I have a dear friend who has been a Servite sister for many decades. Last week she mentioned in passing that in her community they have a tradition that she called “Go gracefully.” It means that before someone goes on a trip she gets everything done ahead of time. Laundry is done, suitcase packed, driving [...]
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Something to think about | The infinite vistas of the Kingdom of God that open up before man are not presented as ways for man to escape his lot, but rather they represent new dimensions for human life and new opportunities for the exercise of duty. The divine grace which Christ promises to those who [...]
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When we hear the story of Martha and Mary, the sisters who were such close friends of Jesus’, we most likely know which one we are. I have always been a Martha, and like most Marthas, perhaps a little smug about it. We Marthas might roll our eyes when this gospel comes up, picturing Mary [...]
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Here’s some excellent practical wisdom from Blessed Peter Favre, SJ: Seek grace for the smallest things, and you will also find grace to accomplish, to believe in, and to hope for the greatest things. Attend to the smallest things, examine them, think about putting them into effect, and the Lord will grant you greater. Many [...]
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Something to think about | St. Augustine was impressed by the amount of sin in the world; humanity for him was a massa damnata. That seems to imply that grace is not only unearned but bestowed sparingly. Ignatius, on the other hand, was impressed by the fact that God spoke to him despite his sinfulness. [...]
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What does it mean to be really, really lost? My husband, Jim, the kind of person who always stops to help people, saw a distraught looking woman in the park last weekend. Dressed in African dress and head wrap, she did not speak English. She had her 3 year old grandson with her and it [...]
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I was driving to the grocery store the other day when the public radio network offered a story about motorcycle gangs, their initiation rituals, crimes and other things that make my safety-conscious self recoil. I listened with one ear as I parked my car. As I walked into the lobby of the grocery store, I [...]
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Just when I’m almost certain that church-the-building is one of the last places I’ll encounter God’s grace, I receive evidence to the contrary. Being a mystic* type, I’m okay with having my assumptions about church and faith challenged empirically. This is what happened when I got into gear for the 5:30 PM liturgy on Friday. [...]
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Something to think about | The spiritual life always concerns itself with the present. Retreatants are very inclined to worry about the future and be guilty about the past. It is important to set goals for the future and to implement ways to achieve those goals. It is also important to review the past, claim [...]
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Something to think about ¦ Ignatius allowed little room for illusion—his God could not serve as any kind of basis for illusions of the betterment of the human condition. The vision called for the realization of Christ’s kingdom in this world—and to this extent it carried with it elements of a vision of a more [...]
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