The moment Pope Benedict XVI’s plane was spotted in the skies over Guanajuato, Mexico on Friday, the faithful poured from their homes and lined the streets, sometimes five and six rows deep, with many crying tears of joy as church bells began to peal throughout the area in welcome.
Monthly Archives: March 2012
Mandate Rallies Draw Thousands Across America
An estimated 54,000 Americans in 140 cities turned out to protest the HHS mandate, which threatens religious liberty by imposing mandatory insurance coverage for birth control on all employers regardless of religious beliefs.
Strive to Die to Yourself
“When God demands of a soul a great sacrifice, he strengthens the soul, through the vivifying power of His grace, to overcome all obstacles. Such a soul dies perfectly to itself, and its only desire is to remain spiritually dead to its natural inclinations as long as God wishes.”
For Reflection:
What has been the greatest sacrifice God has entrusted to me? What were the potential hazards, the hurdles, and the obstacles it presented? How did I experience God’s grace in the midst of the trial? Am I willing to die to self and embrace the crosses God sees fit to offer me?
Realize How Precious You Are
“Oh, how precious are our souls to Jesus and Mary, our blood Brother and our mother. The best expression of our gratitude for such love is the irrevocable consecration of ourselves to them – in the gloom of uncertainty, in the anguish of doubt, in the heart-riving loneliness of interior desolation, when God seems to desert us, by complete abandonment to the divine will.”
For Reflection:
Do I have difficulty seeing myself as “precious?” Ask the Holy Spirit to heal the area of your heart where this wound is lodged. Turn your eyes to the hearts of Jesus and Mary and picture them brimming with love for you. Return to this image every time the evil one seeks to sow uncertainty, anguish, doubt, and desolation into your soul. Journal your insights and reflections.
Cherish Mary Your Mother, 2
“Mary cannot forsake us, because she is our Mother. If we confide our salvation to her loving care and faithfully imitate her virtues, she will fold us to her Immaculate Heart both now and at the hour of our death.”
For Reflection:
Mystically ask Mary to take you to her Immaculate Heart. Rest there with her. Journal your impressions, insights, reflections on her maternal love for you.
Alabama AG Joins EWTN Suit Against HHS Mandate
Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange announced that his state has opted to become a co-plaintiff with the Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN) in its suit against plans by the Department of Health and Human Services to impose a contraception and sterilization mandate.
The Facts Behind the Dutch Castration Story
Commentary by Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Even though the media can’t get enough of allegations that the Catholic Church may have surgically castrated “as many as 10 young men” in the 1950s, what most news stories aren’t revealing is that it was the Dutch government who ordered the castration of over 400 men during the same time period as part of a eugenics program.
NC Bishops Talk Tough to Obama
The bishops of North Carolina have issued a strong statement criticizing President Barack Obama for inserting himself into the debate over an amendment on the May 8 ballot that would define marriage in North Carolina as being between one man and one woman.
Teacher Forces Students to Support Obama
A middle school teacher in Virginia forced his students to support President Barack Obama’s re-election by making them conduct opposition research on GOP candidates and then sending their suggestions to the Obama campaign.
Cherish Mary Your Mother, 1
“What a truly marvelous privilege is ours! Mary being our mother, we share in her love of her divine Son. Let us stand in the spirit on the mount of crucifixion and listen to the dying Christ saying to each of us, ‘Behold thy mother.’”
For Reflection:
What joy it brings to know that Mary shares with us her own love of her divine Son! In those moments when my own heart is bereft of sensate love for God, I will rely on my Mother’s perfect love to express my emotion. In what other ways can I open myself more and more to the operations of my spiritual Mother’s soul?
