April 9
"Lastly, women in trial, who stand upright at the foot of the cross like Mary, you who so often in history have given to men the strength to battle unto the very end and to give witness to the point of martyrdom, aid them now still once more to retain courage in their great undertakings, while at the same time maintaining patience and an esteem for humble beginnings....."
-TO WOMEN, VATICAN COUNCIL II CLOSING SPEECHES AND MESSAGES, Pope Paul VI
A new study from the University of Groningen has found that the majority of children who wished to belong to the opposite sex became comfortable with their biological sex by early adulthood – which means transgenderism among youth could be nothing more than a fad.
April 8
"And you, women living alone, realize what you can accomplish through your dedicated vocation. Society is appealing to you on all sides. Not even families can live without the help of those who have no families. Especially you, consecrated virgins, in a world where egoism and the search for pleasure would become law, be the guardians of purity, unselfishness and piety. Jesus who has given to conjugal love all its plenitudes, has also exalted the renouncement of human love when this is for the sake of divine love and for the service of all..."
-TO WOMEN, VATICAN COUNCIL II CLOSING SPEECHES AND MESSAGES, Pope Paul VI
April 7
"Wives, mothers of families, the first educators of the human race in the intimacy of the family circle, pass on to your sons and your daughters the traditions of your fathers at the same time that you prepare them for an unsearchable future. Always remember that by her children a mother belongs to that future which perhaps she will not see..."
-TO WOMEN, VATICAN COUNCIL II CLOSING SPEECHES AND MESSAGES, Pope Paul VI
April 6
"In a wholly singular way she [Mary] cooperated by her obedience, faith, hope, and burning charity in the work of the Savior in restoring supernatural life to souls. For this reason she is mother to us in the order of grace."
-Vatican Council II, Lumen Gentium
April 5
"Holy Spirit, come into my heart. Bring new life to the ancient prayers I learned as a child, and inspire me to voice my innermost thoughts to the God who knows them all. Amen."
-Johnnette Benkovic Williams
LB writes: "I have a relative in my family who is a trained physical therapist. I have noticed that she talks about organs "having certain emotional energy" These energies give way to our illnesses in our bodies. She has even been able to sense that a patient had an abortion years earlier, causing her uterus to retain the trauma inflicted to it. Many people admire her ability to release this negative energy from her patients. I worry that this seems very new age. In all other areas of her life she is an outstanding catholic. She has been trained in cranial sacral therapy, holistic healing, too. Any thoughts?"
April 4
"Be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ..."
-Ephesians 5:18-20
Interior of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris (Photo courtesy of Wikicommons Images, Cezary Piwowarski, CC BY-SA 4.0 DEED)In spite of the dismal state of Christianity throughout Europe, new numbers out of France and Belgium are showing an unexpected sharp rise in the number of adolescent and adult baptisms during this Easter season.
April 3
"An invisible power seemed to plunge me wholly into fire...but oh! what fire! what sweetness!"
-St. Thérèse of Lisieux
