Even though all of us were created by God to do Him some definite service in this world, the reason why some of us find it so difficult to discern what that service is supposed to be is because we have a tendency to over-complicate the discernment process. Maybe this Lenten season is the time to get rid of that bad habit.
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February 19
"For I will only your well-being, and whatever I give, I give it so that you may reach the goal for which I created you."
-Our Lord to St. Catherine of Siena
For Reflection:
It is easy to see God's hand in the good things of our lives, but it is often a struggle to see it in the difficult. How do these words of Our Lord to St. Catherine of Siena give me deeper insight? In what way does this help me to reexamine past events or a current situation?
(Quote from Graceful Living)
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We have had several questions recently about the Sedona Method and if it’s okay for Catholics to use it. Few may want to do so after learning about its origins.
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February 18
"The love of talk distracts all the powers of our soul from God and fills them with earthly objects and impressions like a vessel of water which cannot be clear and settled while you are continually stirring the earthly particles
from the bottom."
- St. Elizabeth Ann Seton
For Reflection:
The powers of the soul are will, reason, and emotion. How can the "love of talk" draw these away from God? To what extent have I seen this to be true in myself? What practical strategies can I use to purge myself of this tendency?
(Quote from Graceful Living)
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February 17
Feast of the Seven Founders of the Order of Servites
"In the beginning Our Lady was the chief architect of this new order which was founded on the humility of its members, built up by their mutual love, and preserved by their poverty."
-Legenda de Origine of the Order of Servants of the Blessed Virgin Mary
For Reflection:
Is the Blessed Mother the "architect" of my hopes and dreams, my plans and my way of life? How can I entrust everything to her?
(Quote from Graceful Living)
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February 16
"One of the favorite images I like to use for describing the Christian life is of a person standing with arms outstretched. One hand, in faith and prayer, touches God; the other hand is extended in service to the neighbor. Thus a person is cruciform, touching God and touching neighbor."
-Catherine de Hueck Doherty
For Reflection:
How does this quotation speak of spiritual motherhood? How can I be cruciform today?
(Quote from Graceful Living)
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Jackie sent us a link about SuperbrainYoga® "I know you have spoken on your broadcast before about how dangerous yoga is and how all the positions reflect some sort of praise to a false god. Does that include this Superbrain Yoga®? Or are they just calling this yoga, but it's really just an exercise for the brain. I would love to try it, because I have a lot of trouble with my memory and focusing, but I don't want to try it if it is only a gate into spiritual darkness."
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February 15
"It is amusing to see souls who, while they are at prayer, fancy they are willing to be despised and publicly insulted for the love of God, yet afterward do all they can to hide their small defects; if anyone unjustly accuses them of a fault, God deliver us from their outcries!"
-St. Teresa of Avila
For Reflection:
This is a hard truth from St. Teresa. If I'm being honest with myself, to what extent does this describe me?
(Quote from Graceful Living)
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Commentary by Susan Brinkmann
In the same week that the U.S. House took steps to revive the ill-conceived Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) which could be used to add a constitutional right to taxpayer funded abortion, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg threw a wet blanket on the prospects of passage by saying she believes the process, which started in 1972, needs to start over.
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February 14
“Love is the key to the mystery. Love by its very nature is not selfish, but generous. It seeks not its own, but the good of others. The measure of love is not the pleasure it gives – that is the way the world judges it – but the joy and peace it can purchase for others.”
–Ven. Fulton J. Sheen
For Reflection:
Love is not an emotion as much as it is a decision of the will. How can I show love today according to this quote?
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