Reflections for the Fortnight for Freedom – Day 1

We will be reprinting portions of the following reflections from the USCCB website in honor of the Fortnight for Freedom campaign.

These reflections and readings from the Vatican II document Declaration on Religious Liberty (Dignitatis Humanae) are intended for daily use during the Fortnight for Freedom, a national campaign designated by the U.S. Catholic bishops for teaching and witness in support of religious liberty. The readings and the questions that follow can be used for group discussion or for personal reflection. Read the rest…

The Secret Beauty of Authentic Femininity

Writing in “Mother of the Redeemer,” Pope John Paul says this about the call of woman in the world today:

The figure of Mary of Nazareth sheds light on womanhood as such by the very fact that God, in the sublime event of the Incarnation of his Son, entrusted himself to the ministry, the free and active ministry of a woman. It can thus be said that women, by looking to Mary, find in her the secret of living their femininity with dignity and of achieving their own true advancement. In the light of Mary, the Church sees in the face of women the reflection of a beauty which mirrors the loftiest sentiments of which the human heart is capable: the self-offering totality of love; the strength that is capable of bearing the greatest sorrows; limitless fidelity and tireless devotion to work; the ability to combine penetrating intuition with words of support and encouragement.1 Read the rest…

URGENT PRAYER NEEDED!

URGENT PRAYER NEEDED! My dear friends, your prayers are so effective. Everytime I have asked you to pray, the intention has been granted. I am asking now for your prayers for an urgent matter. Please pray — and if you remember this urgent request through the day, I ask you to KEEP PRAYING! It is a very serious situation. Very serious. Thank you for your receptivity of heart! May God bless you abundantly!

Women of Grace: The Courageous Legacy of Sts. Perpetua and Felicity

Sts. Perpetua and Felicity died on March 7, 203

The annals of the Church are full of examples of courageous Catholic women, but few can rival the tale of a young nursing mother and a pregnant woman who showed such fierce courage in the face of death that even the hardest Roman soldiers were brought to their knees.

The story of Sts. Perpetua and Felicity, whose feast we celebrate today, was recorded by the hand of Perpetua herself as well as others who knew the women. This account, known as “The Martyrdom of Perpetua and Felicity,” was so popular in the early centuries that it was often read during liturgies. Read the rest…

EWTN Update!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Michelle Johnson
  Director of Communications
  EWTN Global Catholic Network
  Phone: (205) 795-5769
  E-Mail: mjohnson@ewtn.com

Friday, February 10, 2012

EWTN Responds to Announcement of Religious
Accommodation in HHS Healthcare Mandate

 

Irondale, AL – The following statement was released by Michael P. Warsaw, President & Chief Executive Officer of EWTN:

“I am certainly pleased to see that EWTN’s decision to file suit against the recent contraception mandate of the Department of Health and Human Services may have played some role in forcing the administration to revisit the application of these rules on religious institutions. However, we remain quite skeptical that the changes announced by President Obama will in fact address the concerns raised by EWTN.
According to a White House statement, some religious institutions may no longer be required to directly provide insurance coverage for contraception, sterilization and abortion-inducing drugs; however, this accommodation may not actually apply to EWTN or actually give any relief to the Network and other similar organizations. Like EWTN many religious institutions self-insure their healthcare plans, meaning that we will still be forced to pay for these services in violation of our religious beliefs. Today’s announcement certainly does not give any hope to countless individual business owners and people of faith who share the concern about being required to provide for these services which they personally find immoral.
EWTN is particularly concerned that the proposed rules for non-exempted religious organizations will still not be finalized until later in the coming year. This leaves EWTN and other such organizations very uncertain about what the future may hold with regard to this mandate. We will continue to consult with our legal counsel at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty to determine the implications of this revised approach; however, our legal action against the administration will continue. “
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Woman of Grace: St. Scholastica

Woman of Grace: St. Scholastica (480 – 543)

St. Gregory the Great recounts this story from the life of St. Benedict’s beloved twin sister, St. Scholastica, which shows how expressing our petitions to God with childlike faith and confidence sometimes yields immediate and amazing results.

After Benedict founded a monastery for men, Scholastica remained very close to her brother, founding a convent for women some miles away. Every year Scholastica went to visit Benedict at a little place just outside the monastery gate. Read the rest…

Congratulations, EWTN!

Congratulations to EWTN for its courageous stand in suing the U. S. Government over the HHS Mandate requiring Catholic institutions to offer insurance coverage for contraception and abortion! As we so often emphasize through our television and radio programs and at our conferences and in our study groups, our day and time truly require heroic fortitude and perseverance. We MUST continue to preserve and protect all that is God-honoring in our culture and to reclaim that which has been lost. The Scripture passage from the Book of Esther says it all: “How do you not know that you have been born for such a time as this?” (4:14).

However, this will not be easily done. In many diverse ways we will all be called upon to exercise heroic virtue in the quest to rebuild a culture of life. It may, and will, cost us much.  We need to prepare for trial and struggle. We need to embrace our holy duty to meet the challenge — every challenge presented– with faith and trust in the God who calls us to it. He will not abandon us nor will He leave us orphaned. But, He may well ask us to enter into the passion of His Son and to suffer with Him  for the work to be accomplished. Remember, the blood of the martyrs is the seed of faith.

May we demonstrate by our faithful action and through thought and word that we are truly the sons and the daughters of the Most High God who understand the mission entrusted to us at this critical juncture in the history of man! And may the martyr saints and all of those who stood for truth in their day and time assist us by their prayers and holy example.

Mary, Help of All Christians, pray for us! Angels of God, assist us! Saints Triumphant and Suffering, pray for us! AMEN.