“Now as they went on their way, [Jesus] entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying. But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, ‘Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me.’ But the Lord answered her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her’” (Lk 10:38-42, NRSV).
Category Archives: Living on Grace
House Blessing
Short Deliverance Prayer
for blessing your home with Blessed Salt
“Dear Lord Jesus, in the power of your Name, which is the Name above all other names, and by Your Word that you have given every believer ‘authority over evil spirits,’ I bind and reject all evil from me and from my home. I seal myself, and all who are here, in your most holy and precious blood that you shed on the cross for us and ask that we be made invisible to the enemy. Please pour forth the power of your Holy Spirit upon me and my home, and loose your holy angels to encamp around us to protect us.”
(Sprinkle the blessed salt in every area of your home, praising God as you do so)
Scripture references:
Philippians 2:9; Luke 10:17-20; Hebrews 13:20; Matthew 18:18; Luke 11:13; Psalm 91:11
–From the Women’s Christian Fellowship Retreat 2009
Saint Kateri Tekakwitha: Given Entirely to Jesus
“I am no longer my own. I have given myself entirely to Jesus Christ.” Saint Kateri Tekakwitha
Enter Into His Rest
I will never forget the early days of my walk with Christ Jesus as my Lord and Savior. I sang out loud, wore a permanent smile on my face, and quoted scripture to everyone I encountered, if they wanted to hear it or not. Within my soul was a burning desire to tell the world, “He lives.”
Saint Maria Goretti and the Power of Forgiveness
St. Maria Goretti, dated 1902, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
The story of Maria Teresa Goretti, the saint whose feast we celebrate each July 6th, has been made known to many since her untimely death on that date in 1902. The 11-year old peasant girl died as a result of injuries inflicted by Alessandro Serenelli, a young man determined to force her to submit to his inappropriate advances. When she resisted, crying, “No! No! It is a sin!” he stabbed her repeatedly, a total of fourteen times. Maria underwent unsuccessful surgery without benefit of anesthesia and died the following day, after receiving her greatly-desired First Communion.
In Honor of the Greatest Earthly Father Ever: Consecration to Saint Joseph
Sometimes, when it is most needed, the Holy Spirit inspires a new book just brimming with the capacity to effect great positive change, not only in the Catholic world, but even more important, in the world at large. The recently released Consecration to St. Joseph: The Wonders of Our Spiritual Father, by Father Donald Calloway, MIC, is just such a book. In circulation only since January 2020, it has produced a ripple effect for good, much needed for this troubled time in our Church and our world.
A Daddy’s Girl Forever
As I recount the memories of my dad through the eyes of a “daddy’s girl,” a smile easily forms. I will always be a “daddy’s girl,” even though my father has gone to be with Jesus. If you are a “daddy’s girl” too, you will know exactly what I mean. A “daddy’s girl” is a daughter who will always be “the apple of dad’s eye!” In her mind she is sure that daddy “hung the moon.” No matter how small in stature he is, a “daddy’s girl” knows with certainty her dad always has her back and will catch her when she falls.
Saint Anthony of Padua: Master of Sacred Scripture
“All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for refutation, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that one who belongs to God may be competent, equipped for every good work” (2 Tim 3:16-17).
He Always Brings the Music
“Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, ‘Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” He said in reply, ‘I tell you, if they keep silent, the stones will cry out!'” (Luke 19:39-40)
The Holy Spirit and Mary: Lessons for Pentecost
by Kathleen Beckman
She, who at the start of the Redemption gave us her Son, now by her most powerful intercession obtained for the newborn Church the prodigious Pentecostal outpouring of the Spirit of the Divine Redeemer who had already been given on the Cross. Pius XII, Mystici Corporis, 29 June 1943
