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Don't you just love those prayer apps? Having a smartphone is like having a Bible, the Catechism, and your favorite prayer book in your pocket at all times. But there’s a downside. When you’re steeped in iBreviary and that notice flashes across the screen telling you “Amelia just responded to your Facebook post,” whether you tap on it or not, your smartphone just became a distraction.

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July 10

“When Ephraim made many altars to expiate sin, his altars became occasions of sin. Though I write for him my many ordinances, they are considered as a stranger’s.” Close your eyes and think about the last time you tried to do something without God.  Finding friends, starting relationships, looking for a new job, going on a vacation…how easy it is for us to do things without inviting God to go there first to prepare the field for sowing. Now, what about the times you have tried to eradicate sin from your life on your own, especially those things that have such deep roots?  What does it look like when we do this…or anything…without Him?  We fail.  And the things we wanted so bad don’t last because they aren’t fruitful…and the things we wanted to disappear keep coming back because it is impossible to remove the weeds without the gardener.

What if you tried to do things differently from today on?  What if you invited God to join you on this journey each step of the way?  What if you sought Him and trusted He would give you the desires of your heart?  And what if you recognized that your sins have already been paid for?  But without His mercy and grace and forgiveness, you will keep drowning with the chains of sin tied around your ankles.

Lord, I invite you to come with me from now on as I journey this life.  Father, bring me the friendships and community that can bring me closer to You…those individuals that I can also be an instrument for.  Give me the grace to trust in Your providence and goodness…that You will provide the desires of my heart.  Fill me with the joy that transcends my own expectations.  Remove all temptation and desire for sin from my heart and break the chains that pull me under.

Amen!

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Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who was nominated by President Donald J. Trump to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court, was unabashed about his faith and Catholic upbringing in his acceptance speech.

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July 10

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DN writes: “Lately my kids & I have come across white feathers in odd places that I know I’ve cleaned in my house. My mom (all Italian) says this is someone from Heaven? Is this true?”

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July 9

“I will allure her...and speak to her heart.”

This passage from Hosea got me thinking about marriage and what it means to speak to another’s heart. God speaks to ours, so we are to speak to each other’s. What does this look like?

“I will espouse you to me forever: I will espouse you in right and in justice, in love and in mercy; I will espouse you in fidelity, and you shall know the Lord.”

When a man and woman enter into marriage, they are espoused to each other. And if they’re speaking to each other’s heart, they are gently sharing a language of righteousness and justice, love and mercy, fidelity and honor... a language that leads the other to our Lord.

Each grows closer to our Father through that tender love of the other’s heart. What a gift He has given us in our vocations to speak into and through the heart of another!

Today, who’s heart is God calling you to speak to? Is it through prayer? Forgiveness? Conversation? Sacrifice?

Ask Him to show you the heart He wants you to shower with love and listen to His call!

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In anticipation of tonight’s announcement about who will be nominated to fill a vacant Supreme Court seat, the U.S. Bishops have sent a letter to the U.S. Senate expressing strong objections to subjecting judicial nominees to a litmus test in support of Roe v. Wade, or to using a nominee’s faith as a proxy for their views on the country’s most controversial ruling.

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July 9

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In response to an uptick in the number of women requesting permission to dedicate themselves to God as consecrated virgins, the Vatican has issued revised guidelines on this ancient and sacred path known as the Ordo virginum (Order of virgins).

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