January 12
"Confession heals, confession justifies, confession grants pardon of sin. All hope consists in confession. In confession there is a chance for mercy. Believe it firmly. Do not doubt, do not hesitate, never despair of the mercy of God. Hope and have confidence in confession."
-St. Isidore of Seville
MM asks: Is there anything wrong with Mindfulness Meditation? It sounds like it's nothing more than living in the present moment. Could there be anything wrong with that?
During a popular video podcast in Peru, self-proclaimed visionary Erica Serrano told listeners in this predominantly Catholic country to use a consecrated host in a purification ritual and to ward off “toxic people.”
January 11
"Good example is the most efficacious apostolate. You must be as lighted lanterns and shine like brilliant chandeliers among men. By your good example and your words, animate others to know and love God."
-St. Mary Joseph Rossello
January 10
"I find a heaven in the midst of saucepans and brooms."
-St. Stanislaus Kosta
During his annual address to the world’s ambassadors to the Vatican yesterday, Pope Francis called for an international ban on the “deplorable” practice of surrogacy, saying that it “represents a grave violation of the dignity of the woman and the child.”
KB writes: "My husband practices this mindfulness type of meditation, including a body scan meditation. He does a shorter one in the morning, about 15 or 20 minutes, and the body scan in the afternoon, which takes about 45 minutes, for stress reduction and as a way of dealing with anxiety. The other day he chose to skip family prayer time in favor of this meditation . . . "
January 9
"God had not chosen her to be holy merely for her own advantage. Rather, the gifts he conferred upon her were to be for the spiritual and physical advantage of her neighbor…Divine power was present and working in her words, so that in a few sentences she could bring consolation to the afflicted and the anxious, calm the restless, pacify the angry, reconcile enemies and extinguish long-standing hatreds and animosities… For this reason, people flocked to Frances from all directions as to a safe refuge."
-From the Life of Saint Frances of Rome
January 8
"If we look forward to receiving God’s mercy, we can never fail to do good so long as we have the strength…With outstretched arms he begs us to turn toward him, to weep for our sins, and to become the servants of love, first for ourselves, then for our neighbors. Just as water extinguishes a fire, so love wipes away sin."
-St. John of God
January 7
"The pure soul is a beautiful rose, and the Three Divine Persons descend from Heaven to inhale its fragrance."
-St. John Vianney
