remarkable Marian shrine has been drawing pilgrims for more than 175 years. But what makes this place so extraordinary is what lies beyond the chapel. Spread across 120 acres of beautiful woodland are 41 grottos and religious shrines, connected by winding pathways beneath a canopy of towering trees. Walking these trails, especially with the magnificent colors of autumn all around, is an experience in itself. Every turn seems to reveal another little sanctuary hidden among the trees. A statue of Our Lady. A grotto dedicated to a beloved saint. A crucifix standing silently in the forest. A place to kneel, pray, and contemplate the mysteries of our Catholic faith. There are grottos honoring Our Lady of Lourdes, St. Joseph, St. Padre Pio, St. Michael the Archangel, and many others. There are Stations of the Cross, a replica of the Holy Sepulcher, and beautiful representations of Our Lord's Passion. What I loved most was how naturally everything belonged in its surroundings. The grottos aren't separated from the woods. They're nestled within them, almost as though they've been waiting there for centuries. There is something so Catholic about a place like this. The beauty of creation, the communion of saints, the mysteries of our redemption, and the tender presence of the Mother of Sorrows all come together in one extraordinary landscape. If you love visiting Catholic shrines, put this one on your list. It is a hidden treasure of Ohio and a beautiful reminder that some of the finest sanctuaries aren't enclosed by walls. Our Lady of Sorrows, pray for us. ❤️

“We institute the Feast of the Kingship of Our Lord Jesus Christ to be observed yearly throughout the whole world on the last Sunday of the month of October–the Sunday, that is, which immediately precedes the Feast of All Saints. We further ordain that the dedication of mankind to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which Our predecessor of saintly memory, Pope Pius X, commanded to be renewed yearly, be made annually on that day.” -Pope Pius XI, 1925

“It’s dangerous to your soul not to celebrate Halloween.” 😂😂😂😂

These are very bad Catholics. They must not be allowed inside St. Peter’s Basilica. They must not be allowed to celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. They must be treated as scum. 😩😩😩

Imagine being even the most rabid Protestant and thinking this day is greater than the Pentecost. 😂😂😂🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️

Habits and cassocks are a sermon to the people, reminding our ever-increasing secular culture that there is a God, that life is short, death is certain, and that only through good works will we attain everlasting life. The externals matter. Christ clothes us in our salvation.

They let the LGBTQ activists process into St. Peter’s. But those who are devout and love the Mass of the Ages are banned. Make it make sense! 🤦‍♀️😩

Feminism in the church is cancer. “I’ll do whatever I want and dress however I want. You need to just shut up and mind your business.”

This is embarrassing. No habit. No obedience to doctrine. No care for the scandal she creates. Sullies the true Brides of Christ. 😩

I visited the National Shrine and Museum of St. Thérèse of Lisieux in Darien, Illinois, and was absolutely astonished by the sacred treasures housed inside. The museum contains the largest collection of St. Thérèse’s personal belongings and relics outside of Lisieux, France. And what a collection it is! One magnificent reliquary contains five relics of the Little Flower: a fragment of her bone, locks of her hair, a particle of her flesh, dust from her coffin, and a piece of her Carmelite habit. But the treasures hardly end there. The museum contains an exact, full-sized recreation of her tiny convent cell, incorporating original objects brought over from the Carmel of Lisieux. Her actual bed, the door to her room, floor tiles upon which she walked, and other furnishings from her religious life are preserved here. Think about that. The very floor upon which this extraordinary Doctor of the Church walked in her hidden life of prayer is now in a little museum in Illinois! There are handwritten letters, childhood possessions, religious garments, and even the chair in which she wrote her spiritual masterpiece, Story of a Soul. In the photos I added to this post are: 1. A piece from the white cloak of the Carmelite habit that St. Thérèse wore on the day of her profession of vows, September 8, 1890. 2. The prayer book of young St. Thérèse from her First Communion, May 8, 1884. 3. St. Thérèse's dinner plate from Les Buissonnets, their home in Lisieux. 4. A piece of the gown St. Thérèse wore when she entered the Carmel of Lisieux on April 9, 1888. St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face, pray for us! 🌹

There is a small Byzantine Catholic Church in Homer Glen, Illinois that is truly out of this world amazing gorgeous!!!❤️❤️❤️❤️

Does anyone care what Lila pushes for at all anymore? 20,000 views and 63 likes is exactly what this post deserves.

Perched high above the forests of Wisconsin stands one of the most magnificent Catholic churches I have visited in America: the Basilica and National Shrine of Mary, Help of Christians at Holy Hill. Completed in 1931 and entrusted to the Discalced Carmelites, this Romanesque basilica rises above the countryside with its twin spires, magnificent stonework, and unmistakably Catholic grandeur. But the interior is something else entirely. Soaring vaulted ceilings, massive arches, marble columns, and a sanctuary that is almost overwhelming in its beauty. The high altar alone weighs more than 40 TONS and took two years to construct. Above it, a magnificent canopy supported by towering red marble columns frames a mosaic known as The Court of Heaven, composed of some 90,000 pieces of glass and ceramic. Christ sits at the right hand of the Father, with Our Lady, St. Joseph, and the Twelve Apostles depicted around Him. Gold leaf adorns the sanctuary, and above the altar stands a great crucifix, drawing the eye to Our Lord. Everywhere you look, there is another detail to discover. And all of it serves a purpose: to glorify God. And I haven't even mentioned the extraordinary stained-glass windows. They deserve a post of their own. Our Catholic forefathers knew how to build churches. They built for the glory of God, and they built for generations they would never live to see. What a treasure Holy Hill is.

“He who neglects the service of the Blessed Virgin will die in his sins… No one can be saved without the protection of Mary.” -St. Louis de Montfort “God will not save us without the intercession of Mary… Whoever asks and wishes to obtain graces without the intercession of Mary, attempts to fly without wings.” -St. Alphonsus Liguori

I have prayed the Stations of the Cross at countless churches, shrines, and monasteries. But I think I may have found the most beautiful of them all. Tucked into the magnificent forest surrounding Holy Hill, Wisconsin’s Basilica and National Shrine of Mary Help of Christians, is an extraordinary outdoor Way of the Cross. And to walk it in October is almost indescribable. The air was crisp and cool. The towering trees were dressed in brilliant gold, orange, and crimson. Fallen leaves blanketed the winding path. And nestled among the trees, one after another, were breathtaking scenes of Our Lord’s Passion. These are no ordinary Stations. The nearly life-sized figures were sculpted from Bedford limestone by Milwaukee artist Joseph Aszklar and completed in 1928. Each scene is sheltered within a rustic grotto of fieldstone, as though it has been part of the forest for centuries. The craftsmanship is extraordinary. The expressions, the gestures, the sorrow on the faces. Our Lord beneath the weight of His Cross. His Blessed Mother witnessing His suffering. The terrible beauty of Calvary. There was something especially moving about contemplating the suffering and death of Christ amid such overwhelming natural beauty. The rustling leaves, the cool autumn breeze, the quiet of the woods. I've encountered many beautiful Stations of the Cross in my travels, but these may be the most magnificent I've ever seen. If you ever have the opportunity to visit Holy Hill, please don't miss this sacred path. And if you can go in autumn, all the better. What an extraordinary place to walk with Christ to Calvary. ❤️

I cannot get over the mosaics at the National Shrine of St. Maximilian Kolbe in Libertyville, Illinois. They are absolutely breathtaking. And I do not think it is an exaggeration to say they rival the magnificent mosaics found in the great basilicas of Europe. Fourteen mosaics depict the joys and glories of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Christ the King reigns over the chapel. Above the sanctuary, a magnificent mosaic portrays the Holy Eucharist as the source of life for the entire Church. Everywhere you look, there is something extraordinary. The colors, the gold, the intricate details, the faces of Our Lord, Our Lady, and the saints. I could have spent hours studying them. I found myself completely captivated in prayer. This is the transcendent power of sacred beauty. It draws us beyond what our eyes can see and lifts our hearts toward the eternal. It gives us some small glimpse of the glory for which we were created. And it reminded me why the Church has historically poured so much into the beauty of her sacred spaces. Not to impress the world, but to glorify God and draw souls to Him. What a treasure we have in this little corner of Illinois.

I visited one of the most breathtaking Catholic churches I've seen in America. And what I found inside made it even more beautiful. In Libertyville, Illinois, just outside Chicago, stands the National Shrine of St. Maximilian Kolbe, known simply as Marytown. At its heart is Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament Chapel, a magnificent church modeled after the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls in Rome. Its history goes back nearly a century. In the 1920s, Cardinal George Mundelein envisioned a permanent sanctuary where the Blessed Sacrament would be adored day and night, with special prayers for priests and vocations to the priesthood. The Benedictine Sisters of Perpetual Adoration brought that vision to life. Perpetual adoration began on the grounds in 1928, and the beautiful chapel standing today was dedicated on October 2, 1932. And what a church they built! Thirty-eight marble columns, each dedicated to a saint. An altar constructed from nine varieties of imported marble. A magnificent gold-leafed canopy over the sanctuary. Stained-glass windows depicting the mysteries of the Holy Eucharist. Fourteen mosaics portraying the joys and glories of the Blessed Virgin Mary. And then there is the monstrance. Standing more than five feet tall, it was fashioned entirely from jewelry sacrificially donated by the faithful. Its central stem depicts the Immaculate Virgin crushing the head of the serpent. Everywhere you look, there is something to contemplate. But what struck me most when I entered wasn't the marble, the mosaics, or the gold. It was the people. Dozens of Catholics were gathered in the pews on a random afternoon, quietly adoring Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament.And this wasn't some special, once-a-year occasion. Eucharistic adoration takes place here 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It has been going on at Marytown since June 7, 1928. For nearly a century, generations of Catholics have come through these doors, at every imaginable hour, to kneel before the same Eucharistic Lord. The chapel is magnificent. But seeing so many people gathered in silence before Our Lord was, to me, the most beautiful part of it all. What a treasure this place is. More on the shrine tomorrow!

On this date in 1971: Saint Maximilian Kolbe is beatified at St. Peter’s Basilica before throngs of devotees!

Eric’s son bravely goes where few men dare to tread in 2026. I read the entire article and I could not find a single flaw in any of Peter Sammons’ arguments or conclusions. We really don’t have to live in a country where depravity and immodesty reigns. Fellas, get it done!