"Our will -freely choosing to hold on to anger, bitterness, resentment, and hostility - becomes an impenetrable fortress preventing God's life from entering our heart, which, through the privation of grace, becomes stony, hard, and cold. This interior reality eventually affects all aspects of our being."
Johnnette Benkovic
For Reflection:
How is our free will an integral part of the forgiveness process? What am I choosing in relation to those who have disappointed, hurt, offended, or injured me? Is my heart stony, hard, and cold toward them? How is this affecting me in other ways?
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Regarding the boy who stabbed her to death when she would not cooperate with his desire to rape her:
"I forgive Alessandro. I forgive him with all my heart; and I want him to be with me in heaven."
St. Maria Goretti
For Reflection:
If this precious young woman can forgive her murderer, who am I to hold on to the offenses committed against me?
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"The saints had no hatred, no bitterness. They forgave everything."
For Reflection:
Do I truly want to be a saint?
(See tomorrow's Grace Line for a young girl who did and proved it.)
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The priests and parishioners at St. Raymond's parish in Downey, California staged an "Occupy Christmas" event at a busy local mall where they fell on their knees in the middle of the mall and began to reverence the Eucharist.
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The U.S. Senate has voted to block President Obama's appointment of Mari Carmen Aponte as ambassador to El Salvador because of her attempts to push homosexual values on the country.
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A new report released yesterday reveals that 24 people per minute are victims of rape, physical violence, or stalking by an intimate partner in the United States, amounting to more than 12 million men and women per year.
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A 60 year-old woman convicted of practicing magic and sorcery, which is considered a crime punishable by death that country, was executed on December 12 in Saudi Arabia.
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"We should love and feel compassion for those who oppose us, since they harm themselves and do us good, and adorn us with crowns of everlasting glory."
St. Anthony Zaccaria
For Reflection:
I will reflect on this quote and meditate on its wisdom. How does this change my attitude and disposition of heart toward those who offend, injure, or hurt me?
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A sealed box containing evidence of a miraculous healing of a seemingly stillborn baby in Illinois is on its way to Rome where it will be considered as a possible miracle attributable to the intercession of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen.
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The number of couples who are choosing to marry in this country has dropped to record lows as more people opt for cohabitation or to delay marriage.
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