Dear Friends,
Even as we come upon the last days and hours of this month of October, I cannot fail to take a few moments to reflect upon the woman we’ve been honoring in a special way — Mary, the mother of Jesus, and our mother.
Tag: Virgin
Mary’s Assumption inspires us to imitate her discipleship
Fr. Mark Link shared an inspiring story of a Catholic teenager who felt that her mother rejected her. She transferred her anger for her mother to Mary.
The girl reluctantly went on a required Confirmation retreat. The director talked about Mary. As the girl listened, angry feelings towards her mother surfaced. She rejected everything good the speaker shared about Mary. After the talk, she went outside to walk off her anger. She wanted to cry but her tears froze. She felt bitter loneliness and rejection.
She wandered aimlessly until her curiosity attracted her to a small grotto-like building. She looked inside and discovered a large statue of Mary from whom she was trying to escape. She wanted to run, but she was drawn to the kneeler at Mary’s feet. She fell on her knees, weeping in the folds of Mary’s robes. When she stopped crying, she felt cleansed and renewed. Touched by Mary, she began to accept her as her spiritual mother.
Observing Lent with Mary
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Lent invites us to seek and find God. In this regard, our earthly pilgrimage continues, fixing our eyes on God.
It is our delight to take short-cuts, especially when our way is long and hard. Indeed, our way to God looks enormously long and tedious. God knew our problem and came to our rescue.
Seeking and finding
God in his infinite love created in his children a heart that longs for him. God, from his part, loved to be with us. Salvation history illustrates beautifully this mutual seeking and finding of God and his children. God was the first one to seek.
Rejoice always! Pray always!
Dear Friends,
Gaudete Sunday this year was truly a Sunday of rejoicing for me. I thank God for that, and I pray that it was a great day of rejoicing for all of you, as well. It would have been enough had I simply been given the gift of our liturgy in anticipation of our celebration of Christ’s coming, but there were some additional gifts to be experienced.
Announcement (Dec. 15, 2011 edition)
Rev. Msgr. James Bartylla, Vicar General, announces the following on behalf of Most Reverend Robert C. Morlino, Bishop of Madison:
Christian feminity: Living like Our Lady in modern times
With Christmas festivities underway and family gatherings abounding, Christ’s birth is any Christian’s central focus.
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| Olivia Knier |
Surely this focus has brought about some thought on the Blessed Virgin’s important role in the Christ Child’s life.
The simple, yet difficult role she held in His time can hardly be paralleled with such a fast-paced culture as ours is today, can it?
With the role of women in society changing rapidly, it’s easy to lose sight of where women should stand. Involvement of a woman in society today is different from that of Jesus’ time, but still centers around the same characteristic: primary focus of service to the family.