On December 16, there is named in the Roman Martyrology and in certain Irish calendars a Saint Bean in Ireland, who had been confused with the St. Bean whose feast is still observed in the Scottish diocese of Aberdeen, but on October 26, as founder of the bishopric of Mortlach in Banff which was the forerunner of that of Aberdeen. Nothing else is known about him. The fourteenth century chronicler Fordun, states that he was made bishop by Pope Benedict VIII, at the request of Malcolm Canmore, …
Category: Parish News & Events
For Expectant Mothers: Prayer of the Day for Tuesday, October 26, 2021
Almighty and everlasting God, through the power of the Holy Spirit, you prepared the body of the Virgin Mary to be a worthy dwelling place of your divine son. You sanctified St. John the Baptist, while still in his mother’s womb. Listen now to my prayer. Through the intercession of St. Gerard, watch over my child and me; protect us at the time of delivery. May my child receive the saving graces of Baptism, lead a Christian life, and, together with all the members of our family, attain …
The Glory of a Day of Rest
God commands us to give our Sabbath to the Lord, not as a recommendation or suggestion, but as a command. If God made room for it on the tablets given to Moses, perhaps we ought to pay attention to how we spend our Sundays!
As a child, my entire family put aside work, school, errands, and chores—setting Sunday apart from the rest of the week. Although sadly, we didn’t always attend Mass, we visited and enjoyed a meal with my maternal or paternal grandparents. Sometimes, we’d score a free meal from both. Over time, my family’s lives and the world around us changed, making keeping our Sundays for rest and focused on the Lord much more difficult.
Spiritually, a faith not attended to quickly deteriorates. As a mother of young adult sons, I’ve witnessed first-hand how the longer they go without making time for Christ in their life, the wider the cavern between themselves and the Lord gets. Although a relationship with Christ should be built every day, giving Sunday to the Lord provides a sturdy tether to keep us from completely floating away.
In addition to making time for worship, the command requires us to rest. A worn-out body becomes overwhelmed, less effective, and even sick, ultimately unable to work to its full potential. Work is my jam, and all my work is for the Lord, making this command especially challenging.
I am so blessed to work in Catholic ministry, and I sometimes confuse making time for God with items listed in my job description. Additionally, I have a domestic church to run, and like most women, I am always chasing the end of my to-do list. It is tempting to stare down the 12-plus awake hours of Sunday without opting to complete back-logged work or a lingering household task.
So, looking toward next Sunday, what do you have on your calendar? What blessing does the Lord have awaiting you in the rest of the Sabbath? Commit to giving Him the whole day; then at the end of the day, be sure to look back and count the many ways you benefited from following this commandment.
If God commands it, we can all rest assured that He intends it for our good and is guaranteed to help make us holy. And, if you must work or attend to household tasks, be sure to glorify the Lord in all you do.
Allison Gingras works for WINE: Women In the New Evangelization as National WINE Steward of the Virtual Vineyard. She is a Social Media Consultant for the Diocese of Fall River and CatholicMom.com. She is a writer, speaker, and podcaster, who founded ReconciledToYou.com and developed the Stay Connected Journals for Catholic Women (OSV).
Feature Image Credit: 5688709, https://pixabay.com/photos/man-woman-dog-pet-pug-owners-2425121/
The views and opinions expressed in the Inspiration Daily blog are solely those of the original authors and contributors. These views and opinions do not necessarily represent those of Diocesan, the Diocesan staff, or other contributors to this blog.
St. Daria: Saint of the Day for Monday, October 25, 2021
There is very little known about them. Chrysanthus was an Egyptian, son of a Patrician, Polemius. He was brought to Rome from Alexandria during the reign of Numerian, and despite the objections of his father, who had brought him to Rome, was baptized by a priest named Carpophorus. Chrysanthus refused is father’s attempts to get him married, finally married Daria, a Greek and a priestess of Minerva, converted her, and convinced her to live with him in chastity. When they converted a number of …
Bless Me, O Lord.: Prayer of the Day for Monday, October 25, 2021
Heavenly Father, Almighty God,
I humble myself before your Presence.
What a joy it is to come to you.
I thank you and I praise your infinite Majesty,
Omnipotence and Perfections.
Please forgive me of all my sins.
Lord I come to you in my nothingness.
I want to worship you and adore you,
to love you with all my heart,
with all my mind,
with all my soul
and with all my strength.
I want to burn with desire for you like an angel.
I need you my Lord,
I am …
Act of Faith and Hope
Lately, I have been listening to the soundtrack from the musical Hamilton. The song sung by Aaron Burr, Wait For It, has been especially captivating. The song is about how Burr has hopes and dreams, but also feels the weight of needing to leave some kind of legacy. In the tension between wants and oughts, he finds himself unable to pick sides. He keeps his opinions to himself, never fully committing to one side or the other for fear of choosing wrongly. This feature song expresses his desire to be patient, waiting for the moment he was made for, the time he’s supposed to shine.
The problem with waiting like Burr is that very often, the moment you’re waiting for passes you by. Perhaps you don’t recognize it for what it is, since you are so in the habit of waiting for what could be coming next. Or, you never see the moment because in order for it to arrive you had to make a hard choice in one direction or the other.
In our Gospel today, Bartimaeus is begging on the side of the road. He is blind, but hears the crowd approaching. His ears pick up the words, “It is Jesus!” “Jesus of Nazareth is coming! Quick, get your mother/father/sister/brother so He can heal them!”
Bartimaeus has been waiting, and waiting, and waiting to be healed. He is at a crossroads. Will he lean into hope, or be held back by despair? If he calls out, will anyone hear him? He doesn’t have anyone to advocate for him, no one to draw attention to his case. The crowd is huge, even he can tell that. How could Jesus even hear him, let alone see him?
But he does call out an act of faith and hope. He is pushed aside, others tell him to sit back down, and stay in his place. “Who are you to ask for a miracle? Why should Jesus heal you?”
A greater act of faith and hope, a defiant one even in the midst of the crowd’s rejection: “Son of David, have pity on me!”
Bartimaeus is bold. His call to Jesus is one with multiple acts of faith. First, he has faith Jesus will take pity on him and stop at all. Second, that Jesus’ pity will move Him to restore Bartimaeus’ sight. Third, and perhaps most important, Bartimaeus doesn’t just call Jesus, “Jesus”. He names Him as the “Son of David”, a title which points toward Jesus’ identity as the Messiah.
Bartimaeus did not wait for the perfect moment. He was not timid nor lukewarm in his request. Bartimaeus is a model for all of us to boldly proclaim Jesus’ identity as the Lord of our lives and in Him do we place our hope and trust. We should not wait for things to be perfect before coming to God with our hopes and dreams. The perfect moment is the moment we bring them to God, trusting in His mercy and love.
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: Lucas Pezeta, https://www.pexels.com/photo/crop-person-outstretching-hand-in-forest-3772365/
St. Anthony Mary Claret: Saint of the Day for Sunday, October 24, 2021
Claretian archbishop and founder. Anthony was born in Salient in Catalonia, Spain, in 1807, the son of a weaver. He took up weaving but then studied for the priesthood, desiring to be a Jesuit. Ill health prevented his entering the Order, and he served as a secular priest. In 1849, he founded the Missionary Sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, known today as the Claretians, and the Apostolic Training Institute of the Immaculate Conception, Claretian nuns. From 1850 to 1857, Anthony served as …
Prayers and Passages of St. Alphonsus De Liguori: Prayer of the Day for Sunday, October 24, 2021
He who prays is certain to be saved; while he who prays not is certain to be damned. All the saints were saved, and came to be saints by praying; all the accursed souls in hell were lost through neglect of prayer; if they had prayed, it is certain that they would not have been lost. And this will be one of the greatest occasions of their anguish in hell, the thought that they might have saved themselves so easily; that they had only to beg God to help them, but that now the time is past when …
Is the Spirit Alive in You?
Did anyone else besides me have to read today’s First Reading more than once before it started to click in your mind? I really had to take a deep breath and intentionally clear the thoughts and images from my head because they were obstacles to the Word of the Lord spoken through the writings of St. Paul in his letter to the Romans.
I couldn’t focus on God’s voice being spoken through the written words in these Bible passages. There are many times throughout my life when I’ve struggled with ‘seeing the face of God’ as the Psalm intones today or hearing His voice in my daily life.
There are so many distractions and tasks that can pull my focus from being fruitful for the Lord. When I’m distanced from Him, for whatever length of time, I become similar to the parable about the barren fig tree in the Gospel. I don’t want to be cut down after three years for not bearing good fruit.
I know there have been times my routines and thoughts aren’t connected to the Spirit of the life-giving Lord. I am so very thankful that there is no time limit for me to leave the concerns of the flesh and world behind, which take me further from God, and turn back to Him. The fertilizer I need to nurture the Spirit of Life in my heart and thoughts I absorb through the Sacraments, His divinely inspired Words in Scripture and in the living witnesses throughout time in this world.
Today is the memorial of Saint John of Capistrano. There were many challenges in the world during his lifetime. Through courage, diligence and faith, St. John became a reformer of the Church. He is a witness for me of the Spirit being alive in his life.
Please pray with me, asking for St. John’s intercession today.
St. John of Capistrano, your love for Christ overcame all obstacles. Help me to cherish God’s call and to follow him wherever he might lead. Amen.
Beth Price is part of the customer care team at Diocesan. She is a Secular Franciscan (OFS) and a practicing spiritual director. Beth shares smiles, prayers, laughter, a listening ear and her heart with all of creation. Reach her here bprice@diocesan.com.
Feature Image Credit: Exe Lobaiza, https://www.cathopic.com/photo/5886-ellas-tienen-felicidad-plena-dios
St. John of Capistrano: Saint of the Day for Saturday, October 23, 2021
St. John was born at Capistrano, Italy in 1385, the son of a former German knight in that city. He studied law at the University of Perugia and practiced as a lawyer in the courts of Naples. King Ladislas of Naples appointed him governor of Perugia. During a war with a neighboring town he was betrayed and imprisoned. Upon his release he entered the Franciscan community at Perugia in 1416. He and St. James of the March were fellow students under St. Bernardine of Siena, who inspired him to …