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“No one can suggest that God did not love the Blessed Virgin. Nevertheless, He did not exempt her from Calvary, or from making her participate in the Cross to a fuller extent than anyone else in the world except her Son. It would be foolish – to think that if God really loves us, as He does, He will exempt us from the Cross, the sign of the Christian.”

                                                                              -Federico Suarez         

For Reflection:              Christian thinking has always posited the Cross as the consummate sign of victory. We even celebrate a feast day in celebration of it – September 14, The Triumph of the Cross. How was Calvary and the Cross, Jesus greatest triumph? Mary’s? How does the Cross, then, speak of God’s love for us  -- first, in reception of the fruits it has gained for us; and second, in the entrustment of the cross we carry? To what extent does this insight lighten the burden?

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For an excellent resource regarding the Lenten Fast, click here http://www.ewtn.com/faith/lent/fast.htm

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As politicians are busy making hay out of lower unemployment figures, hidden behind the numbers are millions of Americans who have simply dropped out of the labor force and are resorting to desperate measures just to survive.

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"If I ever see this girl, I will kill her. That's a promise." This is just one example of the vile death threats being leveled against a 14 year-old girl who testified in defense of traditional marriage last month before the Maryland Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee. 

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“The well-spring of Mary’s joy is the possession of Jesus.”

                     --Sister Mare Eugenie of Jesus   

                                      

For Reflection:              Both the Pieta and the poem from yesterday portray a serene and composed image of the Blessed Mother. In both, Mary is “in possession” of Jesus, physically, spiritually, and eternally. How can this moment be for Mary, then, a well-spring of joy? Ponder this and record your reflections. How does this inspire you?

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I am pleased to announce that we have added the first E-Booklet to our On-Line Library.

It is, appropriately, on Lent and offers you insight on how to make this holy sojourn both effective and fruitfu. Have a most blessed Ash Wednesday.

http://www.womenofgrace.com/en-us/library/details.aspx?id=208

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Women are crying foul over a new law that is about to pass in the Baltimore City Council that will allow cross-dressing men to use the same public bathrooms as women.

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A shocking new report has found that more than half of all births to American women under the age of 30 are born out of wedlock with some of the sharpest increases being found among white and Hispanic women.

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Commentary by Susan Brinkmann, OCDS

Funny how reproductive issues are always described as a private matter between a woman and her doctor until it comes time to pay the bill - then it's always a very public matter.

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Tradition has it that Jesus’ body was placed in His mother’s arms after he was taken down from the Cross. This touching scene became the subject of artistic renderings around 1300, with the most famous of all being Michelangelo’s sculpture in white marble. The Pieta has been housed in St. Peter’s Basilica since the early 18^th Century.  Today’s For Reflection captures in verse what Michaelangelo’s sculpture captures in marble – a deepening insight into the mystery of Mary, Virgin and Mother, whose Son was her Savior and her God, and Whose suffering was mystically her own.

To Mary: At the Thirteenth Station

You are the priest tonight: The paten of your lap holds sacrifice. You are the priest tonight, Offering Peace and its price. Star candles burn palely bright; John is your faithful acolyte. You are the priest tonight.

                                                                  ---Raymond Roseliep          M. Thérèse. I Sing of a Maiden: The Mary Book of Verse.                                                         New York: Macmillan, 1947.

For Reflection:              How is this scene almost para- liturgical? Read Paragraphs, 783 and 1546 in the Catechism of the Catholic Church in light of the poem.  Do you think the description of Mary as priest is an apt one? What deeper insights does this give you into the mystery of Mary, her union with her Son and His sacrifice, and the suffering they shared in common?

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