One of my husband’s favorite ministries is to teach a Christian approach to “End of Life” decisions. Since he is both a physician and a deacon it is a perfect fit.
Saint Francis of Assisi (1182 – 1226) - we know all about him. The gentle garden figure, bird perched on his shoulder, rabbits at his feet; the peace prayer hymn we sing at Mass; his Canticle of the Sun, praising God for all facets of Creation; the lover of poverty simply clad in a rough brown robe.
“O Jesus, my Love, my Life … I would like to travel over the whole earth to preach Your Name and to plant Your glorious Cross on infidel soil. But O my Beloved, one mission alone would not be sufficient for me. I would want to preach the Gospel on all five continents simultaneously and even to the most remote isles. I would be a missionary, not for a few years only but from the beginning of creation until the consummation of the ages.” (Story of a Soul)
In 2006 my father-in-law, William F. Mongan, who was affectionately called Bill, was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer. Despite being 82 years old, the family was devastated.
The stories in the Catholic world these days, stories of abuse, cover-ups, and promotion of predators have me profoundly sad. The word “silence” has me angry.
Today, the Church recalls this sobering truth: the life of Mary of Nazareth, although filled with many joys, was underscored with sorrows beyond our imagining. Traditionally, the list of the Sorrows of Our Lady is comprised of seven.
Just four days after celebrating the feast of Our Lady’s birth, the Church gives us yet another Marian feast, this one in commemoration of her holy name.
Life has a way of hiding the journey ahead for fear that if we knew the future, we would find a reason not to get out of bed. I like to think that a ministering angel is sent by God to cover my eyes so that I do not see too far ahead. If I did, I am afraid that I would be paralyzed with panic and fear. I have found that some crosses in this life seem just too heavy to bear. These crosses have left a scar on my shoulder that never fades. That is the way it was with the birth of our miracle baby, Zachary Luke John.
A fresco of the Coronation of Mary appearing on the Dome of Maria Taferl Basilica in Lower Austria, painted by Antonio Berduzzi (1713-1718). Wikimedia Commons, Wolfgang SauberOh, what joy in heaven on that day!
It is the ultimate in poor taste. The Oregon branch of the pro-abortion lobbying group known as NARAL is promoting ice cream for sale. But not just any ice cream, mind you. NARAL Pro-Choice Oregon went to Twitter to tout a “new custom flavor” which was “made exclusively for” the abortion promoter. The flavor is called “Rocky Roe v. Wade.”
