By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Journalist
The church approved apparition site of Our Lady of Akita, in which Our Lady predicted a number of calamities even worse than the March 11 quake that destroyed parts of Japan, was spared major damage in spite of being located in one of the hardest hit areas of the country.
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By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Journalist
The nuclear crisis in Japan has become critical as a third explosion sends plumes of radioactivity into the air and government officials are telling people to remain inside and make their homes as airtight as possible.
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"It is human to fall, but angelic to rise again."
St. Mary Euphrasia Pelletier
For Reflection:
Ah, where does this bring hope to me today?
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By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Journalist
Jeanne Monahan, Director of the Center for Human Dignity at the Family Research Council, says there have been a number of media outlets reporting on a link between the morning after pill and an increase in the number of young girls who are developing heart disease.
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By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Journalist
Bishop Martin Tetsuo Hirago, of the hard hit diocese of Sendai, Japan, said the tragic 9.0 earthquake and resulting tsunami that struck the area last Friday has had "a strong emotional impact on society," and has left one priest dead of a heart attack.
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By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Journalist
Even though it was widely expected to pass, Maryland's same-sex marriage bill will be shelved for another year after a last minute effort from black churches and the Maryland Catholic Conference influenced a majority of House members to turn against the bill.
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By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Journalist
Under cover of darkness, Father Frank Pavone, national director of Priests for Life, arrived in Ontario, Canada, Sunday night to rescue Baby Joseph Maraachli from the London Health Sciences Centre and see him safely transferred to a Catholic hospital in St. Louis.
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"The mission of the priest is to save souls. But he cannot do this effectively unless he has helpers. Now woman, by reason of her deeply religious nature and her power over man, is ideally suited for this task. She should, therefore, joyfully and methodically cooperate with the clergy in the noble task of extending Christ's Kingdom on earth.
Rev. James Alberione
For Reflection:
In what one way can I cooperate with the clergy "in the noble task of extending Christ's Kingdom on earth?"
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"The soul about to receive Holy Communion should be pure, that it may be purified; alive, that it may be quickened; just, that it may be justified; ready, that it may be incorporated with God uncreated who was made Man, and that it may be one with Him unto all eternity."
Blessed Angela of Foligno
For Reflection:
What is the state of my soul today? Am I "ready" to receive Holy Communion?
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"The isolation of my soul, the constant and painful injuries caused by those who are hostile or indifferent, especially when they are near and dear to me, the sadness of feeling unequal to the great task to be accomplished, the sufferings of my heart, the difficulties of my life, the misery of my physical weakness - this is the rugged soil, my God, in which Thou wilt cause joy to grow."
Elisabeth Leseur
For Reflection:
What is the "soil" out of which God desires to grow joy in my life?
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