Category: Live in Christ

In Perilous Times We Need the Rosary
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In Perilous Times We Need the Rosary

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We live in such turbulent stressful times.  We hear of disaster after disaster, Hurricane Irene, earthquakes, the Japanese tsunami, a record number of tornadoes, disastrous floods in the North East, fires and drought across the South West.  Economically, each day seems to bring bad news.  We may yet tip back into a recession.  Crime and […]

Double Your Blessings!
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Double Your Blessings!

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There are two devotions close to my heart and vital for the future of our Church and for the salvation of our souls — The Eucharist and the Rosary. May we rediscover each day a deeper and more abiding reverence and love for the Blessed Sacrament. May we also use this month — one which the Church […]

Is Making Sacrifices “Stupid?”
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Is Making Sacrifices “Stupid?”

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I’m really not one to talk about voluntary sacrifices I make — the whole “do not let your right hand know what your left hand is doing” thing. It’s something between me and God. But, I happened to casually mention to a friend that I was basically doing another Lent for 40 Days for Life, […]

Keeping the Lepanto Spirit
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Keeping the Lepanto Spirit

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The feast of Our Lady of the Rosary – celebrated by the Church on October 7 – is my favorite Marian feast day in the liturgical year.  The reason for this has less to do with my love of the Rosary than my intrigue over the Battle of Lepanto. Perhaps you remember that the Battle […]

A Shower of Roses
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A Shower of Roses

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In the mid-1980’s, I spent a lot of time with Michelle, a seventeen year-old parishioner who suffered from a terminal brain tumor. In the last weeks of her life on Earth, I visited with her every day. It’s difficult to declare God’s love to a dying teenager and her family. It was a humbling way […]

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Awakening

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God is love, therefore we exist.  The Divine Goodness is the pulsing root of all things.  We are created for communion with Him, conjured from nothingness to behold the Beautiful One. Creation is a great romance: “For You love all the things that exist” (Wisdom 11:24).  The God of Jacob is not merely the Craftsman, […]

“Pray, Hope, and Don’t Worry!”
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“Pray, Hope, and Don’t Worry!”

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Fr. Peter and I have been trying to get together for over a year. We’ve both been so busy, he as a pastor of a parish and Catholic school (an hour’s distance from me), and me as a wife, mother and author. But, just recently we finally succeeded on the day before St. Padre Pio’s […]

Lessons from Rosh Hashanah
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Lessons from Rosh Hashanah

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The Lord said to Moses, “Tell the Israelites: On the first day of the seventh month you shall keep a Sabbath rest, with a sacred assembly and with the trumpet blasts as a reminder; you shall then do no sort of work, and you shall offer the oblation to the Lord.” (Leviticus 23:23-25) I’m embarrassed […]

Do We Question a Generous God?
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Do We Question a Generous God?

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The  Gospel (Matthew 20: 1-16a) tells of a vineyard owner hiring and paying his workers. Some workers work all day. Others come at noon. Still others start work at three in the afternoon. The last group comes at five in the afternoon. In the evening, much to everyone’s surprise, everyone is paid the same! When […]

Turning SSPX Defiance into Good
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Turning SSPX Defiance into Good

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Shortly after the first of many meetings between the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) and the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) in October of 2009, I wrote in my column: Regardless of whether or not the meetings result in the SSPX arriving at full communion – something each of us should […]

Have a Good Day!
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Have a Good Day!

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When I finished purchasing a product, the server handed me the bag and said, “Here you are; have a good day.” Remember in the Gospel story that the  official came to Jesus, trying to justify himself, “An official asked him this question, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus answered him, […]

"In Whom We Live and Move and Have Our Being"
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“In Whom We Live and Move and Have Our Being”

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There is One Being, Who knows Himself and sees Himself. He dwells in Himself, And from Himself sets forth. Glory to His name. This is a Being Who by His own will is in every place, Who is invisible and visible, Manifest and secret. He is above and below. This hymn was composed by Saint […]

Sunshine’s Getting Older
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Sunshine’s Getting Older

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It’s the first day of school here at the Fenelon Clan Abode, and I made our high school sophomore a super-duper, extra-special, sunshine theme breakfast: Eggs in a basket with little mini-sun cutouts, sunshine drink (milk with vanilla, sweetener, and yellow food coloring), and yogurt parfait with bursting sun rays (peach slices arranged along the […]

Card. Raymond Burke Celebrates Pontifical High Mass at Knock Shrine
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Card. Raymond Burke Celebrates Pontifical High Mass at Knock Shrine

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Cardinal Raymond Burke, Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura in the Vatican, celebrated a Pontifical High Mass in the Extraordinary Form at the Marian Sanctuary in Knock County Mayo on Saturday the 10th of September. His Eminence was formally welcomed by the Parish Priest of Knock who hosted a private dinner for the Cardinal with a […]

Work and Prayer: Of Coins, Sheep, and Men
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Work and Prayer: Of Coins, Sheep, and Men

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One of the most famous stories from the Bible is that of “The Prodigal Son,” a tale that has resonated with parents across times and cultures. The basic plot of the story is straightforward: a rebellious youth sets off from home in search of worldly pleasures, and having wasted his father’s money and reputation, eventually […]

Admonish Sinners
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Admonish Sinners

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I used to think that God’s law was like those dumb rules we had to put up with in grammar school, like “Thou shalt not chew gum in class.”  They are arbitrary laws that bureaucrats came up with to keep them happy and the rest of us miserable.  The goal of students is to break […]

Impressing the Boss
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Impressing the Boss

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Our family didn’t make it to an amusement park this summer, but when I was a kid, summer always meant two things: a trip to King’s Island and a new pair of shoes.  My dad’s company had a company picnic every year in June, and from the time I was about 6, that picnic took […]

Now Is the Day of Salvation
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Now Is the Day of Salvation

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Jesus declared to the pharisees, “The kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21). This enigmatic saying challenges what Father Stephen Freemancalls “two-storey Christianity,” which views the Creator as radically separated from His creation. Two-storey Christianity is responsible for the fixation on “getting to heaven,” so commonplace among modern western believers. In contradistinction, the Gospel […]

So Far To Go
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So Far To Go

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If we were to really take an honest look at our lives, we would probably be struck by how far we still have to go in the spiritual life.  For one seeking to grow spiritually there is no such thing as good enough.  No matter how good others think we are we will always see that we still […]

Wiping the Slate Clean
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Wiping the Slate Clean

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The other day, I wiped the slate clean. Literally. In our prayer corner, we have a gray slate shingle that once belonged to the roof of the original Schoenstatt Marian shrine, the founding place of the International Schoenstatt Movement in Schoenstatt, Germany, by Father Joseph Kentenich in 1914. Some years back, local movement members salvaged […]

For All? Or For Many?
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For All? Or For Many?

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Recently, I went back to work part-time at a fabric store as the Education Coordinator in charge of the classes, schedules, teaching the sewing and quilting classes, and seeing to various other educational needs of the store. The other day, while talking with a couple of ladies about the seasonal fabrics at the store and especially the […]

What is God Collecting from You?
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What is God Collecting from You?

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What you put in the collection basket says a lot about you and where you are at in your journey. Some of us put in our 10% tithing without a second thought. Some of us put in the few “extra” dollars we may have. Some of us struggle with the need to “give” to the […]

What the Catholic Church Teaches on Evangelization
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What the Catholic Church Teaches on Evangelization

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Author’s Note: I read with interest Mary Kochan’s article on the Catholic Lane website, “Catholics, Please Say Something about Jesus!” I was somewhat surprised by the passionate responses, both pro and con, to her article. As I said in my own response to Mary’s article: “I think the argument should not be over what you […]

Further Thoughts on Talking About Jesus
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Further Thoughts on Talking About Jesus

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The question of whether Catholics talk enough about Jesus was recently raised on this site. It came up as part of difference of opinion over whether believers of any stripe should be scandalized by expressions of devotion to Mary that don’t mention her divine son in the same breath. Catholic apologist Dave Armstrong was among […]