I used to think mortification during Lent was something that belonged to the dark ages. Giving up chocolate (which I rarely eat) and fish on Fridays (I love fish) was my speed. Anything rougher than that? Not so much. And then one year the Lord taught me a lesson . . .
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When it comes to following God’s will, the most challenging task can be figuring out just what His will is. Of course, prayer is a vitally important tool in this discernment process. Best case scenario: we ask God to disclose His plan for us, and circumstances fall into place, quickly and effortlessly, to lead us in the right direction.
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It is natural to express thanksgiving for being released from difficult trials and circumstances. But who would be grateful for those who cause such difficult trials or circumstances? This is the stuff of saints — the very stuff of which Saint Josephine Bakhita was made.
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“Love is not blind; that is the last thing that it is. Love is bound; and the more it is bound the less it is blind.” - G. K. Chesterton
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“Love consists not in feeling great things but in having great detachment and in suffering for the Beloved. The soul that is attached to anything however much good there may be in it, will not arrive at the liberty of divine union. For whether it be a strong wire rope or a slender and delicate thread that holds the bird, it matters not, if it really holds it fast; for, until the cord be broken the bird cannot fly.” St. John of the Cross.
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Liturgically, we’re taking a brief breath in ordinary time. We’ve lived the long wait of Advent, and Christmas has been celebrated and it’s trappings stored away – nativity sets snuggled in attic alcoves and ornaments stacked in garage bins.
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When Carmen Schattner moved from Michigan to upstate Pennsylvania four years ago, she left everything behind – her job, extended family, an active parish life – and suddenly found herself lost and alone in a strange new place. Until one day she heard a voice on the radio telling her “If you want to know why God created you, what it means to be a daughter of God, here’s what you need to do!” Her life would never be the same again.
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We all know what the passage of time can do to an attic. It gets crammed full of stuff – most of which we no longer find useful. If not discarded, this stuff begins to spill into our homes and the living space we need for daily life. This usually means it's time for a yard sale. But did you know that, according to the spiritual masters, the same thing can happen to our hearts?
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To some, love might mean never having to say you’re sorry, but on this Valentine’s Day – which happens to fall on Ash Wednesday – millions of Catholics will be doing just that as they kick off the penitential season of Lent on the same day that they celebrate the great gift of love.
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“If you are what you should be, then you will set the world on fire.” St. Catherine of Siena
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