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Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), has asked President Obama to temporarily exempt religious institutions from crippling fines if their insurance plans exclude sterilization, abortion-inducing drugs and contraceptives.

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“In trial or difficulty I have recourse to Mother Mary,

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Thousands of new laws and regulations are going into effect this year and will regulate everything from placentas to tanning beds to drones.

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Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor delivered an eleventh-hour reprieve to the Little Sisters of the Poor and the Christian Brothers from having to provide contraceptive coverage to employees by January 1 or face stiff fines.

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A courageous German nun recently gave a riveting presentation in which she revealed the grisly details of the independent investigation she did of the treatment of Christians in Syria, including the bottling of their blood for sale.

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“Seek refuge in Mary because she is the city of refuge. We know that Moses set up three cities of refuge for anyone who inadvertently killed his neighbor. Now the Lord has established a refuge of mercy, Mary, even for those who deliberately commit evil. Mary provides shelter and strength for the sinner.”

                                        - St. Anthony of Padua  

For Reflection:

If Mary is the “city of refuge,” in what part of her would we experience most fully her love and beatitude? How has she been a city of refuge for you? What quality of her motherhood of all men does this express according to the quote? Note the use of the word “the” in the phrase, “Mary is the ‘city of refuge.’” What does this indicate to you? What does it indicate in light of Mary’s role in God’s plan of salvation?

 

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Mary Virgin and Mother 

Oh, Virgin Joy of all the world art thou

In whose white, fragrant steps the countless throng

On souls elect doth follow God with song:

Creation’s Queen, whose bright and holy brow

The multitude of Saints, like stars, endow

With changeful splendors, flashing far and strong:

 

The Main unshadow’d by the primal wrong:

God’s Lily, chosen in His shrine to bow

All these thy glories are, and still a grace

More high, more dread, and yet more sweet and fair,

Doth bind thy royal brows, O Mary blest.

God called thee Mother; yea, His sacred face

The tender likeness of thine own doth wear.

And thou art ours --- we trust Him for the rest.

-St. Elizabeth Seton 

For Reflection:

Today is the Solemnity of Mother of God. What references do we see to this title of Mary in the Saint’s poem? Which touches you most deeply and why? Consider the title the Saint gives to Our Lady – Creation’s Queen. Ponder the way in which all of creation’s surrender to God is found most perfectly in Mary’s “fiat” to God. Journal your thoughts. How can you unite your “yes” to God in hers?

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Every time we profess the Nicene Creed, we affirm our belief that Jesus Christ is inseparably true God and true man. "For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven; by the power of the Holy Spirit, he became incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and was made man."

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