“I have been crucified with Christ; yet I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me …” (Gal 2:20)
This week saw the Catholic world celebrate two great angelic feasts - the Feasts of St. Michael and the Archangels and our Guardian Angels - but Christians need to be aware that the New Age has made the existence of these awesome beings into a very dangerous cottage industry.
Commentary by Susan Brinkmann, OCDSThe PC culture in America has claimed many victims, but a popular French teacher from a public high school in Williamsburg, Virginia, who was fired for refusing to use male pronouns for a female student, is determined not to be one of them and has filed suit against the school.
Angels are all the rage these days. Often depicted as plump little cherubs or New Age nymphs, put one of these winged creatures on the cover of a book or greeting card and it’s bound to sell. How much do we really know about the extraordinary beings who keep careful watch over us every day of our lives?
October 2
“From my youthful years this prayer has held an important place in my spiritual life. The Rosary has accompanied me in moments of joy and in moments of difficulty. To it I have entrusted any number of concerns: in it I have always found comfort.”
-Saint John Paul II
For Reflection:
What position does the Rosary hold in my spiritual life? Am I in a moment of joy or difficulty? Am I willing to entrust this moment to this prayer?
Know Thyself, and thy faults, and thus live. – St. AugustineMy mother had me pegged at a very young age. I remember walking into her bedroom as she put down the book Transformed Temperaments by Tim LaHaye and smiled at twelve-year-old me. “You,” she said with certainty, “are a melancholic.” It didn’t mean much then–although I remember it clearly–but years later I would come to learn and appreciate the four temperaments. Sure enough, even as a child, melancholic me was more likely to be writing poetry than playing sports or crying over a poignant novel than hanging out with friends.
We all long for peace of soul, the kind of supernatural joy that can remain steadfast and robust even in the midst of the trials and anxieties of 21st century life. How can weak little souls achieve such a lofty goal? Simple! Look to the Little Flower of Lisieux who pioneered a path to this coveted peace that is specifically designed to fit the needs of “little souls” like us.
The seeds of the Little Flower, the beloved Saint Therese of Lisieux (1873-1897), were planted in unquestionably holy soil. The sanctity of her family is evidenced by the holiness of her parents, Louis and Zelie Martin, both canonized saints of the Catholic Church. All five of their daughters dedicated their lives to Christ by entering religious Orders; four, including Therese, as Carmelites.
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