Author Archives: John Lacken

This article was first published in ‘The Catholic Voice’, Ireland in December 2013 It is available for download through the Marriage Article link at the top of the page Marriage, a gift from God – the Church’s Understanding through Scripture Notion of Marriage Undermined In the first article I noted that western civilisation has collapsed due in no small part to the ongoing collapse of marriage. The traditional understanding of marriage has been seriously undermined in our society to such … Read More

Today is the Feast of St John Damascene who lived in the seventh century.  I was interested to find out that St John was a great defender of the use of religious icons and images against the iconoclasts.  Given that I reproduce Sacred Art I might consider adopting him as one of my patrons.      

Two of my sons were confirmed in Gricigliano in Florence, Italy, at the seminary of the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign priest in March of 2012.  There were eight of us there, my wife and I and six of our eight children.  One day, in order to give my wife a break, I went out for a drive with the six children in the countryside around Florence.  We came across what looked like a little forest park trail and … Read More

Marriage – A Gift from God Marriage is one of the greatest gifts that God has given to mankind. It is a sublime vocation ordered to love and crowned with the beauty and glory of children. It is the foundation stone, designated by God, on which society must be built. Yet today, in the western world in particular, marriage is in grave difficulty. The number of couples divorcing or separating is on the increase. The number of young people who … Read More

Greetings from the Shrine of Our Lady in Knock, Co Mayo, Ireland I began this first attempt at a blog and website on March 19th the Feast of St Joseph and today I am publishing my first blog post. True Devotions is a Catholic Apostolate which aims to promote the traditional Catholic devotions beginning with the Sacred Heart, Our Lady Help of Christians and St Thérèse of Lisieux.  I hope to develop a page which will concentrate on particular devotions … Read More