Jan 29
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Jesus Really Likes Me!

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Just as a mother loves her child not only when he is good and lovable but even when he is wicked, so too does Jesus love us in every situation. And he even likes us, though we are nothing but sinners. —St. Thérèse of Lisieux This past November I had the privilege of witnessing my little sister’s marriage. Her wedding was the third happiest day of my life, right behind my diaconate and priesthood ordinations. I confess that I “ugly-cried” when my dad walked my sister, Claire, down the aisle. That day I noticed something about the bridal proces­sion that I’ve never noticed before. When my sister was walk­ing down the aisle with my dad, everyone stood up, turned around, and looked at her . . . except for one group—the mar­ried women. They were all looking at the groom. Instead of looking at Claire, all the married women immediately…

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Jan 29
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Prayer for My Lovely Bride of 27 Years by Brian Doyle, A Book of Uncommon Prayer

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May you always be as vibrant and gracious and tender as you are today. May you never again in this blessed lifetime put milk on to heat for your coffee and turn the burner on high and wander away and get absorbed in something else and have to shriek and sprint into the kitchen as you have every! single! morning! since I met you thirty years ago. May you always be as selflessly engaged and fascinated by other people and unabsorbed by yourself as you are today. May you never again lie awake sleepless worrying that the children’s struggles are totally your fault because you were not a good enough mom. May you always have those arresting blue-gray eyes exactly the color and potential fury of the sea. May you always be as graciously and kindheartedly and un-greedily you as you are today. May you someday love yourself as much…

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Dec 19
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The Gift: Self-Donation

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Whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. —Matthew 16:25  A life of self-gift deviates from the social script and that is part of why it is so difficult. We need look no further than the life of Jesus. He stood out by being present, available to, and signaling the dignity of others. So too, if we stand out, we will experience some form of rejection. The perennial crossroad of life is one where the path of comfort runs across the path of meaning, connection, and selflessness. In writing these words, the choice seems easy, but it almost never is. And yet we still know that we want to choose the way of meaning, connection, and sacrifice. In a terrible yet amusing way, self-gift is both the problem and the solution. It is the problem because it is so difficult. Selfishness is a way of life that we…

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Dec 19
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Prayers and Reflections from Draw Near: Daily Prayers for Advent and Christmas 2023

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  January 1 Monday in the Octave of Christmas Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart. Luke 2:19 The shepherds arriving after Jesus’s birth must have been a surprise. Mary and Joseph knew there was something special about the child, and Mary’s cousin, Elizabeth, had said the same. But now, for the first time, this little life was touching complete strangers. And they must have looked strange—and smelled even stranger. These were outsiders, and they arrived with wide eyes and fantastical stories about the heavens opening up and a message from an angel. How did they know what was going on with this little family so far from home? When the shepherds left, they continued to share the news about shining angels coming in the night with tidings of joy and praise. According to Luke, everyone who heard their…

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Dec 19
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Worthwhile Resolutions by Joyce Rupp

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  It takes effort to direct thoughts to things that are true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, gracious, worthy of praise. ~ Amy Kuebelbeck   No matter how life is currently unfolding, I always look forward to greeting a new year. Its open space appears inviting, and the fresh prospects instill hope. Each January presents an opportunity to reestablish and reclaim what promises to keep me balanced and growing. In late December, a television newscaster disparaged New Year’s resolutions as worthless, probably because studies show that almost 80 percent of them will be broken or discarded before the month is over. In spite of this fact, I believe resolutions to be valuable for my personal growth. Through the years I’ve found an intentional focus on some aspect of my attitude and behavior to be of substantial value. One simple intention can make a big difference in how I live. I prefer…

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Oct 17
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Litany of Saints

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Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, have mercy on us. Lord, have mercy on us. Christ hear us. Christ, graciously hear us. God, the Father of heaven, have mercy on us. God, the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us. God, the Holy Ghost, have mercy on us. Holy Trinity, one God, have mercy on us. Holy Mary, pray for us. Holy Mother of God, pray for us. Holy Virgin of virgins, pray for us. St. Michael, pray for us. St. Gabriel, pray for us. St. Raphael, pray for us. All you holy angels and archangels, pray for us. All you holy Orders of blessed Spirits, pray for us. St. John the Baptist, pray for us. St. Joseph, pray for us. All you holy Patriarchs and Prophets, pray for us. St. Peter, pray for us. St. Paul, pray for us. St. Andrew, pray for us. St. James, pray…

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Oct 17
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Get to Know the Angels and the Saints

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I will spend my heaven doing good on earth. —St. Thérèse of Lisieux Read Second Kings tells an interesting story about the prophet Elisha. He made enemies with a foreign king named Ben-Hadad. The king decided he wanted to arrest Elisha and probably execute him after that. He sent out an army against the prophet, includ­ing powerful and terrifying chariots. They surrounded Elisha’s home. Here’s what happened: “Early the next morning, when the servant of the man of God arose and went out, he saw the force with its horses and chariots surrounding the city. ‘Alas!’ he said to Elisha. ‘What shall we do, my lord?’ Elisha answered, ‘Do not be afraid. Our side outnumbers theirs’” (2 Kings 6:15–16). The prophet’s assertion obviously didn’t seem to make any sense. It was only Elisha and his servant against literally an army of soldiers and charioteers. But then Elisha prayed, “‘O Lord,…

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Sep 28
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Saint Thérèse of Lisieux: A Missionary’s Heart

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January 2, 1873–September 30, 1897 Patronage: Missionaries, Against Illness Memorial: October 1 THÉRÈSE OF LISIEUX’S STORY Born in 1873 at Alençon in Normandy, France, Françoise-Marie Thérèse Martin was the fifth daughter of Blessed Louis Martin and Blessed Marie-Azélie Guérin Martin. With the untimely death of her mother, Thérèse’s family relocated to Lisieux, France, where Thérèse was cured from a serious illness at the age of eight. Thérèse experienced a vision of the Christ Child when she was not quite fourteen. So great was her desire to join the Carmelites that, upon being declined because of her age, she took her personal request to Pope Leo XIII during a pilgrimage to Rome. Thérèse’s entry into Carmel was marked by her development of what would become known as the “Little Way,” her personal charism of total devotion to God by completing even the most mundane and ordinary tasks with the greatest of…

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Aug 30
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SEEING THE FACE OF CHRIST IN THOSE WE SERVE

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LESSONS FROM ST. TERESA OF CALCUTTA Unlike so many saints who are fixed in my mind with holy-card haloes and serene smiles, my mental images of Teresa of Calcutta are fresh and vivid. Posed in iconic photos with President and Mrs. Reagan or with Princess Diana, alive in clips on CNN or YouTube, she’s the spiritual mother I watched become a saint before my very eyes. Although I never met her in person as did my childhood pastor, Fr. Collins, or my friend and fellow author Donna-Marie Cooper O’Boyle, I felt—as you probably did—as though I’d lost a personal friend when God called her home to heaven in 1997. And yet in those first moments when I heard of her death, I knew already that she was a saint, and I have been in quiet conversation with her ever since. Teresa was a humanitarian hero who eschewed the spotlight. Any…

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Aug 30
2

St. Teresa of Calcutta (1910–1997)

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Known throughout the world simply as Mother Teresa, St. Teresa of Calcutta was born in Skopje, Macedonia, in 1910. As a Catholic nun, she founded the Missionaries of Charity, whose mission is to care for the poorest of the poor around the world. Mother Teresa received the Nobel Peace Prize for her humanitarian work in 1979 and was given the title “Blessed” in 2003. She was canonized by Pope Francis on September 4, 2016. Her feast day is September 5. Prayer for Our Family Heavenly Father, you have given us a model of life in the Holy Family of Nazareth. Help us, O Loving Father, to make our family another Nazareth where love, peace, and joy reign. May it be deeply contemplative, intensely eucharistic, and vibrant with joy. Help us to stay together in joy and sorrow through family prayer. Teach us to see Jesus in the members of our…

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