A lovely Valentine from the Concord Pastor.
God’s Valentines for You
No one has loved you longer than I do:
I loved you before you were born or conceived,
I loved you before time began…
Read the rest here at the Concord Pastor.
Also, Kathy Schiffer writes on Valentine’s Day.
This is a statue of Saint Scholastica, sister, perhaps twin sister, of Saint Benedict. The statue is in a side altar of Saint Benedict Catholic Church, Richmond, Virginia, whose priest has now joined the blogosphere!
We don’t know a lot about Saint Scholastica, but this story about her is wonderful. Click through, choose Office of Readings, scroll to the Second Reading, and read it all, and then the beautiful Responsory.
From the books of Dialogues by Saint Gregory the Great, pope
‘When she heard her brother refuse her request, the holy woman joined her hands on the table, laid her head on them and began to pray. As she raised her head from the table, there were such brilliant flashes of lightning, such great peals of thunder and such a heavy downpour of rain that neither Benedict nor his brethren could stir across the threshold of the place where they had been seated. Sadly he began to complain: “May God forgive you, sister. What have you done?” “Well,” she answered, “I asked you and you would not listen; so I asked my God and he did listen. So now go off, if you can, leave me and return to your monastery.”
RESPONSORY
When the saintly nun begged the Lord that her brother might not leave her,
– she received more than her brother did from the Lord of her heart because she loved him so much.
How good, how delightful it is for brothers and sisters to live in unity.
– She received more than her brother did from the Lord of her heart because she loved him so much. ‘
The USCCB is running a Novena for Life. Here is today’s excellent reflection:
Today, on this 41st anniversary of Roe v. Wade, we consider the past four decades in which our society has legally permitted abortion and wandered far from God. Instead of accepting children in joy and hope, many hearts seem hardened against making commitments to others, fearing the demands others may make on our time or our freedom. We are becoming a culture marked by rejection, by loneliness and sorrow. In today’s Gospel, we hear how Jesus grieved over the Pharisees’ hardness of heart, as he heals the man with the withered hand. They remained silent when Jesus pointedly asked them: “Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath rather than to do evil, to save life rather than to destroy it?” Our laws now make it legal to destroy life by abortion, by abortifacient drugs, in destructive embryo research, in the course of in vitro fertilization procedures, and in some states by assisted suicide and the death penalty. How Jesus must grieve over this culture of death! Let us open our hearts in faith, entrusting our culture to the healing power of Christ, the One who has overcome sin and the power of evil.
Pray for the #prolife marchers today in Washington, DC. The temperatures are well below freezing, but they are out there witnessing for life. God bless them!
Happy New Year to all! Let’s start the year with some happy and beautiful things.
1. This is the Octave Day of the Nativity of the Lord, and Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God. Get your liturgical calendar for 2014 (for the United States) from the USCCB, linked here.
2. Did you know that the title of Mary as Theotokos, God-bearer, goes back to about 60 AD? There is also an ancient and beautiful hymn, We Fly to thy Protection, or Sub Tuum Praesidium, that goes back to about 250 and includes the Theotokos title.
3. There are so many wonderful depictions of Mary in art. There is also a legend that Luke was an artist and painted a portrait of Our Lady. Here is a discussion of this story and some icons and paintings associated with it.
Happy Feast of Saint Andrew!
Here are some facts and early traditions about St. Andrew, from Jimmy Akin, and more traditions and patronage information from saints.sqpn.com .
There is a very beautiful Christmas Novena starting today, here. God is not a cosmic vending machine, and he answers prayers only as is best for his designs. But sometimes… The whole homily is good, but you can start at 7:40.
Forma Fidei 