MP writes: “I need some advice about ‘foot detox.’ I think it is snake oil but can’t convince my daughter it is a hoax.”
Waiting for God
December 14
“… the spirituality of waiting is not simply our waiting for God. It is also participating in God’s waiting for us…”
-Henri J. M. Nouwen
The secret of waiting
December 13
“The secret of waiting is that the seed has been planted, that something has begun.”
-Henri J. M. Nouwen
Exploring the Shamanistic Roots of The Five Agreements
AD writes: “Can you tell me about The Five Agreements? I have found out the author is a nagual shaman and it originates with the Toltic religion and culture. To me this is very New Age and someone close to me is encouraging me to buy into this.”
For God
December 12
Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe
“The Word of God is present in [Mary], dwells within her, and takes hold of all the capabilities of her intelligence, her heart, her sensibility. Her entire being is mobilized by God and for God.”
-Fr. Marie-Dominique Philippe, O.P.
Troubled Nebraska Priest Stabbed to Death in Rectory
Father Stephen Gutgsell, 65, was stabbed to death in the rectory of St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Fort Calhoun, Nebraska on December 10. The murder of Father Gutgsell, who had a troubled past, marks the 100th attack on Catholic churches in 2023.
Waiting patiently
December 11
“Waiting patiently in expectation is the foundation of the spiritual life.”
-Simone Weil
Onward to Bethlehem
December 10
“And when the hour had come that was to move
The long days onward to Bethlehem…
a moment paused,
Above a quiet place, and found, just this,
A woman wrapped in silence, and the seed
Of silence was her heart that tried to give
All that it held to give, and ever more.”
-John W. Lynch, Excerpt from A Woman Wrapped in Silence
The coming of life
December 9
“The Father of mercies willed that the Incarnation should be preceded by assent on the part of the predestined mother, so that just as a woman had a share in the coming of death so also should a woman contribute to the coming of life.’
-Lumen Gentium #56
