By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Journalist
As lawmakers head back to the Capitol this week for an epic budget battle that could end with the defunding of abortion giant Planned Parenthood, a flood of pro-life and pro-family bills are already sweeping through state houses as newly elected conservatives begin to take action.
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"To look at everything only in a human way, and not in the light of faith, is like looking through the opposite end of binoculars - instead of making everything look larger and closer, everything looks smaller and farther away."
S. C. Biela
For Reflection:
To what extent do I see the world through the light of faith? How does the light of faith give the world its proper proportions?Â
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"You must be persuaded that your sinful past is in no way an obstacle to very close union with God. God forgives, and His forgiveness is Divine. With the Angels, God was not merciful because they had no miseries. With us, who are full of miseries, God is infinitely merciful."
Blessed Columba Marmion
For Reflection:
Do I consider my past to be a sinful one? Is there one particular sin from the past that continues to haunt me? How can God's mercy toward me in this regard be a stepping stone to greater union with Him?
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"You know, if you are bit by a chained dog, you can't blame the dog. If you put yourself in temptation and you fall you cannot blame anyone but yourself. The devil has been chained, but when you go live in his pen, you are risking eternity."
Mother Angelica
For Reflection:
What has been my most recent fall through temptation? Did I place myself in the devil's pen? In what way? What resolution can I now make to prevent this fall from happening again?
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Here at Women of Grace® we L-O-V-E Our Lady. She is the model whom we look to as THE woman of grace. In fact Mary is at the core of our Foundational Study
Full of Grace: Women and the Abundant Life.
What is it about Our Mother Mary that makes her the exemplar of what it means to be a disciple AND a woman of grace? Today's Feast of the Annunciation highlights her greatest attribute, her complete and total "Yes" to God. A passage from the book
Full of Grace briefly summarizes the greatness of Mary's fiat and how we as women are to follow her example:
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"Abandonment requires us to rest in Jesus in all the circumstances of our life, without exception, and it has its foundation in divine love."
Father Hubert
For Reflection:
On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being "not abandoned at all" and 10 being "completely abandoned," how would I rate my abandonment to Jesus of my life's circumstances? What makes me hold on? What does this tell me about my understanding of divine love?
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from Gethsemene
Prone in Gethsemene upon His face, --
His eyelids closed, -- lay Christ of all our world, --
The winds with endless sorrows seemed enswirled;
A little fountain murmured of its pain
Reflecting the pale sickle of the moon; --
Then was the hour when the Angel brought
From God's high throne the Cup of bitter horn,
While on His hands tears trembling fell like rain.
Before the Christ a cross arose on high;
He saw His own young body hanging there
Mangled, distorted; knotted ropes half-tear
The sinews from their sockets; saw He nigh
The jagged nails' hot rage, the direful Crown
Upon His head, and every dripping thorn
Red-laden, as in fury of its scorn
The thunder battered all kind voices down.
He heard the pattering drops, as from the cross
A piteous sobbing whispered and grew still.
Then Jesus sighed, and every pore did spill
A bloody sweat ---
Annette Von Droste- Hulshoff
(1797-1848)
For Reflection:
Take this poem into your prayer time meditation as you consider the great gift of our redemption. How is Jesus speaking to me in it?Â
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"Two criminals were crucified with Christ. One was saved; do not despair. One was not; do not presume."
Saint Augustine
For Reflection:
In what way(s) do I find myself in both criminals?
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Our thanks to VP who shared this information about an exercise program that does not involve any New Age ideas. I checked out the site and it's clean! Enjoy!
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By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Journalist
The ongoing nuclear power plant crisis in Japan has prompted a Vatican official to warn that even though nuclear power is an immense resource, its risks must not be overlooked.
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