CDC: Majority of Teens Are Not Having Sex
A new study by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has found that a majority of teens now say they are choosing to abstain from or delay sexual activity.
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Georgetown Chooses Kathleen Sebelius for Commencement
In a move that many are calling a direct challenge to the U.S. Bishops, Georgetown University has chosen the author of the HHS mandate as commencement speaker for its Public Policy Institute.
Vogue Pledges To Stop Using Underweight Models
In a groundbreaking move, the editors of Vogue Magazine have issued a new pledge to no longer use models under the age of 16 or those who they suspect have eating disorders.
Our Lady of the Snows – Feast Day, August 5
The story of Our Lady of the Snows dates back to the city of Rome in 352 A.D. A generous nobleman and his wife, blessed with much wealth but childless, chose to leave their wealth to the Mother of God. Though the sentiment of their heart was lively, their desire was difficult to achieve. How would they do such a thing? They prayed to the Blessed Mother asking for her to make known to them some means by which they could leave their wealth to her. They even asked her for a sign so they could be certain she had heard their prayers. In answer to their petition, during the night of August 5, Our Lady appeared to the nobleman, his wife, and also to the Holy Father, Pope Liberius. She had a solution for their dilemma. She instructed them to build a church in her honor on the top of Esquiline Hill. As an extra means of confirmation, she told them snow would cover the hill’s crest. And snow it did! Snow in Rome in August! Flakes fell steadily through the night covering the hill in a blanket of white. When the townspeople found out that the snow was a sign from the Blessed Mother, they named her “Our Lady of the Snows.” Per Our Lady’s instructions, the nobleman and his wife built the Church and it became known as the Basilica of Liberius as well as Our Lady of the Snows. In time, the basilica was given another name to distinguish it from the many other churches in Rome dedicated to the Mother of God which had been established. It became known as St. Mary Major, the first and greatest of all church’s under the patronage of Our Lady.
Queen St. Helena and her son, Emperor St. Constantine, brought to the Basilica from the Holy Land a great Marian treasure – an image of the Madonna and Child known as the “Salus Populi, Romani” (The Protectress of the People of Rome) . It is attributed to St. Luke, the apostle and evangelist. Many healings and deliverances from oppressors have been credited to its miraculous intervention. The Basilica of St. Mary Major has celebrated the Divine Motherhood of Mary since the Council of Ephesus in 432 A.D. when Mary was first proclaimed “Theotokos,” Mother of God. On the Feast Day, August 5, beautiful white roses are released from the ceiling in the Basilica showering the sanctuary in remembrance of the snowfall that led to the building of Our Lady’s first church.
For Reflection:
Our Blessed Mother has a beautiful way of making her intentions known. Read the account of the Wedding Feast at Cana (John 2:1-11). How did she make her desires known to Jesus? To the servants? Why did she make these requests? In light of this, why do you think Mary would ask that a church be built in her honor? What is she asking of you today? For what purpose?
Our Lady of Loreto – Feast Day, December 10
This title of Our Lady is associated with the house where Mary was born and where the Annunciation occurred. Tradition tells us that this house was moved from the Holy Land to Dalmatia to Reananti, Italy to Loreto, Italy – by means of the angels.
It was in Dalmatia that shepherds first discovered the sudden appearance of a little house in one of their fields. They sought out the local priest, a cripple, who visited the house. While there, he received a vision about the house and was cured of his physical handicap. He was told that St. Peter put the altar in the house and the figure of Mary (now known as Our Lady of Loreto) was carved by St. Luke. A delegation sent to the Holy Land discovered that the house of Mary had, indeed, disappeared, and the foundation left behind measured exactly the length and width of the house in Dalmatia which had amazingly appeared out of nowhere.
The house was transported by angels two other times to protect it from pillagers and ne’er do-wells. The house stands to this day, intact, and with no foundation.
Many miracles are associated with Our Lady of Loreto. A famous one involves Pope Pius IX, born Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti, who was beatified along with Pope John XXIII in the year 2,000. Each year he made a pilgrimage with his mother to Loreto. As a wee child he fell into a stream and became subject to chronic fatigue, fever, and epileptic seizures causing him to leave seminary. Pope Pius VII, a close friend, counseled him with these words: "God is mysterious. He throws down to raise up. He throws into the gutter the ones He wants to lift to the stars. Above the wildest storms gleams the Star of the Sea. Renounce yourself and place yourself in the hands of the Madonna. Call out to her 'save me!' The Virgin of Nazareth is your future." With these words in his heart, he journeyed again to Loreto. There he prayed: "Mother, behold your child-----sick, miserable, useless. I am the shame of my family and disgust to myself. I dedicate myself to you-----save me. Immaculata, make me clean!" He was cured, returned to seminary, and was ordained. In 1846, the conclave elevated him, now Cardinal of Imola, to the papacy. He chose the name, Pius IX. In 1854, he proclaimed the dogma of the Immaculate Conception, thus officially inaugurating the Marian Era. As Pope he visited Loreto seven times.
For Reflection:
Read again the words Pope Pius VII spoke to Giovanni. How were they prophetic? Why do you think God “throws down to raise up?” Think of some canonized saints who had this experience. What do you consider to be your “gutter” experience? How can God use it to lift you “to the stars?” Call out to Our Lady, too, for her maternal help and assistance.
Our Lady of Mercy – Feast Day, September 24
Find me other men like yourself, an army of brave, generous, unselfish men, and send them into lands where the children of the Faith are suffering. So said Our Blessed Lady to St. Peter Nolasco, a tireless worker for Our Lord ransoming Christians from the hands of their Muslim enslavers – the Moors and the Sarasens. Dressed in white with a shield of the Order imprinted on her scapular, Our Lady asked St. Peter, along with St. Raymond of Pennafort and King James of Aragon to establish a religious order dedicated to visiting Christians in captivity and working to free them from their bondage. The order was founded, The Mercedarians, and Pope Gregory approved it in 1235. St. Peter was the first superior. An ancillary group of the Order were knights who bought back slaves or traded places with them to secure their release. The Mercedarian Order continues to this day seeking to help God’s people be released from the physical and spiritual chains that hold them back from the abundant life of Jesus Christ. This apparition of Our Lady is also known as Our Lady of Ransom.
For Reflection:
Consider the words Our Lady spoke to St. Peter Nolasco. To what extent do you see yourself as brave, generous and unselfish? To which “lands” might she be sending you? Who might the “captives” be that she is asking you to release? Where, in your own midst, are the “children of the Faith suffering?” What is your response to Our Lady’s call?
97% of Public Comments Oppose HHS Mandate
The first round of public comments on the administration's proposed HHS mandate have been released by the federal website and show overwhelming opposition to the anti-conscience rule.
Survey: A Third of Americans Flunk Citizenship Test
Do you know when the Declaration of Independence was adopted? Can you name just three of the thirteen original colonies? If a president can no longer serve, who takes his place? If you are unable to answer these questions, you're not alone. A new survey has found that almost a third of Americans can't answer them either!
Want to Lose Weight? Get More Sleep!
New research is finding that too many sleepless nights can do more than just make you cranky - they can make you fat! Check here to get another helpful tip about weight loss and to read about the cbd benefits in this area.
Our Lady of Hope --- Feast Day January 17
Devotion to Our Lady of Hope is one of the oldest Marian devotions, dating back to the first shrine erected to her in France in the year 930. Centuries later, on January 17, 1871, Our Lady of Hope appeared in the French village of Pontmain when it was threatened by Prussian armies during the War of 1870. Around 6:00 that evening, two small boys named Eugene and Joseph Barbedette saw Our Lady in the sky above a barn. Dressed in a dark blue robe sprinkled with stars, with a gold crown on her head, our Heavenly Mother lowered her hands in a gesture of welcome and smiled. The boys' called their parents, the parish priest and a convent full of sisters, but only they and two young girls could see the apparition. The pastor called the whole town together to pray the Rosary with the children and as the villagers prayed, the apparition grew steadily larger. When they finished the Rosary and began singing the Magnificat, a white banner suddenly appeared in the sky with large gold letters slowly forming the words:
"PRAY, MY CHILDREN. GOD WILL ANSWER BEFORE LONG. MY SON LETS HIMSELF BE MOVED."
At about the same time as the apparition was occurring in Pontmain, the Prussian troops stopped dead in their tracks as they came in sight of the tiny village. The Prussian General was reportedly unable to advance and told his troops: "We cannot go farther. Yonder, in the direction of Brittany, there is an invisible Madonna barring the way." Three days later, he surrendered his army. What message could be more consoling to hearts in the midst of hardship and tribulation than the tender promise of Our Lady of Hope: “Pray, my children; God will soon answer your prayers.”
For Reflection:
Our Blessed Mother under her title of Our Lady of Divine Love and Our Lady of Hope prevented devastating events from happening. Can you remember a time when you received her intercession in this way? Look at Our Lady’s words to the people of Pontmain. How is she speaking to you today through them? Journal your thoughts, insights and reflections.
