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O Saint Joseph!

Posted on March 16, 2021 by Isabelle Liberatore

Happy Feast Day of St. Patrick tomorrow! And happy early Solemnity of St. Joseph, which we will celebrate this Friday, March 19th!!!

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the world gave as much acclaim to St. Joseph as they did to St. Patrick? Though we love St. Patrick and all of the wonderful festivities that surround his special day, this year, not only do we celebrate the Feast of St. Joseph, but we do it during the Year of St. Joseph, as proclaimed by our Holy Father, Pope Francis. Shouldn’t we mark this occasion in a remarkable way?

One wonderful Catholic tradition is the St. Joseph altar! New Orleans is particularly known for embracing this tradition. Many families and parishes go so far as to compete with each other, with one altar more beautiful than the next. Each is covered in festive decorations and delicious-looking breads, designed to highlight St. Joseph’s special role in salvation history and family life. Here are just a few pictures that can be found across the internet.

St. Joseph Altars in New Orleans

It is fitting that we honor St. Joseph. After all, not only was he the earthly father of Jesus and the spouse of Our Lady, he is the patron of the Universal Church, as proclaimed by Pope John XXIII on March 19, 1961. On the occasion of his proclamation, he prayed:

“O St. Joseph!

Here, here is where you belong as Protector Universalis Ecclesiae! … Always be our protector. May thy inner spirit of peace, of silence, of good work, and of prayer for the cause of Holy Church always be an inspiration to us and bring us joy in union with thy blessed spouse, our most sweet and gentle and Immaculate Mother, and in the strong yet tender love of Jesus, the glorious and immortal King of all ages and peoples. Amen.” – Pope John XXIII

This week as we pray our Rosary Crusade together, let us ask St. Patrick, and especially St. Joseph to intercede for us, as we embrace each other and our intentions in prayer.

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Lenten Journey Through the Sorrows of Mary: Ever-patient in her yearning

Posted on March 16, 2021 by Women of Grace Staff

March 16

Ever-patient in her yearning

Though her tear-filled eyes were burning,

Mary gazed upon her Son.

For Reflection:

In his writing, The Spirituality of Waiting, Henri Nouwen gives five characteristics of waiting. He tells us waiting is a movement. “People who wait have received a promise that allows them to wait. … They have received something that is a work in them, like a seed that has started to grow… So waiting is never a movement from nothing to something. It is always a movement from something to something more.”

How is this truth depicted in the stanza above? Consider Mary’s gaze. What might have been transpiring in her heart as Mary looked upon her Son and as He gazed upon her? What promise(s) had she received and what might be the “something more” still yet to come?

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Lenten Journey Through the Sorrows of Mary: Mary watched her dying Son

Posted on March 15, 2021 by Women of Grace Staff

March 15

With what pain and desolation,

With what noble resignation,

Mary watched her dying Son.

For Reflection:

Many spiritual writers have discussed the “spirituality of waiting” and the

virtues it requires. Some of these are patience, long-suffering, trust,

surrender, humility, gratitude, receptivity, hope. In what ways do you think Mary embodied all of these as she watched her Son die? Which of these

do you most need to acquire?

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Lenten Journey Through the Sorrows of Mary: Bitter sorrow pierced her heart

Posted on March 14, 2021 by Women of Grace Staff

March 14

While she waited in her anguish,

Seeing Christ in torment languish,

Bitter sorrow pierced her heart.

For Reflection:

This verse tells us Mary “waited.” What attitude of heart do you think marked Mary’s disposition as she waited? What virtues? Recall a time when you, too, waited. What marked your disposition? What virtues did you exhibit?

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Lenten Journey Through the Sorrows of Mary: Mary stood in sorrow weeping

Posted on March 13, 2021 by Women of Grace Staff

March 13

At the cross her station keeping,

Mary stood in sorrow weeping

When her Son was crucified.

For Reflection:

Father Faber tells us that each consecutive suffering of Our Lady outstripped its predecessor in pain, because each new suffering had “more love to torture, and therefore more power of inflicting pain.” In this first verse of the Stabat Mater, Mary experiences the fifth sword to her heart. She is at the summit of her suffering. Consider Father Faber’s quote in light of this. What do you think he means by “more love to torture?” What is the connection between love and pain? To what extent are you willing to truly love?

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Lenten Journey Through the Sorrows of Mary: She remained beside Jesus

Posted on March 12, 2021 by Women of Grace Staff

March 12

“The Virgin Mary, who believed in the word of the Lord, did not lose her faith

in God when she saw her Son rejected, abused and crucified. Rather

she remained beside Jesus, suffering and praying, until the end. And she

saw the radiant dawn of His Resurrection. Let us learn from her to witness

to our faith with a life of humble service, ready to personally pay the price

of staying faithful to the Gospel of love and truth, certain that nothing that

we do will be lost.”

– Pope Benedict XVI

For Reflection:

In what way do these words of the Holy Father speak to you today? Are we willing to face the moments of our life, from this second forward in persona Maria? How have Mary’s dolors encouraged you and strengthened you to do so?

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Lenten Journey Through the Sorrows of Mary: A gift from his innermost heart

Posted on March 11, 2021 by Women of Grace Staff

March 11

“The everlasting God has in His Wisdom foreseen from eternity, the cross He now presents to you as a gift from his innermost heart. This cross He now sends You He has considered with His all-knowing eyes, understood with His divine mind, tested with his wise justice, warmed with His own hands to see that it not be one ounce too heavy for you. He has blessed it with His holy Name, anointed it with His grace, perfumed it with his consolation, and taken one last glance at you and your courage – has sent it to you from heaven, a special greeting from God to you, an alms of the all merciful love of God.”

– St. Francis de Sales

For Reflection:

How do you think Mary would have responded to these words of St. Francis de Sales? How do you respond? Reflect on this quote in light of Mary and her seven dolors. Reflect on it in light of the sufferings you have borne and ones you may be bearing now. Record your insights, thoughts, inspirations, or reflections.

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Begin again

Posted on March 10, 2021 by Isabelle Liberatore

Can you believe we are about halfway through our Lenten journey?

How is your Lent going? Has it been fruitful? Have you kept your promises to the Lord? Is it time to begin again? Read the rest…

Lenten Journey Through the Sorrows of Mary: The Burial of Jesus

Posted on March 10, 2021 by Women of Grace Staff

March 10

The Seventh Dolor: The Burial of Jesus

From the beginning of the victim’s torture until after his death, crucifixion was a nasty and brutal affair. It was rare that the criminal was buried after he died. Most typically, the body was left to be devoured by beasts and birds of prey. One exception, however, applied to Jews. Because their religious law required a person accused of a capital offense to be buried on the same day as his death (see Deut. 21: 22-23), the Romans permitted the body to be removed for burial – usually for a price. Since death from crucifixion could take up to three days, this usually required a hastening of the dying process. Soldiers would often kindle a fire under the crucified, or let hungry beasts attack them, or break their bones with an iron mallet to induce suffocation. Fortunately for Our Lord, none of this was necessary thereby fulfilling Scripture (Exodus 12:46).

For Reflection:

Read the account of Jesus’ burial in Mark 15: 42-47. What parallels do you see between it and today’s GraceLine? Though the Blessed Mother is not specifically mentioned, it was customary for the family members of the deceased to prepare the body for burial and then proceed to the burial site in a procession of lamentation and mourning. Picture Our Lady performing these last acts of love for her Son. What does Mary do? What words come to mind to describe the quality of her actions? What thoughts do you think played at her memory? What emotions did she experience? Journal your reflections.

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Lenten Journey Through the Sorrows of Mary: Participate in the Cross

Posted on March 9, 2021 by Women of Grace Staff

March 9

“No one can suggest that God did not love the Blessed Virgin. Nevertheless, He did not exempt her for Calvary, or from making her participate in the Cross to a fuller extent than anyone else in the world except her Son. It would be foolish – to think that if God really loves us, as He does, He will exempt us from the Cross, the sign of the Christian.”

-Federico Suarez

For Reflection:

Christian thinking has always posited the Cross as the consummate sign of victory. We even celebrate a feast day in celebration of it – September 14, The Triumph of the Cross. How was Calvary and the Cross, Jesus’s greatest triumph? Mary’s? How does the Cross, then, speak of God’s love for us — first, in reception of the fruits it has gained for us; and second, in the entrustment of the cross we carry? To what extent does this insight lighten the burden?

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