With months of many not going to work, to school, to play sports, to socialize, to visit family, to beaches or parks, or even to church, the fuse began to burn.
In the past several months, the Mass and other Church activity – not only here, but across the globe – had been largely inaccessible to the faithful. Masses had not been available publicly, and in some places, no sacraments at all.
In these bewildering days when even the most devout are confounded by circumstances and sense that society – even the Church – is careening out of control, it is comforting to know what Our Lady said centuries ago specifically about these times.
Sin is the cause of endless misery today – and yet, most suffering from despondency never attribute it to immorality. Why would they? Most don’t practice faith in Christ, and of those who do, many no longer hear straight talk about sin.
With the long-held American tenet of separation of church and state, it would seem that wearing one’s faith on his sleeve in business might be ‘imprudent.’
Here is a more unfamiliar beatitude, a jarring statement of Christ found in the Gospel of Matthew (Matt 11:6), apart from Eight Beatitudes given during His Sermon on the Mount (Matt 5).
When I was a little girl about four, my parents and grandparents – after hours-long Sunday afternoon dinners with extended family – would gather us all to watch “The Ed Sullivan Show.” It was then that I first saw some amazing performers play brilliant piano and realized I wanted to learn it.
In our Lord’s short earthly life, not a moment was wasted. In imitation of Christ, we should make each day — every moment, every hour — something which continually consoles Him.
If education’s purpose is to teach us how to think, a Catholic education is necessary for thinking in alignment with God – about one’s unique identity and purpose in this life, proper use of his talents, and the manner of his life-journey toward his ultimate meeting with God. That meeting is life’s most important one, called at a time we least expect.
When many of us come to the mature realization that prioritizing our Catholic faith and God’s will for our lives is paramount, we don’t envision the pending fallout.
Catholics are being cajoled into accepting the notion that ‘niceness’ and tolerance mandate silence or mitigating what they know as simple Catholic Truth.
This charred iconic church, where faithful gathered under Mary’s patronage since the great Christian Renaissance, involved the toil of workers for centuries. Among priceless items saved were The Blessed Sacrament, Christ’s crown of thorns, the altar, Holy Cross, and others.
In contemplating all Christ endured throughout His earthly life, suffering, and death – to satisfy His Father’s will that an immense debt be paid for our offenses – it came at great difficulty to His humanity.
Today, suffering in any form is disdained and seen as unnecessary and unsophisticated. Even in Church circles, there’s the greatest emphasis on mercy, yet scant notice of God’s justice.