“Hail Mary, Full of grace,” this is the Angel Gabriel’s greeting to Mary which preceded the annunciation of both the conception of the Word in her womb and the birth of the God-man. This greeting is twofold: first, Gabriel greets Mary – a sign of reverence; second, he affirms her state of grace. Indeed, the latter caused the former: the state of grace caused the angel’s reverence.
A Priest is a mediator between God and the people. He speaks with God and delivers the message to the people. In Biblical days, Priests were revered as privileged souls who possessed insights into the divine mysteries and communicated them to people by leading them in religious worship.
After we closed from work yesterday afternoon, as usual my cab guy came to pick me and take me back to my apartment.
Along the way, he told me that he needs a little help from me. I said i'm listening and he explained that he didn't buy the usual GRA daily ticket for cab operators that afternoon and that i shouldn't be offended but in case the task force stops him when we pass through the GRA gate, i should pretend that I am a lawyer so they will let him go.
Right from the dawn of creation, from the very moment man strayed away from God by his disobedience, he has been like a fish out of water. He had always sought to find rest, succor, peace and joy which he enjoyed prior to his fall. This struggle is to retrace his source and sustainer. Often times, in contrary to our desires and expectations, instead of solace and comfort that our hearts yearn for, we are met with the very opposite, and so we get disappointed and distressed, at times tempted to question the essence of our being and the value of our existence here on earth. We are confronted by our three principal enemies: the flesh, the world and the evil one.
33rd Tuesday in Ordinary Time.
Today Salvation has come to this house
( Luke 19: 1- 10)
A certain man was very notorious for stealing fashionable shoes from his home town and reselling in other communities where they were quite expensive to make a living. When caught sometimes he was given several punishments but it didn’t stop him from going back to his source of livelihood (stealing shoes). One day, the villagers decided to give him an indelible mark of shame as his punishment, they bound his hands and foot and with a hot metal imprinted the letters “S T" ( Shoe Thief) on his forehead.
Benedict XVI, born Joseph Ratzinger, was a man of deep faith and unwavering conviction. He was a man who dedicated his life to the Catholic ...
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