August 31
"Jesus prayed, preached and gave us the example of how we should live. But is that all He did to save the world? No, He saved it primarily by His Passion and Death."
-Emil Neubert, SM, STD
Today’s Reflection:
Are you ready to help conquer the world for Christ? Then be prepared to suffer in union with Him. Like Christ and our Blessed Mother, all true apostles have understood the redemptive value of suffering.
In Jesus’ time on earth, the prevailing male attitude toward women was patronizing and condescending at best. Unlike most of His contemporaries, however, Jesus did not devalue women or shun them in public; quite the opposite. To discern this, we need only consult Sacred Scripture.
August 30
"As a Christian, you are a witness of Christ; therefore give testimony to Him!"
-Emil Neubert, SM, STD
Today’s Reflection:
No one can argue with your own testimony because it's yours. In the Women of Grace Foundational Study we teach participants the short formula, "I was... Jesus did...I am." Think about your life of conversion and compose your testimony so that you can share the reason for your hope, the next time the opportunity presents itself.
August 28
"Pray! Pray! Undertake nothing without prayer!"
-Emil Neubert, SM, STD
Today’s Reflection:
Many a marvelous work for the Lord has crumbled because it was not sustained by prayer. It is the most effective and easiest form of apostolate. Do you pray as if your work, especially your work as a member of the Church Militant, depended on it?
In his book, Queen of Militants, Father Emil Neubert teaches Christian militants that no attempt to spread the message of salvation to a soul should be attempted without prayer. But once we've done so, he lays out a plan on how to evangelize like Christ in a way that only Mary can teach us.
The next two days mark the feasts of two great saints of the Church, a mother and a son, whose lives give testimony to a sure-fire method of evangelizing those we love.St. Monica (August 27) is the mother of St. Augustine (August 28), though Augustine was no saint when Monica began her earnest intercession. At that time he was a pagan and a member of the heretical Manichean sect. He was known to be a carouser who lived with a woman to whom he had fathered a child. A brilliant mind, he was "devoted" to his views and his lifestyle, and had no intention of converting to the Catholic faith.
St. Monica was distraught about her son's dissolute ways and decided to do something about it. She prayed. And in the end, her prayers won the soul of her son.
What was it that made St. Monica's prayers so effective? I think five strategies are primarily responsible. Perhaps you can implement them as you seek to evangelize those you love.
Ever since Marianne Williamson, a well-known New Age guru and cheerleader for A Course in Miracles, entered the presidential race, there have been many articles written about the Course, some of which are very misleading.
