Bl. Fr. Miroslav Bulesic was born in Svetvincenat, Croatia in 1920. Little is recorded of his youth, but he entered the seminary before the start of World War II. After seminary, he studied in Rome, but his bishop recalled him to Croatia at the outbreak of hostilities.
Bl. Fr. Miroslav Bulsec was ordained in April 1943.
During the war, he served in Baderna a place that saw intense fighting between communists and fascists. At the end of the war in 1945, Fr. Bulsec was transferred to …
Almighty and eternal God,
You have, through Jesus Christ,
revealed Your glory to all nations.
We pray You to preserve the works of Your mercy,
that Your Church,
being spread through the whole world,
may continue with unchanging faith in the confession of Your name.
We pray You, who alone are good and holy,
to endow with heavenly knowledge,
sincere zeal,
and sanctity of life our Chief Bishop,
Pope John Paul II, the vicar of our Lord Jesus Christ,
in the government of …
Today we stand on the threshold of 2022, breathing a sigh of relief that we are another few months through the general crisis that the world is collectively living.
…the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it… (Jn. 1:5).
As you enter the new year, remember: No darkness within or without, past, present or future will ever overcome the Light of the World. No war will overthrow the sovereignty of the Prince of Peace. No sin will be stronger than the love of the merciful King of Glory.
Oh, friend, remember who you are…
…dust and glory…
At Christmas we celebrate how we have received among us, in our home, in our flesh, the Word.
…And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us… (Jn 1:14).
…You have seen the glory of the Father’s only-begotten Son…
In the words of my favorite Italian Christmas carol, Ninna, Nanna:
Those who walked in darkness
Now rejoice in the King’s splendor.
All sorrow will flee,
And those whom He shall ransom,
Will be crowned with everlasting joy.
Love has made Himself our Brother,
Come to us in the arms of a Mother.
Sing, O angels, sing praise to this Child,
The holy One, the Son of God, Emmanuel.
You have come to love and to save,
Come to lead us all in Your Way.
Sleep on, my Jesus, sleep on, my Lord.
In 2022 God will never stop loving you. God sees the darkness and the darkness doesn’t surprise him. He sent his Son to be with us in the midst of the darkness. He sent his Son to be the Light, to show us the Way, to illuminate our minds with Truth, to be Life for the world. He sent his Son to overcome the darkness.
Perhaps you are not convinced. How could the memory of the birth of the Christ-Child just celebrated at Christmas influence the trajectory of the forces of history through which we are living?
That is precisely the illusion: that the Christ is a memory!
No. Love has made himself our Brother. Pope Benedict XVI reflected: “Hope marks the journey of humankind, but for Christians it is enlivened by a certainty: the Lord is present in the events of our lives. He accompanies us and will one day dry our tears. One not-far-distant day everything will reach fulfillment in the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom of justice and peace” (Homily, November 28, 2009).
It is time to stand up in this hope. To walk into the darkness assured that it is the Kingdom of mercy toward which we walk, our steps made sure in the Light that dispels the power the darkness could have over us, beckoning us ever to look up, to believe, to trust in God’s fidelity.
…[for] we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father’s only-begotten Son, full of grace and truth (Jn. 1:14).
Kathryn James Hermes, FSP, is the author of the newly released title: Reclaim Regret: How God Heals Life’s Disappointments, by Pauline Books and Media. An author and spiritual mentor, she offers spiritual accompaniment for the contemporary Christian’s journey towards spiritual growth and inner healing. She is the director of My Sisters, where people can find spiritual accompaniment from the Daughters of St. Paul on their journey. Website: www.touchingthesunrise.com Public Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/srkathrynhermes/ For monthly spiritual journaling guides, weekly podcasts and over 50 conferences and retreat programs join my Patreon community: https://www.patreon.com/srkathryn.
Feature Image Credit: Myriams-Fotos, https://pixabay.com/photos/a-book-pages-open-heart-book-pages-1950451/
St. Sylvester, born in Rome, was ordained by Pope St. Marcellinus during the peace that preceded the persecutions of Diocletian. He passed through those days of terror, witnessed the abdication of Diocletian and Maximian, and saw the triumph of Constantine in the year 312. Two years later he succeeded St. Melchiades as Bishop of Rome. In the same year, he sent four legates to represent him at the great Council of the Western Church, held at Aries. He confirmed it’s decision and imparted them to …
O sacred and adorable Trinity, hear our prayers on behalf of our holy Father the Pope, our Bishops, our clergy, and for all that are in authority over us. Bless, we beseech Thee, during the coming year, the whole Catholic Church; convert heretics and unbelievers; soften the hearts of sinners so that they may return to Thy friendship; give prosperity to our country and peace among the nations of the world; pour down Thy blessings upon our friends, relatives, and acquaintances, and upon our …
I hope that your Christmas season is full of joy! As I read today’s readings, I was struck by the last verses in both the First Reading and the Gospel. They both point to doing the will of God is what ultimately fulfills us, both in this life and the next.
“Yet the world and its enticement are passing away. But whoever does the will of God remains forever.” 1 John 2:17
For many years I have struggled with overeating. In the last few months, I have participated in a group to help me with this struggle. And I have found such truth in this program which is based on Theology of the Body. One of the most important ideas I have come away with is that it is hard to get enough of something that almost works (Dr. Vincent Felitti). It helped me realize that food, for me, is “the world and its enticement,” and while I of course need food to care for my body, it can substitute for doing the will of God. You can put in place of food whatever it is that you cling to instead of God.
When we cling to God, go to him first, we are like Jesus, in this verse from the Gospel, “The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him.” Luke 2:40
We are meant to grow in strength and wisdom all our lives, turning ourselves toward God. I am grateful I have my whole life to do this. Like many people I did not always understand this concept when I was younger. Now, while I have a better grasp of it, I can still get derailed. Thankfully, God’s grace calls me back and sets me right. And I can begin again.
Our intention matters in this life. As we approach the end of this year, consider asking yourself two questions: Did I fulfill my intentions for the year? And what are my intentions for the coming year? Not a New Year’s resolution list; an honest review of the past year and what you want to have happen next in your life.
Growing in wisdom and following God’s will are great places to start.
Deanna G. Bartalini, is a Catholic writer, speaker, educator and retreat leader. She is the founder of the LiveNotLukewarm.com community, a place to inform, engage and inspire your Catholic faith through interactive Bible studies, courses and book clubs. Her weekly podcast, NotLukewarmPodcast.com, gives you tips and tools to live out your faith. At DeannaBartalini.com she writes about whatever is on her mind at the moment.
Feature Image Credit: David Wirzba, https://unsplash.com/photos/1xWIRQzBzKE
Martyr of Greece. She was a wealthy woman of Salonika, in Thessaly, who used her personal funds to aid the poor. A soldier accosted her in the street and tried to drag her to a pagan sacrifice. Anysia resisted and was killed when the soldier attacked her with his sword.
O wondrous Saint Theresa of the Child Jesus, who, in thy brief earthly life, didst become a mirror of angelic purity, of courageous love and of whole-hearted surrender to Almighty God, now that thou art enjoying the reward of thy virtues, turn thine eyes of mercy upon us who trust in thee. Obtain for us the grace to keep our hearts and minds pure and clean like unto thine, and to detest in all sincerity whatever might tarnish ever so slightly the luster of a virtue so sublime, a virtue that …
In the First Reading today, John tells us: “Do not love the world or the things of the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. . . . The world and its enticement are passing away. But whoever does the will of God remains forever.”
This is a great reminder, especially as we just finished with a holiday that’s very much focused on things.
It’s great to receive gifts. They make us feel special, loved, valued, and important. Giving gifts is even better because we can make someone else feel special, loved, valued, and important.
But there’s so much more to life and to our world. The happiness that things bring is fleeting. The joy we get from a life of faith never goes away. So let us always strive to remember that things come and go, but Christ is always there with us, even when we can’t see or feel Him.
And there will be times when the things of this world get in the way of us seeing God or feeling His presence. The devil makes sure of that. It doesn’t have to be bad things or times when we feel alone. We can fail to see God during the good times too.
We tend to forget that all we have comes from God. Our families, our friends, our homes, our possessions, our abilities—all those are gifts from a heavenly Father who loves us immensely. Do we thank Him for those gifts? Do we acknowledge His goodness in giving us so many wonderful things? How many of us actually took time this Christmas to slow down, think about Christ’s birth, and wish Him a happy birthday? Or did we get so caught up in our world and in the craziness of the season that we only sort of remembered why we celebrate?
God wants us to remember Him during the good times and the bad. He wants us to wake up with a prayer, fill our days with prayer and good deeds for others, and go to bed thanking Him for another day and asking ourselves if we glorified Him in all we did.
Do we do that? If not, let us start today! It’s never too late to change our priorities. It’s never too late to allow the Word of God to fill our lives and our hearts.
A new year is coming; let us ring it in with a renewed sense of joy in the Lord. When we do so, we will realize the difference between joy and happiness. And we will understand that, while happiness waxes and wanes with our circumstances, joy in Christ never wanes. It becomes more radiant with each passing day.
Susan Ciancio has a BA in psychology and a BA in sociology from the University of Notre Dame, with an MA in liberal studies from Indiana University. For the past 17 years, she has worked as a professional editor and writer, editing both fiction and nonfiction books, magazine articles, blogs, educational lessons, professional materials and website content. Eleven of those years have been in the pro-life sector. Currently Susan freelances and writes weekly for HLI, edits for American Life League, and is the editor of Celebrate Life Magazine. She also serves as executive editor for the Culture of Life Studies Program-an educational nonprofit program for K-12 students.
Feature Image Credit: Cathopic, https://www.cathopic.com/photo/5318-dicha-naturaleza
Monk, biographer, and scholar-also called Sapiens the Wise. Aileran was one of the most distinguished professors at the school of Clonard in Ireland. St. Finian welcomed Aileran to Clonard. In 650, Aileran became rector of Clonard, and was recognized as a classical scholar and a master of Latin and Greek. He wrote The Fourth Life of St. Patrick, a Latin-Irish Litany and The Lives of St. Brigid and St. Fechin of Fore. His last work was a treatise on the genealogy of Christ according to St. …