“Hail to you forever, O virgin mother of God, our unceasing joy…You are the pearl of great price that belongs to the kingdom; the fate of every victim, the living altar of the bread of life. Hail, O treasure of God. Hail, O fount of the Son’s love for man.”
St. Methodius of Olympus
For Reflection:
Why do you think Mary is our “unceasing joy?” Why do you think she is the “pearl of great price that belongs to the kingdom?” How is Mary “the living altar of the bread of life” and therefore, the “fate of every victim?” Why do you think she is the “treasure of God” and the “fount of the Son’s love for man?” Which of these deepens your love and appreciation of Mary the most?
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“What a wonder is your Mother! The Lord entered her, and became a Servant; the Word entered her, and became silent within her; Thunder entered her, and His voice was still; the Shepherd of all entered her, and He became a Lamb.”
St. Ephraem the Syrian
For Reflection;
Prayerfully meditate on the juxtaposition of concepts presented here – Lord/Servant, Word/silent, Thunder/still voice; Shepherd/Lamb. What does this say about the power God gives to Mary? What does this say about the relationship between Mary and her Son? How does Mary exemplify the call of the disciple in this quote. How can the same be said for you?
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“Always stay close to this Heavenly Mother because she is the sea to be crossed to reach the shores of Eternal Splendor.”
St. Pio of Pietrelcina
For Reflection:
Name three practical ways you can stay close to Mary. Begin to employ them right away. How is Mary “the sea to be crossed to reach the shores of Eternal Splendor?” Prayerfully consider this and journal your insights.
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David Ellefson, bass player for the heavy metal rock band, Megadeth, has decided he'd rather shout about Christ than belt out tunes celebrating death and has enrolled in Concordia Seminary to prepare to become a Christian pastor.
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While addressing a group of U.S. bishops this week, Pope Benedict XVI noted that Obama administration policies have contributed to a national environment that has become "increasingly hostile to Christianity."
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No one can explain yoga better than a Hindu, and in a recent article by the co-founder and managing director of the Hindu American Foundation, Suhag A. Shukla, Esq. confirms what most American Christians just don't want to accept - that practicing yoga will make you a better Hindu.
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“Never be afraid of loving the Blessed Virgin too much. You can never love her more than Jesus did.”
St. Maximilian Kolbe For Reflection:
What position would Mary hold on Jesus’ own ranking of persons He loves? What indication do you have of this in Sacred Scripture. To what extent do you love Mary? How are you cultivating relationship with her? What one strategy can you employ today to make progress in this direction?
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Christians fed up with the Church in Europe aren't just leaving their congregations, they're taking steps to become officially "de-baptized," and they're doing so in numbers that are beginning to worry Church leaders.
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Negative publicity isn't good for cookie sales, and the recent resignation of a Girl Scout associate who was asked to remove a pro-life t-shirt, coupled with a scathing rebuke of the Scouts' liberal ideology by an internationally known scholar is only adding momentum to calls for the public to take a pass on the do-si-dos this year.
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Outrage is growing over the case of three year-old Amelia Rivera who was denied a liver transplant that would save her life because she suffers from mental retardation.
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