Helen Keller with Anne Sullivan in 1888 (Photo courtesy of Wikicommons)By Ellen Mongan
“I long to accomplish a great and noble task, but it is my chief duty to accomplish small tasks, as if they were great and noble.” Who do you think said that? St. Therese, the little flower of Jesus? St. Teresa of Calcutta? St. Teresa of Avila? No! The correct answer is Helen Keller.
Declared Venerable by His Holiness Pope Saint John Paul II on December 20, 1999, Concepcion Cabrera de Armida (Conchita) (1862-1937), born in Mexico, into a pious Catholic family, was a married woman, mother of nine children, foundress of the five Works of the Cross and a great mystic of the Mexican Church.
In the eyes of the world, Ash Wednesday is the day when people with “dirty foreheads” appear in supermarkets and cafes and order fish instead of steak. But in the eyes of the faithful, this day is the beginning of a season designed to make the weak-kneed-but-willing into true champions.
Believe it or not, we were created for happiness. It’s supposed to be our normal state. As St. John of the Cross teaches, we’re supposed to be happy to the point of “always walking in festivity, inwardly and outwardly.” If this is the case, why are we so unhappy?
by Laurie PuhnAre you looking for a meaningful Valentine’s Day without spending a dime? Share the gifts below!
by Judy ClarkThe Situation
Tom and Maribeth are college sweethearts married 29 years. They feel they have a stable marriage that has involved raising four children. It has been a wild ride of parenthood with a few hair-raising experiences. Still, they both agree that all four have been successfully launched into adulthood. And now that their youngest has recently married, they are truly an “empty nest” marriage, not just the “shifting nest” of college years and a few years beyond.
Everything about the young girl named Bernadette Soubirous spoke of humility. If anyone had told her struggling parents how widely her name would become known, they never would have believed it. Yet it was this simple, virtually uneducated girl who had been chosen to receive the highest of privileges.
By Kathleen BeckmanScripture reminds us, “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8). Christ chose the Twelve (Apostles) to do the same.
Commentary by Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
In the past two weeks, the Catholic faithful have been handed a plate full of truly revolting fodder - a group of Catholic high schoolers were left undefended while being unjustly skewered by the press, and a so-called “Catholic” governor got away with a mere slap on the wrist for imposing a barbaric abortion law. Who wouldn’t be low on morale after being forced to swallow such disgusting fare?
By Ellen MonganEvery Christian faith walk takes you on a journey; journeys where you are asked to take Jesus’s nail-scarred hand and trust Him to lead you. Jesus leads you to the very heart of our loving Heavenly Father.
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