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By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS Staff Journalist Congressional leaders are indicating that they plan to bypass a formal conference committee to hash out health care reform differences between the House and Senate, and will probably craft the final bill out of the public eye and behind closed doors.

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by Susan Brinkmann, OCDS Staff Journalist A Turkish archeologist, who claims that because St. Nicholas spent most of his life in Turkey and once said he did not want to be buried anywhere else, is calling on Turkish authorities to demand the return of his bones from their burial place in southern Italy.

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By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS Staff Journalist In a long-awaited decision, the Supreme Court of the state of Montana ruled on Dec. 31 that physicians who help terminally ill patients commit suicide cannot be prosecuted, thus making it the third state in the U.S. to allow the practice.

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By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS Staff Journalist The Obama administration has appointed a transgendered woman and political activist as Senior Technical Advisor to the Department of Commerce, making her one of the first such appointments in presidential history.

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By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS Staff Journalist As part of is 2010 stamp program, the U.S. Postal Service will recognize the humanitarian work of Mother Teresa with her own stamp.

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By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS Staff Journalist A mother and her seven year-old daughter have disappeared after a Vermont judge granted full custody to the mother’s former lesbian partner.

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As we cast a backward glance to 2009 and enter 2010, it is good to take a reflective moment to thank God for the many blessings we have received in the recently parted year. It may even be helpful to record them in your journal. Sometimes these blessings are obvious such as family, friends, and good health. Sometimes they are taken for granted like food on the table, a roof over our head, the conveniences of everyday living.  And sometimes, the greatest blessings of all are shrouded in dark packaging like the trials, tribulations, reversals and contradictions of daily life. What were your top twelve blessings in 2009? Mine follow.

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What wisdom Holy Mother Church has in dedicating the first day of the year to Mary, Mother of God!

 Mary is the Mother of God and she is our mother, too. Her fiat is the genesis of every fiat given to God. And every fiat given to God is enriched by hers. The fathers of the Second Vatican Council state it simply, succinctly, and profoundly: she is our Mother in the order of grace.

This poem, written by Giovanni Domini (1356-142), expresses the maternal beatitude we find so dear. May it elevate our hearts in gratitude to God for the gift of the Blessed Virgin. And may it elevate our hearts to the reality of our salvation which comes through the gift of her Son, Jesus Christ Savior of the World.

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What does God want from us?   This poem offers us the answer. It echoes the one we find in Psalm 51. What will we give Jesus this Christmas? Is it the gift He truly desires?  

 

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