Advent Week Four: A Time for Caring, A Time for Sharing

star-of-bethlehem1As we approach the solemnity of Christmas tomorrow, we would do well to ask the Holy Spirit to help us enter into the mystery we are celebrating. Implicit in the glory of the birth of Christ, is His death. It is already present, as it has been since His conception in the womb of Mary, in His flesh.

A season of joy, to be sure. A season of wonder, most definitely. A season of magnanimity, most assuredly. For this is the season that proves God’s love for us. His Son has been sent for one mission, and one mission only, to pour Himself out for us. 

The Incarnation is the Redemption begun. It is consummated at the conception and culminated at the crucifixion. As we gaze upon the Christ Child lying in the creche, how can we ignore that He is already on the bed of wood?

It is this we celebrate: that in the midst of our depravity, God sent His Son in the fullness of time, born of a woman (Gen. 3:15; Gal. 4:4). It is in this that we find cause for rejoicing.

Carol Houselander, an English author of the last century, asks us to focus our attention on this reality during the Advent season. It is not too late to ponder the cause of our joy in these last hours before Christmas day.

Writing in Reed of God, Houselander offers us these words for meditation and contemplation. She invites us to consider the role of the Virgin Mary, Mother of God, as we consider the coming of the Christ Child: Read the rest…

Advent Week Three: A Time for Sharing, A Time for Caring

200479108-001In yesterday’s blog, we discussed the necessity of evangelization in the modern world and why this call applies in a special way to the lay faithful.

But the question remains, how do we effectively communicate the Catholic faith in the world today? This remains a challenge especially given the competing voices in today’s market place of ideas.

Indeed, secularism and relativism have captivated the mindset of the culture. However, St. Paul reminds us in 2 Timothy 4 that our mission is to preach the Gospel “in season and out,” and the reality is you and I have been chosen by God to do so in our day and time. And, in the end, truth is on our side.

Following are four steps that help us share the faith with others.

Read the rest…

Advent Week Three: A Time for Sharing, A Time for Caring

baby-Jesus-in-a-manger1The Incarnation of Jesus Christ has forever changed the destiny of mankind. Through His birth, death, and resurrection, the chains of death are broken, the gates of heaven are flung open wide, and eternal life has been restored to man. However, accepting the salvation Christ has won remains an individual decision to be made by each human being.

I remember well when I made that decision for myself. It all started with a woman who shared her faith in Jesus Christ with me.

Though she was going through an emotionally difficult time, she was certain God had a plan for her in the midst of it. Her trust stood in stark contrast to my own faith experience which had not recovered from my college years. Like living water flooding the landscape of my soul, her words and her witness brought me new life and led me back to Catholicism.

Read the rest…

Woman of Grace: St. Teresa of Avila (1515-1582)

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. Read the rest…

Women of Grace: St. Therese of Lisieux

St. Therese of Lisieux (1873 – 1897)

Hidden behind the walls of the Carmelite convent she entered at age fifteen, St. Therese was struck down by tuberculosis in her early twenties. There was nothing remarkable about the young nun, nothing to suggest that she would become one of the most beloved of all the saints. And yet, her “little way,” characterized by the twin virtues of obedience and simplicity, touched so many people that Rome opened her cause for canonization only seventeen years after her death. She was canonized in 1925, proclaimed the universal patron of missions in 1927, and Doctor of the Church by Pope John Paul II in 1997. Read the rest…

Woman of Grace: St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross

St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein, 1891 – 1942)

She was a brilliant scholar, a contemplative mystic, and a “liberated” feminist. At various times she was also a devout Jew, an atheist, a philosopher, a Catholic, and a Carmelite nun. Hers was a heart that hungered for truth, with a passion that burned with such purity and clarity that Pope John Paul II, whose own Mulieris Dignitatem and “Letter to Women” bear the unmistakable imprint of her spirit, canonized her less than fifty years after her death at Auschwitz. Read the rest…

Woman of Grace: St. Elizabeth of Portugal

St. Elizabeth of Portugal (1271 – 1336)

From the womb, Elizabeth seemed chosen by God to be a peacemaker. Her birth itself healed a rift between her father King Pedro III of Aragon and her grandfather. Elizabeth had a pious upbringing, regular religious instruction, and a good education. Mass, Eucharist, and the reading the Divine Office formed the backbone of her prayer life, holy habits she continued throughout her life. Read the rest…

The Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ

This Sunday we celebrate the beautiful Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ, known as Corpus Christi.

A feast established through the efforts of St. Juliana of Liège, a thirteenth-century Augustinian who had a deep longing for a feast to honor the Blessed Sacrament, it is a day on which Christians are encouraged to celebrate the Eucharist in processions and adoration. In days gone by, entire towns would line the streets as the Sacred Host was held high for all to see. Sadly, since Vatican II, these types of processions have largely fallen out of practice. Read the rest…

Prayer to the Holy Spirit

Dear Friends,

Here is the prayer to the Holy Spirit that I prayed today on Women of Grace Live (M-F, 11:00 AM ET). As I mentioned, I can offer no attribution as it has none on the card I received. I hope it truly blesses you.

Blessings,

Johnnette

Prayer to the Holy Spirit

Come, Holy Spirit, fill my heart with your holy gifts.

Let my weakness be penetrated with your strength this very day,

that I may fulfill all the duties of my state conscientiously,

that I may do what is right and just.

Let my charity be such as to offend no one, and hurt no one’s feelings;

so generous as to pardon sincerely any wrong done to me.

Assist me, O Holy Spirit, in all my trials of life,

enlighten me in my doubts,

strengthen me in my weakness, help me in

all my needs, protect me in temptations

and console me in afflictions.

Graciously hear me, O Holy Spirit, and pour your light

into my heart, my soul, and my mind.

Assist me to live a holy life and to grow in goodness and grace.

Amen