“Seek refuge in Mary because she is the city of refuge. We know that Moses set up three cities of refuge for anyone who inadvertently killed his neighbor. Now the Lord has established a refuge of mercy, Mary, even for those who deliberately commit evil. Mary provides shelter and strength for the sinner.”
- St. Anthony of Padua
In his homily celebrating the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God, Pope Francis said that it is the maternal face of a mother that protects society from the corrosive disease of being “spiritual orphans” – people who have no sense of belonging and become narcissistic and interested in only their own interests.
The little known feast of Our Lady of Expectation occurs on December 18, a week before Christmas and a time the Church refers to as "the Week of Expectation." It originated in Spain at the Tenth Council of Toledo (AD 656) and was granted to the faithful who felt that because the Annunciation always falls during Lent, there is insufficient time given to celebrate the exalted state of Our Lady's divine maternity. The Feast of Our Lady of Expectation arose as a substitute and came to be known as a "mini-Annunciation."
I vividly desire that a church be built on this site, so that in it I can be present and give my love, compassion, help and defense, for I am your most devoted mother...to hear your laments and to remedy all your miseries, pains and sufferings.
-The Blessed Mother to St. Juan Diego
"Pioneers" with facilitators (one graduate is missing from photo)The pioneer group of Young Women of Grace has officially graduated!
Now that we’ve got Thanksgiving under our (slightly loosened) belts, it’s time to turn our attention to something – new. While to our worldly senses, the year is winding down with a celebratory month of shopping, singing, decorating, and baking, our liturgical year has really – very quietly – just begun.
Women of Grace at Our Lady of Mercy in Deerfield Beach, Florida celebrated a grace-filled First Saturday on November 4th. These beautiful sacred sisters attended morning Mass together and then processed through the Holy Doors, designated for the Jubilee Year of Mercy. Together they prayed for the Holy Father, Pope Francis's intentions to receive the Plenary Indulgence.
Johnnette signing copies of her new book, "Graceful Living," at the First Annual Women's Conference in the diocese of AllentownThe Most Rev. Ronald W. Gainer, bishop of the Diocese of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, has issued a ringing endorsement of the Women of Grace program, calling it a program that has produced good fruits in the lives of women for the past decade.
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