LL asks: “Is the Hormonology app okay to use? It’s about tracking a woman’s menstrual cycle, but it refers to a Hormone Horoscope. Is this connected with Astrology?”
Monthly Archives: December 2020
My Soul Doth Magnify the Lord
December 17
He might be born, and see the stars through eyes
That were her eyes in Him! And might she trace
Her features in the molding of His brow?
Here her voice in His, and know the need
He had of her, and uttered in a cry?
And she…and…she might sing for Him at dusk!
Might sing, but no, she could not dare this dream…
But yet, it was a mother’s need to sing…
And then a song the world has never heard,
Rising in the faintest strains of distance
Loveliness had moved along the silver
Shining of her dreams, like light returned
Within a purer light, until it came
To her unfrightened. Caroling of angels’
Praise, and love that lifts to lullaby
Became as one, and blended for a fragile
Music that was hers and only hers…
My soul doth magnify the Lord:…Because he that is
mighty has done great things to me: and holy is his name.
For Reflection
Every mother dreams of the child she will birth. And as her time drew near, Mary’s thoughts of Jesus were marked by the quintessential ponderings of the pregnant woman. But hers were marked by something more as well. Her Son was the Holy One of Israel! In A Woman Wrapped in Silence, John W. Lynch speaks of this reality in poetic strain. Where do you see every mother in Mary’s musings, and where do you see that which marks her as the Mother of God? Of her thoughts, which echo your own longings?
(Excerpts from A Woman Wrapped in Silent by John W. Lynch, reprinted by permission of Paulist Press.)
If you enjoy Daily Gracelines, please prayerfully consider making a donation to support and sustain our apostolate so that we may continue to provide this and all of our resources designed to nourish and grow your Catholic faith.
DONATE
Advent Week Three: A Time for Charity, A Time for Love, Part III
St. Augustine wrote, “Love has hands to help others. It has feet to hasten to the poor and needy. It has eyes to see misery and want. It has ears to hear the sighs and sorrows of men. This is what love looks like.” Read the rest…
Surrender
December 16
“Thanks to her vow of surrender, everything is divinely disposed for this direct hold of God’s word over her.”
-Father Marie-Dominique Philippe, O. P.
For Reflection
Though Mary received a singular grace from God never to be repeated for all eternity, could it be that my surrender, seeking to mirror her own as closely as possible, could divinely dispose me to a greater hold of God’s word over me? How would I most like to experience that hold? In what one way today can I cooperate with grace to make my surrender more like Our Lady’s?
If you enjoy Daily Gracelines, please prayerfully consider making a donation to support and sustain our apostolate so that we may continue to provide this and all of our resources designed to nourish and grow your Catholic faith.
DONATE
Advent Week Three: A Time for Charity, A Time for Love, Part II
As we discovered yesterday, for our good deeds to become charitable acts, we must center our hearts, our souls, our minds, and all of our strength on love of God. Then, and only then, will our good deeds effect a change that reaches beyond the finite to touch the eternal. And when we do that, every thought, word, deed, and suffering can become an act of charity — even our daily labor. Read the rest…
How NOT to Help Loved Ones Involved in the Occult
By Msgr. Stephen Rossetti
“Julia” grew up in a good Catholic family. She went away to college and began dating a young man who was heavily engaged in the occult. She participated in these rituals and fell into other sinful behaviors as well.
A Complete and Total YES
December 15
“God wants to transform us by His grace and to sanctify us, but before He does so, He waits for our assent. When this yes is complete and total, as Mary’s was, God will accomplish His work in us.”
-Father Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalene, OCD
For Reflection
What is God’s hope for us? Upon what is it dependent? Why do you think this is so? How do the last five GraceLines point to Mary’s complete and total “fiat?” In what one way can you give your assent more completely and more totally? What was the work God accomplished in Mary? What work do you believe He wants to accomplish in you?
If you enjoy Daily Gracelines, please prayerfully consider making a donation to support and sustain our apostolate so that we may continue to provide this and all of our resources designed to nourish and grow your Catholic faith.
DONATE
Advent Week Three: A Time for Charity, A Time for Love, Part I
“May the Lord make you overflow with love for one another and for all, even as our love does for you. May He strengthen your hearts…At the coming of our Lord Jesus…” — Thes. 3:12-13
Toy collections, food drives, charity bazaars — all common activities in communities and parishes during the Christmas season. And they are good. They help fulfill Jesus’ mandate to “love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:31). Read the rest…
God Waiting for Us
December 14
“… the spirituality of waiting is not simply our waiting for God. It is also participating in God’s waiting for us …”
-Henri J. M. Nouwen
For Reflection
Ponder this quote. What does it mean to you? In what way(s) did God wait for Mary? How do I think He has been waiting for me? (Hint: One answer is found in tomorrow’s GraceLine) What is my response?
If you enjoy Daily Gracelines, please prayerfully consider making a donation to support and sustain our apostolate so that we may continue to provide this and all of our resources designed to nourish and grow your Catholic faith.
DONATE
The Seed Has Been Planted
December 13
“The secret of waiting is that the seed has been planted, that something
has begun.”
-Henri J. M. Nouwen
For Reflection
Why do you think knowledge of the planted seed holds the “secret” to waiting? Consider this quote in light of the quote of Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger. What seed was planted in Mary? What seeds exemplified her period of waiting (consider what you learned through other quotes)? Identify some of the seeds that have been planted in you during this
time of spiritual waiting?
If you enjoy Daily Gracelines, please prayerfully consider making a donation to support and sustain our apostolate so that we may continue to provide this and all of our resources designed to nourish and grow your Catholic faith.
DONATE
