Colette was the daughter of a carpenter named DeBoilet at Corby Abbey in Picardy, France. She was born on January 13, christened Nicolette, and called Colette. Orphaned at seventeen, she distributed her inheritance to the poor. She became a Franciscan tertiary, and lived at Corby as a solitary. She soon became well known for her holiness and spiritual wisdom, but left her cell in 1406 in response to a dream directing her to reform the Poor Clares. She received the Poor Clares habit from Peter …
Month: March 2021
A Parent’s Prayer for their Children: Prayer of the Day for Saturday, March 06, 2021
O Heavenly Father,
I commend my children unto Thee.
Be Thou their God and Father;
and mercifully supply whatever is wanting in me
through frailty or negligence.
Strengthen them to overcome the corruptions of the world,
to resist all solicitations to evil,
whether from within or without;
and deliver them from the secret snares of the enemy.
Pour Thy grace into their hearts,
and confirm and multiply in them the gifts of Thy Holy Spirit,
that they may daily grow in …
Rejection
Rejection is often a difficult pill to swallow. At some point in life, everyone experiences rejection. Maybe it was from your high school sweetheart, a boss or job interview gone sour, your coveted university, a parent or significant adult figure. The list goes on. Some rejections are minor injuries. They sting in the moment but we bounce back, healing quickly with a good lesson learned. Other rejections cut more deeply, their wounds can fester and push against healing salves. These wounds can shape who we are, or at least our perception of who we are.
The Gospel today is a challenging one. Jesus’ parable of the master and the unruly tenants pushes us to look closely at our own lives. When God reaches out to us, are we receptive to His summons, or do we behave like the tenants?
Jesus is utilizing this parable to teach multiple lessons. It’s about our relationship with the master, God the Father. It’s about obedience to the call of the Kingdom, to be productive workers within God’s good order. It’s about opening the Kingdom of God to all people, not just the chosen people of Israel. Significantly, it is also about Jesus’ own person and His role in the story of salvation. Jesus is the son that was slain, Jesus is the stone which the builders rejected.
As Lent continues, we struggle to keep pace with our Lenten fasts. These fasts, these rejections, serve a number of purposes. Fasting teaches us self discipline. A well chosen fast will highlight areas of our life that we are clinging too tightly to. Fasting is also the conscious choice to reject something because we see that rejection can have a higher purpose as it draws us closer to God.
As it happens, there are two sides to rejection. There is rejection which wounds, but there can also be rejection which heals and brings growth. When Jesus died on the cross, He took the rejection handed to Him by humanity and flipped it over. Through His wounds, life springs forth and healing becomes possible between us and our Creator. We are called to a similar view. When we feel rejection, we can let the wound fester or we can look for the other side of the coin. When we choose to reject, we should look carefully at whether we are causing injury to ourselves or others, or finding a way to promote healing and growth.
Kate Taliaferro is an Air Force wife and mother. She is blessed to be able to homeschool, bake bread and fold endless piles of laundry. When not planning a school day, writing a blog post or cooking pasta, Kate can be found curled up with a book or working with some kind of fiber craft. Kate blogs at DailyGraces.net.
Feature Image Credit: eak_kkk, https://pixabay.com/photos/more-information-fragrapanti-1174122/
St. John Joseph of the Cross: Saint of the Day for Friday, March 05, 2021
St. John Joseph of the Cross was born about the middle of the seventeenth century in the beautiful island of Ischia, near Naples. From his childhood he was the model of virtue, and in his sixteenth year he entered the Franciscan Order of the Strictest Observance, or Reform of St. Peter of Alcantara. Such was the edification he gave in his Order, that within three years after his profession he was sent to found a monastery in Piedmont. He became a priest out of obedience, and obtained, as it …
Psalm for the Sick: Prayer of the Day for Friday, March 05, 2021
O Lord, in your anger punish me not; in your wrath chastise me not. For your arrows have sunk deep in me; your hand has come down upon me. There is no health in my flesh because of your indignation; there is no wholeness in my bones because of my sin. For my iniquities have overwhelmed me; they are like a heavy burden, beyond my strength. Noisome and festering are my sores, because of my folly. I am stooped and bowed down profoundly; all the day I go in mourning. For my loins are filled with …
The Lesson at the Gate
This Gospel story shares about Lazarus, a poor man resting at the gate of the rich man, who is longing for the scraps from the rich person’s excess. Despite his intense need, the owner of the home ignores him and fails to offer even the smallest consolation. Just a small act of kindness could have a significant impact on this poor man, yet the rich man takes no notice.
Jesus tells us that, “when the poor man died, he was carried away by angels to the bosom of Abraham”, while the rich man was condemned to hell. He makes it abundantly clear that when God gives us opportunities to help others we are expected to act. Often, these opportunities aren’t even that difficult or challenging, as was the case of the poor man resting in the rich man’s very doorway. He didn’t even have to leave his own house; that person in need of assistance was right in front of him, sitting on his front steps! Jesus is pointing out that often what we need to do is right in front of us; it doesn’t require a lot of thought or effort, merely a desire to serve and love others.
Jesus goes on to recount how the rich man, who upon his death was suffering in hell, thought of his brothers and longed for the chance to warn them so they would have a chance for salvation. Often, we hope and pray for miracles or divine intervention for those we love so they might experience greater faith, but do we consider how our actions and how we treat people may be the exact witness to the Gospel they need to see in order to fully embrace it? Jesus leaves us with the powerful words, “If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone should rise from the dead.” May we not only seek to have faith ourselves, but put it into action in our lives each day when opportunities present themselves in order to be a witness to others.
Emily Jaminet is a Catholic author, speaker, radio personality, wife, and mother of seven children. She earned a bachelor’s degree in mental health and human services from the Franciscan University of Steubenville. She is the co-founder of www.inspirethefaith.com and the Executive Director of The Sacred Heart Enthronement Network www.WelcomeHisHeart.com. She has co-authored several Catholic books and her next one, Secrets of the Sacred Heart: Claiming Jesus’ Twelve Promises in Your Life, comes out in Oct. 2020. Emily serves on the board of the Columbus Catholic Women’s Conference, contributes to Relevant Radio and Catholic Mom.com.
Feature Image Credit: Vanesa Guerrero, rpm, https://www.cathopic.com/photo/2920-puertas-abiertas
St. Casimir: Saint of the Day for Thursday, March 04, 2021
Casimir grew up in a world where his life was not his own. As a prince of Poland, the second son of King Casimir IV and Elizabeth of Austria, his life was scheduled to cement his father’s authority and increase Poland’s power. Casimir realized from an early age that his life belonged to someone else, but to a much higher King than his father. Despite pressure, humiliation, and rejection, he stood by that loyalty through his whole life. Born the third of thirteen children in 1461, …
Morning Offering Prayer #4: Prayer of the Day for Thursday, March 04, 2021
Almighty God, I thank you for your past blessings.
Today I offer myself – whatever I do, say, or think –
to your loving care.
Continue to bless me, Lord.
I make this morning offering in union
with the divine intentions of Jesus Christ
who offers himself daily inthe holy sacrifice of the Mass,
and in union with Mary, his Virgin Mother and our Mother,
who was always the faithful handmaid of the Lord.
Amen.
Set Free
Lent is well underway, with today being the second Wednesday of this holy season. Typically, it’s the time that I usually catch myself slipping on my intentions for the season as well. This year I’m working on fasting from cynicism, snarkiness and complaining (csc).
Yes, you read that correctly. I’m trying to treat csc as the hunter’s snare or a path that causes another person pain, injury or unjust persecution. I’m trying to catch myself before I act on those thoughts, either in my mind or out loud, spoken or typed, in public or private.
It is a struggle, to be sure, but not an unusual one. In the reading from Jeremiah, the people of Judah and Jerusalem look to ‘destroy him by his own tongue…carefully note his every word.’ The Psalm takes this issue up by referring to ‘the snare they set for me.’
‘God himself will set me free from the hunter’s snare,’ is prayed every morning and evening in the Liturgy of the Hours during Lent. It reminds me that I must turn to God to help me avoid the traps and situations which can lead me into a bad or sinful choice.
I must remember that Jesus, the Son of Man, my God and my all, came to earth and gave his life as a ransom, a sacrifice for me and for the whole world. He was ransomed so I, so you, can be set free.
Today is the feast of St. Katharine Drexel She is a great example of setting aside the trappings of this world (including wealth and comfort in high society) to work for racial and social justice, especially for Native Americans and African Americans.
Pray with me these words of St. Katharine ‘Mother’ Drexel as the path of this Lenten journey continues.
“Teach me to know your Son intimately, to love Him ardently, and to follow Him closely.
It is a lesson we all need – to let alone the things that do not concern us. He has other ways for others to follow Him; all do not go by the same path. It is for each of us to learn the path by which He requires us to follow Him and to follow Him in that path.
The patient and humble endurance of the cross – whatever nature it may be – is the highest work we have to do.” Amen.
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: Daniel Joshua, https://unsplash.com/photos/nOPoCBNWTb0
St. Katharine Drexel: Saint of the Day for Wednesday, March 03, 2021
St. Katharine Drexel is the second American-born saint to be canonized by the Catholic Church. This amazing woman was an heiress to a large bequest who became a religious sister and a brilliant educator.
Katherine was born in Philadelphia on November 26, 1858, the second child of a prominent and wealthy banker, Francis Anthony Drexel and his wife, Hannah Langstroth. He mother passed away just five weeks after Katharine was born. Her father remarried to Emma Bouvier in 1860 and together they …