Fresco in the Church of Saint Nicholas in Valencia, of Saint Maria Goretti (1890 – 1902)
If we could have traveled to a poor sharecropping farm in central Italy early in the 20th century, we would have seen a humble building – formerly a cheese factory – sheltering two families of tenant farmers.
July 6
“Woman’s nature is determined by her original vocation of spouse and mother. One depends on the other. The body of woman is fashioned ‘to be one flesh’ with another and to nurse new human life in itself.”
-St. Edith Stein
Today’s Reflection:
What are some specific ways the Lord uses my feminine call as a source of sanctification for myself? For others?
The parents of a first-grade Canadian student who was left so disturbed by the school’s teachings about gender identity her parents have been forced, due to inaction by the local school board, to appeal to the Human Rights Tribunal for relief.
When we originally posted this video back in 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court was set to deliver a landmark ruling on a case involving the Little Sisters of the Poor and other Catholic entities whose religious freedom was being jeopardized by a government mandate.
The battle for religious liberty continues today, with recent rulings in favor of several Christian bakers and the Little Sisters of the Poor petition of the United States Supreme Court for protection under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
July 4
“Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil, who put darkness for light, and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!”
-Isaiah 5:20
Today’s Reflection:
Contemporary thoughts and ideas often take root in subtle ways. To what extent have my own attitudes about my woman and reproductive system been shaped by the culture of the day? How can I overcome false understandings?
Three teens, one of whom lost her chance to qualify in an important track meet because of the presence of two boys who identify as girls on her team, are in the process of filing an official complaint with the Department of Education.
July 3
“O Lord, our Lord, how admirable is thy name in the whole earth! For thy magnificence is elevated above the heavens…What is man that thou art mindful of him? Or the son of man that thou visitest him? Thou hast made him little less than the angels, thou hast crowned him with glory and honor.”
-Psalm 8:2, 5-6
Today’s Reflection:
Woman participates in a unique way in God’s sovereign role of Creator. How does this specially “crown” the female person with God’s glory?
Most of us have an ideal of what a good mother is and what a good mother does. Mary is the prefect mother, tending to all the details of our lives, as long as we are open to letting that relationship grow and we are open to her.
July 2
“The woman’s humanity is realized in the specific ways of a woman. She is a complete human being no less than the man, but according to her own nature. Her sex is not a mere accidental condition that could be abstracted. Her sex, on the contrary, is a reality that fundamentally defines her being and action and corresponds to the specific design of the Creator. Her physical and psychological qualities proclaim clearly what it truly means to be woman.”
-Jutta Burggraf
Today’s Reflection:
What does femininity mean to me?
