St. Catherine was born in Florence in 1522. Her baptismal name was Alexandrina, but she took the name of Catherine upon entering religion. From her earliest infancy she manifested a great love of prayer, and in her sixth year, her father placed her in the convent of Monticelli in Florence, where her aunt, Louisa de Ricci, was a nun. After a brief return home, she entered the convent of the Dominican nuns at Prat in Tuscany, in her fourteenth year. While very young, she was chosen Mistress of …
Month: February 2021
Prayer against Depression – by Saint Ignatius of Loyola: Prayer of the Day for Saturday, February 13, 2021
O Christ Jesus,
when all is darkness
and we feel our weakness and helplessness,
give us the sense of Your presence,
Your love, and Your strength.
Help us to have perfect trust
in Your protecting love
and strengthening power,
so that nothing may frighten or worry us,
for, living close to You,
we shall see Your hand,
Your purpose, Your will through all things.
By Saint Ignatius of Loyola
Friday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time
Reading I Gn 3:1-8
Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the animals
that the LORD God had made.
The serpent asked the woman,
“Did God really tell you not to eat
from any of the trees in the garden?”
The woman answered the serpent:
“We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden;
it is only about the fruit of the tree
in the middle of the garden that God said,
‘You shall not eat it or even touch it, lest you die.’”
But the serpent said to the woman:
“You certainly will not die!
No, God knows well that the moment you eat of it
your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods
who know what is good and what is evil.”
The woman saw that the tree was good for food,
pleasing to the eyes, and desirable for gaining wisdom.
So she took some of its fruit and ate it;
and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her,
and he ate it.
Then the eyes of both of them were opened,
and they realized that they were naked;
so they sewed fig leaves together
and made loincloths for themselves.
When they heard the sound of the LORD God moving about in the garden
at the breezy time of the day,
the man and his wife hid themselves from the LORD God
among the trees of the garden.
Responsorial Psalm 32:1-2, 5, 6, 7
R. (1a) Blessed are those whose sins are forgiven.
Blessed is he whose fault is taken away,
whose sin is covered.
Blessed the man to whom the LORD imputes not guilt,
in whose spirit there is no guile.
R. Blessed are those whose sins are forgiven.
Then I acknowledged my sin to you,
my guilt I covered not.
I said, “I confess my faults to the LORD,”
and you took away the guilt of my sin.
R. Blessed are those whose sins are forgiven.
For this shall every faithful man pray to you
in time of stress.
Though deep waters overflow,
they shall not reach him.
R. Blessed are those whose sins are forgiven.
You are my shelter; from distress you will preserve me;
with glad cries of freedom you will ring me round.
R. Blessed are those whose sins are forgiven.
Alleluia See Acts 16:14b
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Open our hearts, O Lord,
to listen to the words of your Son.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel Mk 7:31-37
Jesus left the district of Tyre
and went by way of Sidon to the Sea of Galilee,
into the district of the Decapolis.
And people brought to him a deaf man who had a speech impediment
and begged him to lay his hand on him.
He took him off by himself away from the crowd.
He put his finger into the man’s ears
and, spitting, touched his tongue;
then he looked up to heaven and groaned, and said to him,
“Ephphatha!” (that is, “Be opened!”)
And immediately the man’s ears were opened,
his speech impediment was removed,
and he spoke plainly.
He ordered them not to tell anyone.
But the more he ordered them not to,
the more they proclaimed it.
They were exceedingly astonished and they said,
“He has done all things well.
He makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”
– – –
Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States, second typical edition, Copyright © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine; Psalm refrain © 1968, 1981, 1997, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved. Neither this work nor any part of it may be reproduced, distributed, performed or displayed in any medium, including electronic or digital, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
He Has Done All Things Well
In today’s Gospel we hear of the compassion of Christ once again. A man who is deaf and has a speech impediment is brought to Christ and, moved with compassion, Christ heals him. Perhaps the man that Christ heals is a metaphor for us. In a homily about this Gospel, Pope St. Gregory the Great notes that dumbness is often associated with deafness because, without being able to hear it is difficult to learn how to speak. He then applies that same message to the Good News of Christ; if our ears are not open to His Word, how can we share it with others? Christ removes the man’s speech impediment and opens his ears. How often do we ourselves struggle to speak the Gospel confidently or hear and truly listen to the truth of the Gospel? When we find ourselves in situations which are difficult to share the Good News, do we ask Christ to heal us from our speech impediment and to grant us the courage to share His Word?
In the First Reading from Genesis we see the consequences of closing our ears to the words of God. It is the story of Adam and Eve and the Fall. Rather than listening to the command of God to not eat the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, they close their ears to Him choosing instead to listen to the voice of the serpent. This choice led Adam and Eve away from God and caused them so much shame that they hid themselves from the Lord.
God’s words and commands for us are always for our own good. He loves us and desires for us to be in full communion with Him. As the Gospel says, “He has done all things well” and creating us for life with Him is one of the things He has done well.
May our hearts and ears always be open to the voice of the Lord so we can speak His Word with courage.
Open our heart, O Lord, to listen to the words of your Son.
Dakota currently lives in Denver, CO and teaches English Language Development and Spanish to high schoolers. She is married to the love of her life, Ralph. In her spare time, she reads, goes to breweries, and watches baseball. Dakota’s favorite saints are St. John Paul II (how could it not be?) and St. José Luis Sánchez del Río. She is passionate about her faith and considers herself blessed at any opportunity to share that faith with others. Check out more of her writing at https://dakotaleonard16.blogspot.com.
Feature Image Credit: Hannah Wernecke, https://unsplash.com/photos/8mqaLDl95I4
St. Buonfiglio Monaldo: Saint of the Day for Friday, February 12, 2021
He was one of seven Florentines who had joined the Confraternity of the Blessed Virgin (the Laudesi) in a particularly lax period in the city’s history and who were inspired by a vision on the feast of the Assumption to take up a life of solitude and prayer. After nearly fifteen years of austerity at a hermitage on Monte Senario he took the name in 1240 of Servants of Mary, or Servites. Six were ordained, developed as mendicant friars under the direction of James of Poggibonsi and Bishop …
A Prayer for America: Prayer of the Day for Friday, February 12, 2021
Father, we beg Your blessing for the Right to Life, the Unborn, the weak, the sick and the old; all who are finding themselves being targets of the vicious culture of death; that our Lord Jesus bless and protect all who stand up for the Christian dignity of persons. That God enlighten those who are traveling down death’s highway by their involvement, in any way, with either the contemporary death culture, selfism, relativeism, or any of the new age errors of our times, that God envelop our …
Healing
Healing is again the focus in the Gospel today. Jesus heals all with no exceptions to the understood or unwritten norms and social concepts of the time.
In his Monday address to the ambassadors to the Holy See, Pope Francis said ‘the world is facing crises in five areas: in health, in the environment, on economic and social issues, in politics, and in human relationships.’ Our world needs healing, our human interactions need healing in so many ways and in so many circumstances. I do too.
My pastor has emphasized the need for deep healing, the kind that comes from the hand of Jesus and His Divine Spirit. The sins, omissions and tacit consents that are embedded deep in the heart which blind me to the indifference and abuse of the integrity of all that God has created in this world, I need to bring into my awareness and confessions.
It is the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes and the 29th World Day to Pray for the Sick. There are several resources below including a virtual tour of Lourdes and a 30 minute prayer service celebrating this day of prayer for the sick.
I ask that you pray with me the words St. John Paul II wrote in 2004 for the intercession of our Blessed Virgin Mother, the Immaculate Conception, Our Lady of Lourdes. Let us pray,
To Mary, Mother of tender love,
we wish to entrust all those
who are ill in body and soul,
that she may sustain them in hope.
We ask her also to help us to be welcoming
to our sick brothers and sisters.
Hail Mary, poor and humble Woman,
Blessed by the Most High!
Virgin of hope, dawn of a new era,
We join in your song of praise,
to celebrate the Lord’s mercy,
to proclaim the coming of the Kingdom
and the full liberation of humanity.
Hail Mary, lowly handmaid of the Lord,
Glorious Mother of Christ!
Faithful Virgin, holy dwelling-place of the Word,
Teach us to persevere in listening to the Word,
and to be docile to the voice of the Spirit,
attentive to His promptings in the depths of our conscience
and to His manifestations in the events of history.
Hail Mary, Woman of sorrows,
Mother of the living!
Virgin spouse beneath the Cross, the new Eve,
Be our guide along the paths of the world.
Teach us to experience and to spread the love of Christ,
to stand with you before the innumerable crosses
on which your Son is still crucified.
Hail Mary, woman of faith,
First of the disciples!
Virgin Mother of the Church, help us always
to account for the hope that is in us,
with trust in human goodness and the Father’s love.
Teach us to build up the world beginning from within:
in the depths of silence and prayer,
in the joy of fraternal love,
in the unique fruitfulness of the Cross.
Holy Mary, Mother of believers,
Our Lady of Lourdes,
pray for us. Amen
Pope Francis’ message for the 29th world day of Prayer for the Sick
World Day of the Sick Prayer Service 2021
29th World Day of Prayer for the Sick
Prayer Cards for the Sick, for Caregivers
Virtual Tour of Lourdes, France
Beth Price is part of the customer care team at Diocesan. She brings a unique depth of experience to the group due to her time spent in education, parish ministries, sales and the service industry over the last 25 yrs. She is a practicing spiritual director as well as a Secular Franciscan (OFS). Beth is quick to offer a laugh, a prayer or smile to all she comes in contact with. Reach her here bprice@diocesan.com.
Feature Image Credit: Aarón Blanco Tejedor, https://unsplash.com/photos/QUGWB1kqjQI
St. Paschal: Saint of the Day for Thursday, February 11, 2021
Paschal was the son of Bonosus, a Roman. He studied at the Lateran, was named head of St. Stephen’s monastery, which housed pilgrims to Rome, and was elected Pope to succeed Pope Stephen IV (V) on the day Stephen died, January 25, 817. Emperor Louis the Pious agreed to respect papal jurisdiction, but when Louis’ son Lothair I came to Rome in 823 to be consecrated king, he broke the pact by presiding at a trial involving a group of nobles opposing the Pope. When the two papal officials who had …
Prayer for Faith: Prayer of the Day for Thursday, February 11, 2021
Lord, I believe:
I wish to believe in Thee.
Lord, let my faith be full and unreserved,
and let it penetrate my thought,
my way of judging Divine things and human things.
Lord, let my faith be joyful
and give peace and gladness to my spirit,
and dispose it for prayer with God
and conversation with men,
so that the inner bliss of its fortunate possession
may shine forth in sacred and secular conversation.
Lord, let my faith be humble and not presume
to be based on the …
The Good From Within
“Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person; but the things that come out from within are what defile” (Mark 7:15).
These words, powerful words of Christ Jesus, shake the cage I have recently placed myself in. In such a time of emotional, political, and physical anxiety, it is easy to place oneself in a separate place from the turmoil. I have heard many people tell me that they are becoming more secluded, physically and emotionally, due to all of the hurt and hate they are witnessing across the globe and in their own lives. They find themselves angrily lashing out, letting sadness and anger win, leading to both destructive conversations and self-destructive actions.
Over a year ago, Pope Francis tweeted, “Loneliness is not overcome by closing in on ourselves, but by crying out to the Lord, for the Lord hears the cry of those who find themselves alone.”
Today, nearly a year into a pandemic of loneliness, we are once again reminded that everything we are witnessing in our lives does not and should not be the way we give witness to our faith.
Today’s reading reminds me that I am in control of my actions, of my reactions, even when I feel as though my situation is out of my control. I am reminded that I, as a truly beloved child of my Almighty Father, can only control how I respond to outside forces. Only I can decide the amount of love I put forth onto others and I can make this decision no matter what is happening around me. I am reminded that it is not the turmoil of the world that decides for me, but the strength of my faith and promise of love.
In a world where so much feels and truly is out of our control, it is up to us to decide whether we allow the peace and joy of our God to shine from our words, our thoughts, our interactions… We can choose not to let our own sadness and anger bleed into others’ lives. Either way, we can no longer tell ourselves that it is the world that turns our hearts away from the Lord.
As we reflect upon this and stand a week from Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent, I ask you to think of your words and actions. Make the conscious effort to reflect your loving God in all that you do. Give a true witness to your faith to those around you. Do not let the sadness, fear, and anger win.
Veronica Alvarado is a born and raised Texan currently living in Michigan. Since graduating from Texas A&M University, Veronica has published various articles in the Catholic Diocese of Austin’s official newspaper, the Catholic Spirit, and other local publications. She now works as the Content Specialist in Diocesan’s Web Department.
Feature Image Credit: Josh Boot, https://unsplash.com/photos/2×19-mRQgX8