~keeping faith & family close to heart in a modern world~


praying in old catholic church

“As the sparrow finds a home and the swallow a nest to settle her young, my home is by Your altars, LORD of hosts, my king and my God. Blessed are those who dwell in Your house! They never cease to praise You.

Blessed the man who finds refuge in you, in their hearts are pilgrim roads. As they pass through the Baca valley, they find spring water to drink. The early rain covers it with blessings. They will go from strength to strength and see the God of gods on Zion.

LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer; listen, God of Jacob. For a sun and shield is the LORD God, bestowing all grace and glory. The LORD withholds no good thing from those who walk without reproach.”

PSALMS 84

blooming purple flower

SEMPER FI 🤍✨🕊️

Free American flag

I was flipping through an old issue of the Magnificat and the word “SEMPER” caught my eye. Usually I don’t spend much time looking over the first several pages – the daily readings and prayers are mainly my go-tos.

Anyhow, I saw “SEMPER” and instinctively paused. Everyone knows Semper Fi relates to the United States Marines 🇺🇸 … soooo why is it in my Magnificat??

Quick Answer (for those, like myself, who aren’t cradle Catholics or never had the memory/attention span for history class):

Latin is the common denominator here.

{{ Catholicism’s Latin roots are still fairly pro dominant – I even hear there’s a growing number of young families opting to participate in the traditional Latin Mass over the standard English }}

As it reads here to describe our Mother Mary:

SEMPER FIDELIS

= ever faithful

As the U.S. Marines use it: SEMPER FI

= always faithful