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How to Plant a Mary Garden
Spring has come at last! It is time to plant and tend a garden. Mary Gardens, gardens dedicated to our Blessed Mother, have been gaining popularity in recent years. Many flowers and plants are associated with our Blessed Mother and various aspects of her life. These traditions hearken back to the Middle Ages, when religious […]
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The Appointed Season
There is an appointed time for everything, and a time for every affair under the heavens. A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to uproot the plant. A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to tear down, and a time to […]
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Do We Recognize Jesus?
This week’s Gospel (Lk 24:13-35) features Jesus and two disciples on the road to Emmaus. Jesus walks with them and talks with them and still, they do not realize who is in their midst until he breaks bread with them. One thing the Resurrection appearances of Jesus have in common is that those who first […]
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Book Review: “Living the Rosary”
Living the Rosary: Finding Your Life in the Mysteries by John Phalen, CSC Notre Dame: Ave Maria Press, 2011 Fr. John Phalen is a member of the Congregation of the Holy Cross which is committed to promoting the Rosary. In “Living the Rosary: Finding Your Life in the Mysteries,” Phalen seeks to connect meditation on […]
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Lessons from the Newest Converts
I had the privilege of being a sponsor for an RCIA candidate at the Easter Vigil this year. My parish welcomed several individuals into the faith. Three received the sacrament of Baptism; others received First Communion and/or Confirmation. These adults provide such a powerful witness. They were excited and nervous prior to the ceremony and […]
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To Serve and Be Served
The scripture readings during the course of Holy Week offer several examples of service. On Holy Thursday, there is the beautiful image of Jesus washing the feet of his apostles (John 13:1-15). Here is the Son of God bending low to remove the dirt from his follower’s feet. He instructs his followers: “Do you realize […]
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Book Review: The Invisible World
The Invisible World: Understanding Angels, Demons, and the Spiritual Realities That Surround Us by Anthony Destefano New York: Doubleday, 2011 In writing “The Invisible World- Understanding Angels, Demons, and the Spiritual Realities that Surround Us,” Anthony Destefano sought to “try to make the invisible realities that surround us just a little more visible.” To do […]
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The Value of Pain in the Spiritual Life
The Gospel for this week (John 11:1-45) shows Martha, a dear friend of Jesus, in great pain. Her brother Lazarus has just died and she holds Jesus accountable. “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” Still, she trusts that He can make it right. “But even now I know that […]
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Book Review: “A Willing Heart”
A Willing Heart: How to Serve When You Think You Can’t by Marci Alborghetti Notre Dame: Ave Maria Press, 2011 What does it mean to practice Christian service? Do we really love Jesus if we ignore His frequent exhortation to service? How do we open ourselves to the God-given grace that makes service possible? These […]
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The Scriptural Way of the Cross
My original intent when sitting down to write tonight was to reflect on the image of Jesus falling under the weight of the cross in the Stations of the Cross. In the traditional Stations, Jesus falls three times. I think most of us can relate to that image. This Lent, that is the image I […]