A botanica shop in Massachusetts
JJ writes: “I live in a largely Hispanic section of town and there is a botanica shop here that sells a lot of Catholic items such as rosaries and statues along with items associated with Santeria. Is it okay to buy from these shops?”
The skyline of Jersey City where multiple acts of desecration of Catholic churches have occurred in the past year.
The face of a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary was found smeared with dog feces outside of a downtown Jersey City, NJ church. It was the fourth act of desecration to occur in the area in the past year.
The discovery of more than 2,200 preserved fetal remains on the property of the late abortionist Dr. Ulrich George Klopfer has shocked the nation and caused pro-life leaders to demand answers to why these babies were preserved, if their mothers knew that their babies’ remains would be treated like this, and how to make sure this doesn’t happen again.
September 16
“Jesus, transform me, miserable and sinful as I am, into your own self…”
-St. Faustina Kowalska
Today’s Reflection:
Jesus desires that each of us become a temple in which He dwells continually and that we be transformed into His very image and likeness. How will you take this great gift and imbue the world with His presence?
September 15
“The priest says ‘Let us give thanks to the Lord.’ Certainly we ought to give thanks to God for having invited us, unworthy as we are, to so great a gift; for God having reconciled us to Himself when we were His enemies; for having made us His adopted sons by the Spirit.”
-St. Cyril of Alexandria (350 AD)
Today’s Reflection:
What does this quote from St. Cyril tell you about the reason for giving thanks to the Lord during Holy Mass.
September 14
“How sweet the [Eucharistic] presence of Jesus to the longing, harassed soul! It is instant peace, and balm to every wound.”
-St. Elizabeth Ann Seton
Today’s Reflection:
Dear Lord,
How many times have I experienced the healing balm of Your Presence, both in the Eucharist and through Your Word in Sacred Scripture! Plunge me ever deeper into the Sacred Mysteries, that they may produce abundant
fruit in my life. Amen.
CB writes: “I was wondering if you have ever heard of Bio-Meridian (testing), our chiropractor has recently offered it in his office. I reminded me of Bio-Feedback that I heard about many years ago. I am trying to dissuade my husband from having it done.”
The preliminary hearing in the case against Sandra Merritt, the woman who assisted David Daleiden in exposing the sale of fetal body parts by the abortion industry, is revealing even more horrors about this heartless practice.
September 13
“The assembly should prepare itself to encounter its Lord and to become ‘a people well disposed.’ The preparation of hearts is the joint work of the Holy Spirit and the assembly, especially of its ministers. The grace of the Holy Spirit seeks to awaken faith, conversion of heart, and adherence to the Father’s will. These dispositions are the precondition both for the reception of other graces conferred in the celebration itself and the fruits of new life which the celebration is intended to produce afterward.”
-Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 1098
Today’s Reflection:
What is the role of the Holy Spirit in preparing us to encounter the Lord through the Sacred Liturgy?
The Commission for the Doctrine of the Faith for Spain’s Bishops Conference has issued a document warning Catholics that they risk abandoning the faith by using mindfulness and other methods of meditation that do not originate in Christianity.
