While he was still a long way off, his father caught sight of him, and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him. Luke 15:20 Are you as struck as I am by the love of the father in this Sunday’s Gospel reading, the Parable of the Prodigal Son, Luke 15:1-32? After the sinful son comes to his senses (Luke 15:17), he examines his conscience, prepares to confess his…
Penitent Magdalen, Jesus forgave you of much. Pray for us that we might learn to accept the Lord’s forgiveness like you. Restored Magdalen, Jesus healed you of seven demons. Pray for us that the Lord will heal our dark places, too. Loving Magdalen, your healing and restoration led to a great love for the Lord. Pray for us that we might love Jesus more and more. Devoted Magdalen, you peacefully sat at the Lord’s feet…
Listen, my faithful children: open up your petals, like roses planted near running waters, Send up the sweet odor of incense, break forth in blossoms like the lily. Send up the sweet odor of your hymn of praise; bless the Lord for all he has done! – Sirach 39:13-14 A few years ago I started a Mary garden. It’s just a simple collection of plants that are associated with our Blessed Mother. As we prepare…
The rosary is an ideal tool for spiritual warfare. When the Israelites marched against their enemies, they carried the Ark of the Covenant with them, blowing trumpets announcing the Lord’s presence: “So Joshua the son of Nun called the priests and said to them, ‘Take up the ark of the covenant, and let seven priests bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the Lord.’ And he said to the people, ‘Go forward;…
Come see a man who told me everything I have done. – John 4:29 This week in our Lenten adventure we travel to Jacob’s well in the land of Samaria. Jesus stopped at the well and along came a woman coming to draw water in the middle of the day. The other women did this task together in the cool of the morning. But this woman was alone. When we hear about her life we…
Here is a list of 7 practical tips for how to live out the new evangelization in your own walk of life. First, in case you missed them, here are the last two blog posts for some context: Mission of Mercy and Christian Witness. 1. Encounter the Mercy and Love of God Witnessing to Christ means that you have a relationship with Him and want to invite others to encounter His love and mercy for…
Those who perceive in themselves this kind of divine spark which is the artistic vocation—as poet, writer, sculptor, architect, musician, actor and so on—feel at the same time the obligation not to waste this talent but to develop it, in order to put it at the service of their neighbour and of humanity as a whole. – Letter of St. Pope John Paul II to Artists To be a true artist is to be inspired…
Then I acknowledged my sin to you, my guilt I covered not. I said, “I confess my faults to the Lord,” and you took away the guilt of my sin. Psalm 32:5 This is the last Sunday before Lent, which begins this Wednesday. Lent is a time to prepare ourselves to celebrate Easter. It is an especially good time to examine our lives and bring the Lord anything that is “unclean” in our hearts and…
Recently I was inspired to create a Mary Garden to honor Our Lady, especially because May is dedicated to Mary. I decided to make a tiny potted garden in a small, secluded spot in my yard where I like to pray and read. As I began researching different flowers and their various Marian names legends, I realized that many of the plants we have around our home have Marian names and meanings. So, it is…
If you are like me, you may be missing receiving our Lord in the Eucharist during this Coronavirus pandemic. Psalm 42 nearly completely sums up my longing to receive Jesus in this moment of worldwide crisis. “As the deer longs for streams of water, so my soul longs for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, the living God. When can I enter and see the face of God?” ~Psalm 42:2-3 I truly rely…