Tomorrow is the Feast of the Archangels (September 29) and Friday is the Feast of the Guardian Angels (October 2). Because of the importance of the angels in God's plan of salvation, their specific intercession for us and the rampant confusion in our day and time regarding them, my blog will offer a short study on the angels for the next couple of days. Each post will close with a suggestion or practical strategy for you to employ. May these posts be a source of clarity and inspiration for you.
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Steadfast Cross
Steadfast cross, among all other
Thou art a tree of great prize;
In a branch and flower such another
I ne wot non in wood nor rise.
Sweet be the nails, and sweet be the tree,
And sweeter be the burden that hangs upon thee.
Anonymous from the Middle Ages
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The past two days mark the feasts of two great saints of the Church, a mother and a son, whose lives give testimony to a sure-fired method of evangelizing those we love.
St. Monica (August 27) is the mother of St. Augustine (August 28), though Augustine was no saint when Monica began her earnest intercession. At that time he was a pagan and a member of the heretical Manichean sect. He was known to be a carouser who lived with a woman to whom he had fathered a child. A brilliant mind, he was "devoted" to his views and his lifestyle, and had no intention of converting to the Catholic faith.
St. Monica was distraught about her son's dissolute ways and decided to do something about it. She prayed. And in the end, her prayers won the soul of her son.
What was it that made St. Monica's prayers so effective? I think five strategies are primarily responsible. Perhaps you can implement them as you seek to evangelize those you love.
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Today is the Feast of Corpus Christi. This celebration, which commemorates the Body of Christ given to us in Holy Eucharist, is celebrated following Trinity Sunday and was formally established in the 13th Century.
St. Juliana of Mont Conillon, also known as St. Juliana of Liege, was the champion of the feast. From her early youth, she had a great love of the Blessed Sacrament and longed to have a feast day set aside to honor Our Lord's presence in the Eucharist.
The saint's desire grew after a vision she reportedly had of the Church represented by the full moon. In this vision, the moon had one dark spot, supposedly representing the absence of such a feast day.
Juliana expressed her desires to the Bishop of Liege, Robert de Thorete, to the Dominican Hugh who later became the Cardinal Legate in the Netherlands, and to Jacques Pantaleon, at that time Archbishop of Liege who was to become Pope Urban IV.
Favorably impressed, Bishop Robert Thorete instituted the feast day in his own diocese in 1247 as bishops were permitted to do at that time, and Pope Urban IV ordered the annual celebration of Corpus Christi on the Thursday following Trinity Sunday in 1264. Though the celebration remains on this day in Rome, here in the United States it is now celebrated the Sunday following Trinity Sunday.
The feast offers all of us an opportunity to appreciate more deeply the rich treasure of grace offered to us through the Holy Eucharist. It is a day that begs us to enter into the Sacred Mystery of the Body and Blood, Soul and Divintiy of Our Lord Jesus Christ given to us and for us in every Eucharistic celebration. It reminds us of the divine sacrifice made on our behalf while beckoning us to be infused ever more completely by the Author of Life Himself.
Following are five ways we can enhance our appreciation of the Blessed Sacrament and mine the rich treasure that is ours. It is taken from my book,
Full of Grace: Women and the Abundant Life.
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Gypsy. The word itself conjures up images of campfires, reverie, and sometimes raucous behavior. Rarely, however, does it illicit thoughts of piety, holiness of life, and martyrdom. But such is the case of Blessed Ceferino Gimenez Malla, a man pronounced "Blessed" by Pope John Paul II on May 4, 1997. His witness to the faith is an inspiration for each one of us in this our day and time, and we would do well to ask for his prayerful intercession.
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Many traditions have accompanied the celebration of Easter which lasts for fifty days (from Easter Sunday to Pentecost Sunday) and is called the "great Sunday." Following are some of the ones I have found most interesting to discover. See what you think.
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This past Sunday we celebrated the Feast of the Epiphany. For those of us familiar with the story, we may well have listened with expectation as the Gospel story drew to its conclusion. But the fact of the matter is, God is always seeking to draw us to Himself through His Son, Jesus Christ and, for that reason, He offers us many opportunities for “epiphanies” in our own lives – moments imbued with His presence that cause us to look at life people, circumstances, and life events – from a more heavenly perspective. These insights reveal to us that the moments of our lives are “shot through” with the Divine Life and offer us a glimpse, no matter how fleeting, of Trinitarian Love.
Following is a prayer time reflection that I recount in my book, Full of Grace: Women and the Abundant Life. It speaks of a moment in which I perceived the story of the Magi from a uniquely new vantage point. May it offer you moments of prayerful meditation, reflection, light, and joy.
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Today is the feast day of St. Robert Bellarmine, a feast that reaches back to my early roots. I attended St. Robert Bellarmine Catholic School in East McKeesport, PA located on Fifth Avenue. My days there were happy ones and the Vincentian Sisters of Charity who taught there inculcated the truths of the Faith deeply into my heart.
I remember each one of those gifted women with great fondness: Sister Mary Concepta, 2nd grade; Sister Mary Euphemia, 3rd grade; Sister Mary Theophane, 4th grade; Sister Mary Denise, 5th grade; Sister Mary Gabriel, 6h grade, Sister Mary Philip, 7th grade, and Sister Mary Hermona, 8th grade. I attended a different Catholic school for first grade and was taught by a Dominican sister, Sister Mary Lois. She had the gift of prophesy though I don't think she knew it -- she routinely referred to me as Little Miss Talking Machine! Ha!
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