by Theresa Cavicchio
On December 8, 2020, Catholics around the world celebrated the beautiful feast of the Immaculate Conception of Our Lady. Each year on that date, we commemorate the singular grace bestowed upon the Mother of God, her preservation from any stain of sin from the first moment of her conception.
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In my reliquary, I have a first-class relic of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, the first native-born American to be canonized. I find it appropriate that a woman was the first of our land to be lifted to the altar of Christ by Holy Mother Church. After all, our country and all of North America is dedicated to the woman: the Blessed Virgin Mary under her title of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Our special patroness is also the Blessed Mother under her name, Immaculate Conception.
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January 4
"Then the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves aprons."
- Gen. 3:7
For Reflection
What effect did the sin of disobedience have on Adam and Eve? What ripple effect did that have on the whole of mankind? How does disobedience impact you in your day to day walk with God? What remedies can you employ today to grow in humility and obedience to God's will?
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January 3
"So God created man in His own image."
-Genesis 1:26
For Reflection
What does this passage tell us about ourselves and who we were created to be? What does it tell you about all of human life?
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January 2
"God is love."
-John 4:16
For Reflection
What is love? What are its characteristics? What is the true purpose of love? Where did you see love operating in your life in 2020? How will you love
more in 2021?
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January 1
Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life."
- John 3:16
For Reflection
Why would God do such a thing even as man often stubbornly opposes His divine will? As we enter this New Year, how can you more freely accept God's amazing gift to us, Jesus Christ? Ask Mary, Mother of God, to intercede for you to have greater receptivity to every grace and blessing that He desires to give you in this New Year and new decade.
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December 31
Eve of the Feast of Mary, Mother of God
Mother benign of our redeeming Lord,
Star of the sea and portal of the skies,
Unto thy fallen people help afford –
Fallen, but striving still anew to rise.
Thou who dids’t once, while wond’ring
worlds adored,
Bear thy Creator, Virgin then as now,
O by thy holy joy at Gabriel’s word,
Pity the sinners who before thee bow.
-Roman Breviary, Antiphon of the Blessed Virgin
For Reflection
Spend some quiet moments with Mary by reflecting on this antiphon. Journal your reflections.
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December 30
"God could make a bigger world or a wider sky, but He could not raise a pure creature higher than Mary, for the dignity of Mother of God is the highest dignity that can be conferred on a creature.”
-St. Bonaventure
For Reflection
Pray the prayer of Consecration to Jesus Through Mary by St. Louis Grignion de Montfort. Jot down any insights, reflections, inspirations that come to you through this prayer. Adopt this prayer as your own for the next year or write your own prayer of consecration to Jesus through Mary. Add this to your list of resolutions for the coming new year.
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By Ellen Mongan
The best Christmas gifts are not always found under a tree rather they are discovered along the journey. This Christmas season Deacon Pat and I found ourselves homeless and alone. Our home in Viera, Florida sold miraculously in just one week without a realtor. Thirty days later we closed on our Florida home and that chapter of our life.
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December 29
“The first thing which kindles ardor in learning is the greatness of the teacher. What is greater than the Mother of God? What more glorious than she whom Glory Itself chose?”
-St. Ambrose of Milan
For Reflection
What has Mary taught me in the “course” of this past year? What lesson is she “kindling” in me now? What lesson would I like her to teach me in this coming year? I will formulate a request to her and add it to my list of resolutions.
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