The message of Fatima is an appeal to conversion. In her motherly solicitude, the Blessed Virgin came here, to Fatima, to ask men not to offend God any more. It was a mother’s sorrow that obliged her to speak. —Saint John Paul II— Today is Day 13 of my 31 Days With Mary series, an entire month writing about one topic with hundreds of other bloggers. While May 13 is the Feast of Our Lady of Fatima, today we remember the day in…
One of the last things Jesus did before he died was give us His mother Mary to be our mother. From the Gospel of John, “‘Woman, behold your son.’ Then he said to the disciple, ‘Behold, your mother.’ And from that hour the disciple took her into his home” (19:26-27). Jesus’ final words not only pertained to Mary and John, they also included me and you and allof humanity. “Jesus Christ, after having given us all he could give, that…
Today is the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, during the month of the Rosary! I discovered a lovely reflection on the Rosary in my archives, and I thought it would be #WorthRevisiting today: All the supreme teachers, the popes, have been unanimous in proclaiming that the devotion to the Most Blessed Sacrament and the Holy Rosary are the hope and salvation of the world in our evil and dangerous era. They have endeavored, by word and example, to bring the…
Today is the Feast of St. Faustina. She was a young nun in Poland in the 1930s. She came from a poor family, and she did not have much education, so her tasks in the convent were simple and humble. During her time in the convent, Jesus appeared and spoke to Sister Faustina. She compiled her conversations with Him in notebooks, which became what is known today as the Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska. The message is one of God’s…
Since I am writing 31 Days With Mary during the month of October, maybe I will begin by sharing how Mary became my queen and my mother. Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen once said of Mary, “She existed in the Divine Mind as an Eternal Thought before there were any mothers. She is the Mother of mothers, she is the world’s first love.” #1 Slow beginnings My first real encounter with Mary was through the quiet actions of my grandma, who…
Have you ever been asked the question, “Are you a ‘Mary’ or a ‘Martha’”? It’s as if we are expected to choose one or the other. It’s also as if one is better than the other, for doesn’t Jesus say, “Mary has chosen the better part”? (Luke 10:42) Many women identify with Martha more than Mary. After all, we see ourselves doing the same tasks that cause so much anxiety in Martha—cooking, cleaning, running errands, feeling busy with our long…
There are so many beautiful quotes by St. Therese of Lisieux, aren’t there? Here’s one that was e-mailed to me today: Receive Communion often, very often … there you have the sole remedy, if you want to be cured. Jesus has not put this attraction in your heart for nothing … When I was praying this morning from my Magnificat, many of the Scripture passages that were quoted pertained to children, which makes perfect sense, since St. Therese often is…
Our day started out rough. I was tired. I went to bed way too late for the time I need to rise. You see, it is in everyone’s best interest if the mom of this family wakes up and gets ready (including coffee and prayer) before the kids. So, I did it anyway, despite my tiredness. I appreciated this explanation of the act of rising being a mortification of sorts. I had not thought of it like that before, and…