June 2013

At yesterday’s Angelus, Pope Francis talked about the recently-celebrated feast, the Sacred Heart of Jesus. In particular, he spoke of Jesus’ Heart as the ultimate symbol of God’s mercy. This symbol is not imaginary, as many symbols are, but it is a real symbol; it exists now and for always.

Additionally, the Holy Father told the crowd that Jesus is pure mercy. I think it might be difficult for us to (more…)

On this Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I’d like to share with you this quote from St. Anthony Mary Claret. The Nineteenth century Spanish saint’s words are both beautiful and daring. They challenge me to take my Marian devotion and spiritual life up another notch. As I go about my day today – celebrating my husband’s birthday and attending the wedding of a lovely young couple – I’ll be playing the quote in the background of my heart and asking myself, “How will I light the fire of divine love in the world?” (more…)

In the June issue of “Simply Holy,” I wrote about the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the possibility of enthroning Jesus in our hearts. Today, I came across a quote from St. Claude La Colonbiere, taken from notes for a retreat he gave in 1678. God, as you probably already know has a funny way of doing things. Not funny, “ha-ha,” but funny as in “you did that on purpose, didn’t you?”

What first caught my eye was the word, “bitterness” in the first line. Bitterness can take many forms and I think most of us struggle with it in one form or another, at least on occasion. It can be difficult to remain joyful when faced with misfortune, can’t it? (more…)