BW writes: “Why do you insist that alternatives have scientific proof? Is there any proof that faith healing works? Why don’t you insist that there be proof for that too?”
A disastrous decision by the wife of New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio not to erect a statue of Mother Cabrini in the city, in spite of the saint receiving the most votes in the city-wide “She Built NYC” contest, was overturned by Governor Andrew Cuomo this week who promised to fund the erection of a statue in her honor.
MacBride Hall, University of Iowa, Iowa City (David Mark, Pixabay)Officials at the University of Iowa, who used totalitarian tactics to shut down a Christian Fellowship group, got quite a smack-down from a federal judge who ruled that their behavior was “ludicrous” and “baffling” and is holding officials personally responsible for their actions.
October 16
“Christian prayer tries above all to meditate on the mysteries of Christ, as in lectio divina or the Rosary. This form of prayerful reflection is of great value, but Christian prayer should go further: to the knowledge of the love of the Lord Jesus, to union with him.”
-Catechism of the Catholic Church, #2708
For Reflection:
How can meditating on the mysteries of the Rosary help to move me toward “the knowledge of the love of the Lord Jesus, to union with him?”
St. Teresa of Avila shows us it is never too late to get serious about our prayer life. Born Dona Teresa Sanchez Cepeda Davila y Ahumada, Teresa was an active child with a big imagination and great sensitivity of heart. Little Teresa and her brother Roderigo were intrigued by the lives of the saints and the martyrs, and often sought to imitate their holy example.
by Lisa Marino PT, DPTAfter discerning God’s will to integrate prayer and spirituality into healthcare, I left my mainstream physical therapy job in 2017. I was amazed at how much better my patients improved with an hour of one-on-one care, more time to listen and encourage them, and especially prayer for healing.
A new campaign – which began as a simple “tweet” from Bishop Joseph Strickland of the Diocese of Tyler, Texas – is kicking off what could be a tsunami of prayer known as the Marian Blue Wave to end abortion once and for all with the most powerful weapon in our arsenal - the Rosary.
October 15
“Meditation engages thought, imagination, emotion, and desire. This mobilization of faculties is necessary in order to deepen our convictions of faith, prompt the conversion of our heart, and strengthen our will to follow Christ.”
-Catechism of the Catholic Church, #2708
For Reflection:
How does this depiction of Christian meditation differ from other ideas of meditation presented in the secular culture? Why are all of the faculties of the soul are helpful in entering into prayer? How can I engage my intellect, imagination, emotion and desire when I pray the Rosary?
Pro-Life senators have introduced a new bill that will improve the collection of abortion statistics in the states, as well as track how many infants are born alive after an attempted abortion.
October 14
“Just as two friends, frequently in each other’s company, tend to develop similar habits, so too, by holding familiar converse with Jesus and the Blessed Virgin, by meditation on the mysteries of the Rosary and by living the same life in Holy Communion, we can become, to the extent of our lowliness, similar to them…”
-Blessed Bartolo Longo
For Reflection:
What evidence have I seen in my own life that friends take on each other’s habits and characteristics? If I learn to enter deeply into the mysteries of the Rosary, then, I too, can become similar to Mary and Jesus. How does this enhance my desire to meditate on the mysteries of the Rosary? (See tomorrow’s Grace Line for an insight on Christian meditation).
