Declaring Your Faith with Clarity and Charity

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Thirty Days with Mary-Day 26-September 9

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    30 Days of Women and Herbs – Frauendreissiger Mugwort   (Artemisia vulgaris) 2 Maccabees, Chapter 15, Verse 8 He urged his men not to  fear  the attack of the Gentiles, but mindful of the help they had received in the past from Heaven, to expect now the victory that would be given them by the Almighty.   As an old, retired military man it was common for us to say while we were loading our magazines with bullets, “Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition." We knew that without faith it is impossible to please God, for whoever would approach him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. Optimists see steppingstones where pessimists see stumbling blocks.   Heavenly Intercession [1] "Stretching out his right hand, Jeremiah presented a gold sword to Judas. As he gave it to him, he said 'Accept this holy sword as a gift from God; with it you shall crush your adversaries.' " —2 Maccabees 15:15-16   Nicanor planned to slaughte...
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Sunday, August 10, 2025

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  Claire’s Corner ·           Today in honor of the Holy Trinity do the  Divine Office  giving your day to God. To honor God REST: no shopping after 6 pm Saturday till Monday. Don’t forget the internet. ·           Bucket List Trip:  Around the World “Perfect Weather” o     Darjeeling ,  India. ·           Spirit Hour:  St Lawrence cocktail ·           Foodie:  Thukpa On Sundays Pray: Glorious Queen of Heaven and Earth, Virgin Most Powerful, thou who hast the power to crush the head of the ancient serpent with thy heel, come and exercise this power flowing from the grace of thine Immaculate Conception. Shield us under the mantle of thy purity and love, draw us into the sweet abode of thy heart and annihilate and render impotent the forces bent on destroying us....
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Wednesday, January 17, 2018

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feast of saint Anthony, abbot Sirach, Chapter 22, Verse 16 A wooden beam firmly bonded into a building is not loosened by an earthquake; So the mind firmly resolved after careful deliberation will not be afraid at any time. A prudent mind firmly resolved is undisturbed by violent and conflicting thoughts. Sometimes we all have senseless thoughts and feelings which shake us but faith is a firm anchor for our thoughts. We indeed do have the power within ourselves to choose not to react to impulsive thoughts. Sacredness [1] ·          Holiness consists in friendship with God. If we would be in any sense the friends of God, we must have at least that desire for holiness without which such friendship would be impossible; growth in the knowledge of God is the deepening of this friendship. ·          To know God is to know self and if we know ourselves well, we know have one or two prominent...
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Monday, October 3, 2022

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 Monday Night at the Movies Luis Bunuel, Simon of the Desert, 1965 SAINT MOTHER THEODORE GUERIN   Hebrews, Chapter 12, Verse 21 Indeed, so FEARFUL was the spectacle that Moses said, “I am terrified and trembling.”   Moses was the heir apparent to the throne of Egypt in his youth. As a member of the Egyptian court, he would have seen many fearful spectacles yet imagine what it must have been like to have been a witness of God descending on Mount Sinai to give the law. He was terrified and trembling. Again, now imagine if Moses was somehow resurrected and was able to walk into an ordinary catholic church that has a very modest Blessed Sacrament Chapel. Do you think his reaction would be any different than the first time he encountered the living God?  Be Still and Know that I am God [1]   On the evening of October 1995, John Paul II was scheduled to greet the seminarians at Saint Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore. It had been a very full day that began with a Mass at...
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Friday, August 26, 2022

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 Switch of Manliness Legacy OUR LADY OF CZESTOCHOWA   Acts, Chapter 10, verse 1-4 1 Now in Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of the Cohort called the Italica, 2 devout and God-fearing along with his whole household, who used to give alms generously to the Jewish people and pray to God constantly. 3 One afternoon about three o’clock, he saw plainly in a vision an angel of God come into him and say to him, “Cornelius.” 4 He looked intently at him and seized with FEAR , said, “What is it, sir?” He said to him, “Your prayers and almsgiving have ascended as a memorial offering before God.   Cornelius’ Cohort was an auxiliary unit of archers, men who are expert at hitting a mark or target.   Sin is the act of violating God's will. Sin can also be viewed as anything that violates the ideal relationship between an individual and God, or as any diversion from the ideal order for human living. To sin has been defined as "to miss the mark" to have a h...
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Thursday, May 27, 2021

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  Auxilium Christianorum - Praying for Persecuted Priests Monday, May 24 is the Feast of Mary Mother of the Church. It is also the Feast of  Mary Help of Christians  (Auxilium Christianorum). Please consider joining this Auxilium Christianorum family to pray daily for our holy and courageous persecuted priests. The Church teaches us that it is divided into the  Church Triumphant  (which includes the members of the Church in heaven), the  Church Suffering  (this includes the members of the Church in purgatory), and the  Church Militant  (this refers to those members of the Church who are alive in this world). Because we are part of the Church Militant, we are in a spiritual warfare and this spiritual warfare requires that we recognize, as Saint Paul teaches us "For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood; but against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the world of this darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in the high ...
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Monday, August 12, 2019

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Judith, Chapter 10, Verse 16 When you stand before him, have no fear in your heart; give him the report you have given us, and he will treat you well.” Judith prepares for war with prayer and by the enhancement of her beauty. She is so strikingly beautiful that in this verse one of the guards of the Assyrian camp advises her to be confident in the presence of Holofernes. Beauty and the Beast [1] After bathing (during a drought) she uses all the human arts available to her to make herself beautiful and captivating: perfumed ointment, hair, clothing and jewelry. She understands the goodness of her body. She knows physical beauty is good and comes from God. She also knows that the power of her beauty comes from within her, from her holiness, from her faithfulness to God. Since both her exterior and interior beauty come from God, her beauty must be devoted to the service of God. God intends to use her beauty as a weapon to liberate the people. She will wield the weapon t...
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Thursday, August 21, 2025

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📖 Introduction to Acts: A Catholic Perspective   The Acts of the Apostles , written by St. Luke, is a continuation of his Gospel and serves as a bridge between the life of Christ and the life of the Church. It chronicles the birth and expansion of the early Christian community, empowered by the Holy Spirit and led by apostles like Peter and Paul. From a Catholic viewpoint, Acts is not merely historical—it’s theological and pastoral. It reveals how the Church, under divine guidance, confronts fear, persecution, and uncertainty with faith, courage, and communal strength. 😨 Lessons of Fear in Acts: Catholic Reflections Fear in Acts is not condemned—it’s transformed. Here are key episodes and their spiritual lessons: 1. Pentecost and the Fear of Speaking Truth (Acts 2) Context : The apostles, once timid and hiding, are emboldened by the Holy Spirit. Lesson : Fear is overcome through divine empowerment. Catholics see Pentecost as the birth of the Ch...
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Wednesday, March 14, 2018

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Wednesday after laetare Sunday: end of mid-lent [1] Jeremiah, Chapter 26, verse 19 Did Hezekiah, king of Judah, and all Judah condemn him to death? Did he not fear the LORD and entreat the favor of the LORD, so that the LORD had a change of heart regarding the evil he had spoken against them? We, however, are about to do great evil against ourselves.” Have you ever been around people who cannot handle the truth! Speaking the truth got Jeremiah in dire straits. Unmoving, the temple officials and elders trashed Jeremiah nonetheless they were too afraid to kill him. Dire Straits [2] ·          At the beginning of Jehoiakim's reign, God tells Jeremiah to stand in the court of the temple and speak to all the people and cities of Judah. They're getting another chance to repent. Maybe they'll actually listen this time. ·          If the people don't finally come to their senses, God's going t...
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Bourbon & Cigars

Bourbon & Cigars
Smoke in this Life not the Next

Domus Vinea Mariae

Domus Vinea Mariae
Home of Mary's Vineyard