Have you embraced the battle?

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”
-Ephesians 6:10 – 13

How will you respond to the Sacred Heart of Jesus?

“My Divine Heart is so passionately in love with humanity that it can no longer contain within itself the flames of its ardent love. It must pour them out through [you], and manifest itself to them with its precious treasures, which contain all the graces which they need to be saved.”
-Jesus to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

Are you present to the present moment?

“As they were going along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head.” To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” But he said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”¬ – Luke 9:57-62

Have you experienced the power of the Holy Spirit?

“When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly a sound came from heaven like the rush of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire, distributed and resting on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” -Acts 2: 2-4

He was carried into heaven

 “Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven. And they worshiped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple blessing God.” – Luke 24:50

Ten Special Ways to Honor Mary in May

Don’t you just love the month of May? For most of us, the signs of winter have passed. The sun seems brighter, the sky bluer, and flowers of every kind are bursting forth. It is as if the earth recognizes that May is the month we celebrate mothers, spiritual mothers, and in a particular way, our heavenly mother, Mary.

The world is rotten because of silence

A recent Facebook post shared this urgent prayer intention by one outspoken priest:

“The police are afraid to be police
The priests are afraid to be priests
The Christians are afraid to be Christians
The Americans are afraid to be Americans
God, grant us the gift of fortitude to stand up against our oppressors.”

St. Catherine of Siena would probably agree with his sentiment. She once declared, “We’ve had enough of exhortation to be silent! Cry out with a hundred thousand tongues. I see that the world is rotten because of silence.”

Read the rest…

The Legendary St. George

The story of St. George is the stuff of legend. He lived during the reign of the Emporer Diocletian from 275 – 303. He was a knight, a soldier, and a dragon slayer. This Friday is his feast day and how apropos that he is one of the saints featured in The Rosary: Your Weapon for Spiritual Warfare, the book we pull our weekly meditations from during our Women of Grace Rosary Crusade.

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St. Bernadette and the healing waters

This Friday we celebrate the Feast of St. Bernadette Soubirous. She was the humble, peasant girl, on whom was bestowed one of the greatest of earthly blessings…to be visited and spoken to by Our Blessed Mother, Mary. It is a remarkable story that sadly, even many Catholics, are not familiar with.

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Who was Mary Magdalene?

Mary Magdalene stayed outside the tomb weeping.
And as she wept, she bent over into the tomb
and saw two angels in white sitting there,
one at the head and one at the feet
where the Body of Jesus had been.
And they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?”
She said to them, “They have taken my Lord,
and I don’t know where they laid him.”
When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus there,
but did not know it was Jesus.
Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?
Whom are you looking for?”
She thought it was the gardener and said to him,
“Sir, if you carried him away,
tell me where you laid him,
and I will take him.”
Jesus said to her, “Mary!”
She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni,”
which means Teacher.
Jesus said to her, “Stop holding on to me,
for I have not yet ascended to the Father.
But go to my brothers and tell them,
‘I am going to my Father and your Father,
to my God and your God.’”
Mary went and announced to the disciples,
“I have seen the Lord,”
and then reported what he had told her.
                  -Jn 20:11-18 (via USCCB)
Read the rest…