February 10
""Love is not a sentiment or feeling. Love is actively willing the good of the other."
-Father Robert Barron
February 9
"A word or a smile is often enough to put fresh life in a despondent soul."
-St. Therese of Lisieux
When it comes to following God’s will, the most challenging task can be figuring out just what His will is. Of course, prayer is a vitally important tool in this discernment process. Best case scenario: we ask God to disclose His plan for us, and circumstances fall into place, quickly and effortlessly, to lead us in the right direction.
Commentary by Susan Brinkmann, OCDSIn the age of the #Metoo movement and women taking a stand against sexual abuse, it’s not surprising that a boycott is already underway against the latest and, hopefully, last film rendition of the sado-masochistic “love” story known as Fifty Shades which one critic likened to “a bad Tinder date that lasted three years.”
It is natural to express thanksgiving for being released from difficult trials and circumstances. But who would be grateful for those who cause such difficult trials or circumstances? This is the stuff of saints — the very stuff of which Saint Josephine Bakhita was made.
Commentary by Susan Brinkmann, OCDSA New Jersey couple, who invested $25K and sacrificed the lives of four other embryos to insure they would have a baby girl, are just one example among many who see nothing wrong with a new trend called “family balancing.”
February 8
“If you want to bring happiness to the whole world, go home and love your family.”
-St. Teresa of Calcutta
The Congregation for the Causes of Saints has approved a second miracle attributed to the intercession of Blessed Pope Paul VI which could allow his canonization to take later place this year.
BD writes: “Some Catholic friends of mine, who believe in reincarnation, say that the Church is ‘open’ to it and believe this is why they never issued an official condemnation. Is this true?”
