St. Maria Goretti, dated 1902, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
The story of Maria Teresa Goretti, the saint whose feast we celebrate each July 6th, has been made known to many since her untimely death on that date in 1902. The 11-year old peasant girl died as a result of injuries inflicted by Alessandro Serenelli, a young man determined to force her to submit to his inappropriate advances. When she resisted, crying, “No! No! It is a sin!” he stabbed her repeatedly, a total of fourteen times. Maria underwent unsuccessful surgery without benefit of anesthesia and died the following day, after receiving her greatly-desired First Communion.
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We find ourselves now well into that lengthy liturgical period termed Ordinary Time. For some of us, there is a tendency to take this season at its name, to treat these weeks as a ho-hum, colorless gap bridging the feasts of Corpus Christi and Christ the King. Give us Lent and Advent, when we can focus on the tough stuff!
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Fresco in the Church of Saint Nicholas in Valencia, of Saint Maria Goretti (1890 - 1902)
If we could have traveled to a poor sharecropping farm in central Italy early in the 20th century, we would have seen a humble building – formerly a cheese factory – sheltering two families of tenant farmers.
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January 31
"And when he had ceased speaking, he said to Simon, 'Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.'"
-Luke 5:4
Today's Reflection:
St. John Paul II encouraged all Catholics to enter the hope-filled waters of the New Evangelization. Here are eight ways you can prepare yourself to share the Catholic Faith with others (PASS IT ON): Pray, accept the call, study, sacrifice, intercede, teach by example, organize your testimony, no excuses!
Prayerfully read each word and then plan a personal strategy to implement it in your daily life. Through the grace of God, we can work together to infuse the world with the Truth who is Jesus Christ.
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January 30
"Let us forgive and ask forgiveness!...The acceptance of God's forgiveness leads to the commitment to forgive our brothers and sisters and to be reconciled with them."
-St. John Paul II
Today's Reflection:
What practical strategies can you implement to live a life of forgiveness
as encouraged by St. John Paul II?
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January 20
"I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly."
-John 10:10
Today's Reflection:
Lack of forgiveness blocks the grace of God in our lives. It brings death--spiritually, emotionally, and often, physically. Examine your life. Where do you need to forgive? Pray for the grace to do so.
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We’ve all done it from time to time – had a spat with someone and refused to let go – but when these “spats” go on for years, and are based in much more than a simple misunderstanding, how do we let go and bring our families back together again?
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I clearly remember walking up the pathway to the rectory door that night to make my first confession in 15 years. The mere thought of having to sit face-to-face with someone and tell him what I had done made me want to turn around and run for my life. Just as I rang the doorbell, I looked back at the car and thought, “Go! It’s your last chance!” but it was too late. The door opened and there was Father Alex.
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The mother of the 15 year-old girl who was gunned down at a Kentucky high school last week says she is praying for her daughter’s shooter, “because I know he’s probably having a hard time too.”
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Lisa Duffy (YouTube)
Catholics from all over the country gathered in Charleston, South Carolina earlier this month to participate in a national conference were the family law in Missouri was invited and the purpose of this was to aimed at reaching out to the divorced and separated.
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