There is a Longing

Yesterday's election results here in Ohio hit the pro-life movement with a horrific blow! (You can read the proposed amendment & dissected explanations here at "See the Language" .) Therefore, I thought sharing some pro-life quotes would be a good idea for today's Wisdom Wednesday. "You are called to stand up for life! To respect and defend the mystery of life always and everywhere, including the lives of unborn babies, giving real help and encouragement to mothers in difficult situations. You are called to work and pray against abortion." St. John Paul II, in New York, 1995 “Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception. From the first moment of his existence, a human being must be recognized as having the rights of a person – among which is the inviolable right of every innocent being to life.” Catechism of the Catholic Church 2270 "Not even one abortion per week is acceptable. Not one per month. Not one per...

Matthew 23:1-12 "Practice what you preach!" "Do as I say, not as I do!" "Don't be a hypocrite!" The Pharisees Jesus points out in today's Gospel are definitely not following any of the above directives. They are more concerned with exaltation of self & placing themselves in positions of authority. By widening their phylacteries (leather boxes in which Hebrew scripture is kept & carried by Jewish men) & lengthening their tassels, they want their good deeds to be seen & acknowledged, making themselves appear to be more righteous than others. (One of the commentors to the daily reflections at The Word Among Us calls them the "Phar-I-Sees". Kind of fitting!) A great manager is one who is willing to do the most menial jobs, is not afraid of hard work, & won't ask his/her employees to do something they themselves wouldn't do. They will work hard & set the example for their employees. Unfortunately, many managers...

In lieu of a Wisdom Wednesday post, we are sharing about today's feast day: the Feast of All Saints' Day. On this day we honor ALL those who have reached their eternal glory in Heaven.  This includes those many saints officially recognized by the Catholic Church, as well as those unknown to us, but who have been welcomed openly into God's loving Kingdom. All the souls of the faithfully departed in Heaven are saints, whether they've been canonized by the Church or not.  As the day is a Holy Day of Obligation, Catholics must attend Mass, either the evening before (a Vigil Mass) or the day of the feast, November 1.   All Saints' Day was first recognized by Pope Boniface IV in 609 & was celebrated on May 13, the day of the Parthenon's dedication. The feast day was later moved in the mid-8th century to November 1 by Pope Gregory III.  Mary, the Mother of God, is the most honored saint in Heaven. We know from scripture that all she asks of Her Son, Jesus, will be ...