"In humility there is mirrored the central mystery of the process of our transformation - the mystery that our Lord has put into these words: 'Unless the grain of wheat falling into the ground die, itself remaineth alone; but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit."
Dietrich von Hildebrand
For Reflection:
What "fruit" have some of my "dying" moments brought forth? To what extent did I see transformation in my life or in the life of others because of it? How does this give me the strength to persevere now and in the future?
By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Journalist
After several days of harsh criticism about a comment he made during his China visit about not "second-guessing" that country's brutal one-child policy, the office of Vice President Joe Biden has issued a "clarification" with the hopes of stemming the mounting backlash.
By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Journalist
A serial killer who terrorized New York City in the late 70's says he has no interest in being paroled because he is "already a free man" in Jesus Christ.
By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Journalist
The website of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is now offering sex education advice to the public, such as telling teens it's okay to experiment with homosexuality and assuring parents that even infants are "sexual beings" and therefore curious about their bodies.
"It constantly happens that the Lord permits a soul to fall so that it may grow humbler. When it is honest, and realizes what it has done, and returns, it makes ever- increasing progress in our Lord's service."
St. Teresa of Avila
For Reflection:
While this quote does not give me permission to sin, it does help me to see that God works all things to the good, and even my mistakes can be an occasion for spiritual growth. About what one situation, circumstance, failing, fault, or sin does this speak most to me about today? I will praise God for His love and never failing mercy.
If you watch the evening news, you surely caught wind of the story of a 17 year old high school student who evidently planned to kill 32 people at Freedom High School, which is located right here in the Tampa Bay Area, where our offices are located. Tampa Police Chief Jane Castor said that authorities found pipe bomb-making materials and a manifesto containing the student's minute-by-minute plan for the massacre, in which he detailed each murder he intended to commit.
Needless to say, parents, teachers, and students in Tampa and around the country were shocked and worried. If that weren't enough, just days later, a teacher from the same high school was accused of having sex with a 16 year old student at the school.
Both of these stories are very disturbing. I believe that we are only seeing the tip of the iceburg and that as economic and social conditions worsen, we will be the unfortunate witnesses of these societal ills which are rooted in the loss of respect for the human person and human sexuality, the degeneration of marriage and family life, and a general loss of morality. These are the plagues of our time.
Commentary by Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Journalist
A decision by the rector of S.S. Simon and Jude Cathedral in the Diocese of Phoenix to restrict altar servers to boys in order to encourage vocations is drawing flak from the usual dissenting groups within the Church and the print publications that give them way too much ink.
By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Journalist
Even though the state of Florida's constitution outlaws same-sex marriage, school officials at Mount Dora High School stripped a former "Teacher of the Year" recipient for defending traditional marriage on his personal Facebook page.
"God always gives a greater blessing to humble beginnings than to those that start with the chiming of bells."
St. Vincent de Paul
For Reflection:
Thank you, St. Vincent de Paul. You have helped me to see better the value of that which I see as so small and so insignificant! Lord, I give you all my "humble beginnings," all of my "small starts." Do with them what You will. Amen.
Today is the Feast of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This Feast was established by Pope Pius XII in 1954 and concludes the octave of the Feast of the Assumption. Pope Pius XII stated that,
"Jesus Christ alone, God and Man, is King in the full, proper, and absolute sense of the term. Mary also, in a restricted and only analogous way, shares in royal dignity as the Mother of Christ who is God, as His associate in the work of Redemption, in His conflict with the enemy, and in His complete victory. From this association with Christ the King, she obtains a height of splendor unequaled in all creation" (Ad Caeli Reginam, no. 25).
Wow! What a Queen Mother we have! When we place ourselves in her caring hands, she continually draws us ever more closely to Jesus, Our King. I hope that you will entrust yourself, your family, and all of your needs to the loving intercession of Mary, Our Queen. Please enjoy this beautiful prayer of Pope Pius XII:
