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"Chastity - the virtue that regulates one's sexual thoughts, desires, and actions. Primarily a natural virtue, chastity helps one to see the dignity of other persons as children of God and not as sexual objects." Catholic Dictionary For Reflection: Chastity can be a difficult virtue to acquire. How does our current culture make it even more difficult? How have I personally experienced the difficulty? What am I willing to do about it? 

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O Jesus, meek and humble of heart, hear me. From the desire of being esteemed, deliver me, O Jesus. From the desire of being loved, deliver me, O Jesus. From the desire of being extolled, deliver me, O Jesus. From the desire of being honored, deliver me, O Jesus. From the desire of being praised, deliver me, O Jesus. From the desire of being preferred to others, deliver me, O Jesus. From the desire of being consulted, deliver me, O Jesus. From the desire of being approved, deliver me, O Jesus. From the fear of being humiliated, deliver me, O Jesus. From the fear of being despised, deliver me, O Jesus. From the fear of suffering rebukes, deliver me, O Jesus. From the fear of being calumniated, deliver me, O Jesus. From the fear of being forgotten, deliver me, O Jesus. From the fear of being ridiculed, deliver me, O Jesus. From the fear of being wronged, deliver me, O Jesus. From the fear of being suspected, deliver me, O Jesus. That others may be esteemed more than I, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it. That, in the opinion of the world, others may increase and I may decrease, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it. That others may be chosen and I set aside, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it. That others may be preferred to me in everything, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it. That others may become holier than I, provided that I become as holy as I should, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it. Cardinal Raphael Merry Del Val For Reflection: Am I willing to pray this prayer? Why or why not?

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"The one sole thing in myself in which I glory is that I see in myself nothing in which I can glory." St. Catherine of Genoa For Reflection: St. Catherine is not denying her gifts and talents, nor the graces that God has given her. Rather, she is recognizing that all that she has belongs to God and comes from God. To what extent do her words resonate with me?

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BY writes: "You mention yoga pretty often on your program, and there's one thing that I've never heard from you, that you might want to include in your arguments. It will help you when talking to people who want to do the physical part only. The physical is Hatha Yoga and the meditative is Rajah Yoga. There is an old saying in yoga itself - "No hatha without rajah; no rajah without hatha". This clearly says that it is impossible to divorce the physical from the meditative, according to the philosophy itself. If they say it can't be done, then it definitely can't be done."

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"Christ shines into the bottom of the humble heart; for Christ is always moved by helplessness whenever a man complains of it and lays it before Him with humility." Blessed Jan Van Ruysbroeck For Reflection: Am I willing to admit that I am helpless? Where am I helpless today? Can I lay it before Christ and wait patiently for His light to shine within me that I might find His way and His truth?

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"In detachment, the spirit finds quiet and repose for coveting nothing. Nothing wearies it by elation, and nothing oppresses it by dejection, because it stands in the center of its own humility." St. John of the Cross For Reflection: Is my spirit "quiet" and "reposed?" To what extent, then, am I truly detached from the influences of the world and the flesh?

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God's words to St. Catherine of Sienna: "You are she who is not, and I am Who is." For Reflection: To what extent have I placed my confidence in God for all things? Which one thing do I need to give Him today?

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"I was like a stone lying in the deep mire; and He that is mighty came, and in His mercy lifted me up, and verily raised me aloft and placed me on the top of the wall." St. Patrick For Reflection: St. Patrick outlines for us the essentials for growing in humility: to see ourselves as we truly are, to realize our dependency on God, to know that it is His mercy not our power that heals us, and to place our confidence in Him. Which of these "essentials" do I most need to remember today?

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By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS Staff Journalist

A 75 year-old Washington, DC resident who lost his hearing in a fall on Father's Day, is thanking God for a miraculous restoration of hearing that occurred during the earthquake that rocked the region on Tuesday.

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By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS Staff Journalist

A Niagara Falls man with a long criminal record has been sentenced to 18 months in jail after admitting to extorting $90,000 from a Catholic priest after threatening to falsely accuse him of committing sexual abuse.

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