We make resolutions for the New (Calendar) Year so we can set goals that will help us reach toward self-improvement and growth. So, too, we should make resolutions for the New (Church) Year so we can set goals that will help us reach toward holiness and spiritual growth.
Advent is a project of sorts, the purpose of which is to ready our minds and hearts to welcome the Christ Child when he arrives on Christmas. The project of Advent is inner transformation – a mental, emotional, and spiritual renovation, if you will. To do this, you’ll need to make plans and gather the right tools for the job.
Missed all the excitement? Not to worry. I’ve got all the links right here so you can catch up. Enjoy!
Perhaps we can’t persist in holding special events, but there are small ways that we can keep up the momentum as the calendar pages turn.
Our priests leave behind the families in which they were raised, forsake having families of their own, and commit themselves to serving Christ – and us – in a ministry that is all-encompassing and demanding. They’re people, too, and have a need to feel welcomed and to experience a sense of family just as we do.Â
As I walked the grounds of the Shrine of Our Lady of Sorrows in Starkenburg, Missouri, it was as if I could hear the whisper of history. It came alive for me that day, and still is living in my heart.
Tragically, there are countless persons who have been wounded by negligent or improper parenting. Even more tragically, they don’t even know that healing is at hand. They don’t understand that Mary is the answer to their quest for hope, healing, and wholeness. Mary cares for our souls in a way Read more