Are you prepared to pray for your religious freedom? The U.S. bishops have called for a fortnight of prayer to end the assault by our government on our right to worship. The fourteen days begin on June 21. According to the bishop's appeal, the fortnight will culminate on Independence Day. This special period of prayer, study, catechesis, and public action will emphasize both our Christian and American heritage of liberty. It is a time to remind ourselves of the importance of our faith. I know that I have never felt more threatened as a Catholic than in the past several years. The intense worldly pressure has certainly caused me to appreciate the freedoms that we hold dear in this nation. None are more important though than the freedom to worship as we wish. So over the next three days, prepare yourself for a spiritual renewal. And come this Thursday, join the rest of the nation's approximately 68 million Catholics and pray and don't stop for the next fourteen days. Who knows, you might just discover something about yourself.
Born during the turbulent era of the French Revolution, Saint Jeanne Jugan rose above hardship and a lack of formal schooling to become a profound vessel of Christ’s mercy. After losing her father at a young age and working through her youth as a kitchen maid and nurse, her life radically changed one freezing night when she encountered a blind, paralyzed elderly woman with nowhere to go. Jeanne carried the woman back to her own home, placed her in her own bed, and began a lifelong mission of radical hospitality. This act of profound love blossomed into the Little Sisters of the Poor , a thriving community dedicated to sheltering and honoring the destitute elderly. Despite later facing heavy trials—including being unjustly sidelined and stripped of her leadership by a controlling chaplain—Jeanne accepted her obscurity and exile with a joyful spirit, resting her complete trust in God's hidden providence until her death in 1879. In our daily lives, Saint Jeanne Jugan invites us to lo...
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