Tag: suffering
Fatima: June 13
During World War I Pope Benedict XV made repeated but forlorn pleas for peace, and finally, in May 1917, made a direct appeal to Mary to intercede for peace in the world. The response was Mary’s first appearance at Fatima just over a week later. At this time Fatima was just a small village about… Read More ›
Lacerated (A prayer for all in inner pain)
You see Lord my struggle, sometimes I think I am drowning, I pray for a loving heart, yet so much violence, hatred, the desire to hurt dwells within. Why do I want to lash out beloved? Am I really so evil, shattered within; will I go under, devoured by my own inner hungry and rapacious… Read More ›
Advent and grief (a talk)
When I think of the concept of longing and then mixed it in with the experience of grief, I always get the feeling, or perhaps the picture, of a deep, dark and cold ocean, a place of feeling alone and isolated…. for what was once a bright inner relationship with another, is now empty and… Read More ›
Mary is watching over us and praying for us
[Jesus] is always on the watch, as much as He was when the Apostles in Peter’s ship were struggling with the storm on the Sea of Galilee. although unseen by us, He is always there with His mother watching over His Church, secretly strengthening it, prepared again to come walking on the waters. He never… Read More ›
Failure
Failure is not usually a once in a lifetime experience. It is a weight that has to be carried, unpleasant as that may feel. Faces presented to the world often hide an inner world that is filled with chaos, fear and pain. It is not the complete picture of course for any human, for along… Read More ›
Sacrament of the Sick: We enter into the suffering of Jesus Christ
By Christopher M. Riggs Don’t wait until the anesthesiologist is ready to put the mask on you before you think about the Sacrament of the Sick, says Fr. John Hay. He urges everyone to seek an anointing before they are admitted to a hospital. “It is a sacrament given to help us bear the suffering… Read More ›
Mother Theresa of Calcutta
3. Whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant” (Mk 10: 43). With particular emotion we remember today Mother Teresa, a great servant of the poor, of the Church and of the whole world. Her life is a testimony to the dignity and the privilege of humble service. She had chosen to be… Read More ›
Absurdity
When I was young, I came upon the quote: “life is absurd”. I am pretty sure it was from Camus, for I spent some time in my middle twenties reading him extensively, for a year or so. I think I kind of got it, yet as I get older this quote has become more and… Read More ›
The enemies will do nothing to us
Let us likewise understand and take it to heart that while the Lord is with us, the enemies will do nothing to us. For when they come, their actions correspond to the condition in which they find us; they pattern their phantasms after our thoughts. Should they find us frightened and distressed, immediately they attack… Read More ›
Savour in fullness the joy that is born of truth
… Love the word of God and love the Church, and this will give you access to a treasure of very great value and will teach you how to appreciate its richness. Love and follow the Church, for it has received from its Founder the mission of showing people the way to true happiness. It… Read More ›