The devil seems to be having a productive summer. The prayer warriors need to redouble our efforts. Of course, this world is not our world, which makes Heaven seem so much more wonderful. James 2-4 tells us, "Consider it all joy, my brothers, when you encounter various trials, for you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. And let perseverance be perfect, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." We are building great spiritual muscles right now and we must continue to be vigilant. Here is what the locals had to say. Following passage of legislation to allow same-sex marriage in the state, the Catholic bishops of New York expressed concern "that both marriage and family will be undermined by this tragic presumption of government." In a statement, the heads of the state's eight Catholic dioceses said they were "deeply disappointed and troubled" at approval of a bill that will "alter radically and forever humanity's historic understanding of marriage." The state Senate passed the measure 33-29 in an evening vote June 24, and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat and a Catholic, signed it into law later that night. Unless it is delayed by legal challenges, it will take effect in late July. The bishops said the true definition of marriage as the union of one man and one woman "cannot change, though we realize that our beliefs about the nature of marriage will continue to be ridiculed, and that some will even now attempt to enact government sanctions against churches and religious organizations that preach these timeless truths." As Catholics, we know we are different. We know that God calls us to maintain His laws despite what the civil authorities legislate. At the end of times, all truth will be revealed and God's righteousness will reign. Kneel and pray today that our elected officials stop the assault on our moral beliefs.
The spiritual climax of the Gospel of John, as Father John Waiss points out, occurs at the foot of the Cross, where Jesus utters his parting words: “Woman, behold, your son!” and “Behold your mother!” (John 19:26-27). While these words were addressed to the Apostle John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, the Church has long understood this moment as a universal adoption. To truly image Christ, we must share in His parentage; if we embrace God as our spiritual Father but reject Mary as our mother, we treat Christ as a half-brother rather than our "firstborn among many brethren" (Rom. 8:29). As Origen noted as early as the third century, the profound depths of the Gospel are only accessible to those who, like John, rest their heads on Jesus’ breast and receive Mary into their own homes. This maternal role is deeply rooted in biblical typology, positioning Mary as the fulfillment of the great mothers of the Old Covenant. She is the New Eve , the mother of all the living according ...
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