"When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly a sound came from heaven like the rush of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire, distributed and resting on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance." -Acts 2: 2-4
"Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven. And they worshiped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple blessing God." - Luke 24:50
by Theresa CavicchioTraveling back in time two thousand or so years, to the Holy Land, we come upon a small, unassuming Galilean village called Nazareth, “Village of the Shoot,” its name evoking the hope for a Messiah prophesied by Isaiah: “There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse (Is 11:1)” (Mike Aquilina, St. Joseph and His World).
A recent Facebook post shared this urgent prayer intention by one outspoken priest:
"The police are afraid to be police The priests are afraid to be priests The Christians are afraid to be Christians The Americans are afraid to be Americans God, grant us the gift of fortitude to stand up against our oppressors."
St. Catherine of Siena would probably agree with his sentiment. She once declared, “We’ve had enough of exhortation to be silent! Cry out with a hundred thousand tongues. I see that the world is rotten because of silence.”
The story of St. George is the stuff of legend. He lived during the reign of the Emporer Diocletian from 275 - 303. He was a knight, a soldier, and a dragon slayer. This Friday is his feast day and how apropos that he is one of the saints featured in The Rosary: Your Weapon for Spiritual Warfare, the book we pull our weekly meditations from during our Women of Grace Rosary Crusade.
This Friday we celebrate the Feast of St. Bernadette Soubirous. She was the humble, peasant girl, on whom was bestowed one of the greatest of earthly blessings...to be visited and spoken to by Our Blessed Mother, Mary. It is a remarkable story that sadly, even many Catholics, are not familiar with.
Mary Magdalene stayed outside the tomb weeping. And as she wept, she bent over into the tomb and saw two angels in white sitting there, one at the head and one at the feet where the Body of Jesus had been. And they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken my Lord, and I don’t know where they laid him.” When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus there, but did not know it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?” She thought it was the gardener and said to him, “Sir, if you carried him away, tell me where you laid him, and I will take him.” Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni,” which means Teacher. Jesus said to her, “Stop holding on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am going to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” Mary went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord,” and then reported what he had told her. -Jn 20:11-18 (via USCCB)
by Ellen MonganJesus walked the path of suffering alone. Almost all His friends ran away. Some betrayed Him. Some denied Him. Some just stood by and watched from afar. Few who knew Him offered a helping hand.
by Theresa CavicchioFor Christians all over the world, meditating on the crucifix takes on an even greater significance during the season of Lent, and particularly so as we approach the holiest days of our Church year. One crucifix which lends itself to reflection on a deeply spiritual level is the one known as the San Damiano Crucifix.
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