Eye witnesses to the "Miracle of the Sun."From the earliest times, the history of the Church is studded with appearances of the Blessed Virgin Mary. One such apparition happened when Our Lady appeared to three shepherd children in the small hamlet of Cova da Iria in Fatima, Portugal.
I've always loved St. Thérèse of Lisieux. From the time I heard her story as a child in Catholic grade-school, her story and writings have resonated in my soul. So much did I love our "Little Flower" that I composed a prayer card in her honor when I was eight years old, which you can read below.
During his recent speech to Congress, Pope Francis highlighted Dorothy Day, saying, "In these times when social concerns are so important, I cannot fail to mention the Servant of God Dorothy Day, who founded the Catholic Worker Movement,” He continued, “Her social activism, her passion for justice and for the cause of the oppressed, were inspired by the Gospel, her faith, and the example of the saints.”
It was a tremendous blessing for me to have the opportunity to meet Dr. Gianna Emmanuela Molla, the daughter of St Gianna Beretta Molla at this week's World Meeting of Families. She was there representing the St. Gianna Physician’s Guild, whose mission is to unite and encourage Catholic physicians, and those in the health care profession, to promote and defend Catholic principles in a public way by word and example, and to inspire sanctification in their lives. Her inner beauty and humility radiates through her as she carries on the legacy of her mother, who was herself a Catholic physician.
Recently, we celebrated the Feast of St. Charles Lwanga and twenty one Ugandan martyrs. Charles and his young companions converted to Christianity from paganism. Sentenced to death under king Mwanga, who felt threatened because they would not bow to him, make sacrifices to his pagan gods or succumb to his sexual advances, they exhibited the kind of courage, strength, and fortitude necessary to be witnesses for Our Lord, Jesus Christ, in a moment when great sin abounded.
The three children had been tending their sheep the day before in the Cova da Iria, a portion of the land owned by Antonio dos Santos, Lucia’s father. Suddenly, something like lightning flashed in the blue sky and frightened them. The children ran for cover. Another flash, very close, and they ran again. When they stopped, there on top of a small evergreen tree was a large ball of light engulfing a beautiful woman, “a Lady of all white, more brilliant than the sun dispensing light…”
In addition to those suggested in our slideshow, following is a list of resources that I recommended on Women of Grace Live, Ash Wednesday, March 5. Each of these is structured in such a way that it is perfect for a daily devotional during this Holy Season of Lent. They also are great resources for increasing our life of faith and strengthening our interior life. My prayer is that you find them so useful, you continue to use them once this Holy Season is over. Most of them are available through EWTN Religious Cataglogue or on our website.
One of my favorite books for Lectio-Divina (see Week One of the Advent Study) is Divine Intimacy, by Father Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalene.This book provides meditations on the interior life for every day of the liturgical year. I have found it to be very efficacious.
One of the meditations offered by Father Gabriel for the fourth week of Advent is entitled, The Call to the Apostolate.
In it, he offers an insightful perspective of the Christian call to evangelization based on the words of St. John the Baptist, "Prepare ye the way of the Lord" (Luke 3: 4). In the end, he tells us that "Jesus has need of us." When I read these words, they infused me with zeal.
Because I found this meditation so spiritually benefiicial, today I'd like to share with you what Father Gabriel presents.
St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (St. Edith Stein) wrote, "On the question of relation to our fellow men -- our neighbor's spiritual need transcends every commandment. Everything else we do is a means to an end. But love is an end already, since God is love."These words express a great truth and they should be at the heart of every action we perform for another, especially as we seek to enter more deeply into the very heart of God given to us through His Son, Jesus Christ.
St. Augustine wrote,"Love has hands to help others. It has feet to hasten to the poor and needy. It has eyes to see misery and want. It has ears to hear the sighs and sorrows of men. This is what love looks like."
