October 19
“If [the pray-er of the Rosary] should listen daily to this secret teaching in the depth of his heart, this prayer would kindle in him the desire of heaven, of the glory of God, and the salvation of souls; it would give him a love of the cross and strength to carry it, and from time to time a foretaste of heaven, a certain savor of eternal life.”
-Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange
For Reflection:
What do I think it means to “listen to this secret teaching in the depth” of my heart? To what extent have I experienced any of the spiritual realities of this quote while I have prayed the Rosary? How can I aid myself during my prayer time to listen more closely?
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The year 2020 marks the 100th year since the passage of the 19th Amendment which gave women the right to vote and March for Life organizers announced the theme for next year’s march – Life EMPOWERS: Pro-Life is Pro-Woman – in honor of those brave and staunchly pro-life women who fought so hard for women’s rights.
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October 18
“The proficient who would thus live a little better each day by the spirit of the Rosary, would reach the contemplation of the mystery of Christ, a certain penetrating understand of the life of the mystical body, or of the Church militant, suffering, and triumphant. Under the continual direction of Jesus and of Mary Mediatrix, he would enter increasingly into the mystery of the communion of saints.”
-Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange
For Reflection:
According to this quote, what is contemplation of the mystery of Christ? How can the Rosary help us to do this? Here, Mary is called “Mediatrix.” (Refer to page 26 for the definition.) How have I experienced Mary as mediatrix?
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October 17
“[The Rosary’s] form is that of a prayerful and contemplative presentation, capable of forming Christians according to the heart of Christ.”
-St. John Paul II
For Reflection:
Have I experienced my own heart being conformed to that of Christ as I have prayed the mysteries of the Rosary? Have I witnessed an increased desire for virtue in my life? How have my attitudes, habits, actions, and reactions come under the influence of Christ as a result of my prayer time? (Read the next three Grace Lines to see how this is accomplished through the Rosary).
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BW writes:
“Why do you insist that alternatives have scientific proof? Is there any proof that faith healing works? Why don’t you insist that there be proof for that too?”
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A disastrous decision by the wife of New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio not to erect a statue of Mother Cabrini in the city, in spite of the saint receiving the most votes in the city-wide “She Built NYC” contest, was overturned by Governor Andrew Cuomo this week who promised to fund the erection of a statue in her honor.
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MacBride Hall, University of Iowa, Iowa City (David Mark, Pixabay)
Officials at the University of Iowa, who used totalitarian tactics to shut down a Christian Fellowship group, got quite a smack-down from a federal judge who ruled that their behavior was “ludicrous” and “baffling” and is holding officials personally responsible for their actions.
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October 16
“Christian prayer tries above all to meditate on the mysteries of Christ, as in lectio divina or the Rosary. This form of prayerful reflection is of great value, but Christian prayer should go further: to the knowledge of the love of the Lord Jesus, to union with him.”
-Catechism of the Catholic Church, #2708
For Reflection:
How can meditating on the mysteries of the Rosary help to move me toward “the knowledge of the love of the Lord Jesus, to union with him?”
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St. Teresa of Avila shows us it is never too late to get serious about our prayer life. Born Dona Teresa Sanchez Cepeda Davila y Ahumada, Teresa was an active child with a big imagination and great sensitivity of heart. Little Teresa and her brother Roderigo were intrigued by the lives of the saints and the martyrs, and often sought to imitate their holy example.
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by Lisa Marino PT, DPT
After discerning God’s will to integrate prayer and spirituality into healthcare, I left my mainstream physical therapy job in 2017. I was amazed at how much better my patients improved with an hour of one-on-one care, more time to listen and encourage them, and especially prayer for healing.
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