“Gospel: How can Mary say 'yes' to the Angel's request to bear a child? One way: the Angel points to the example of Elizabeth. Mary would likely have known about her cousin's pregnancy. Thus, the Angel says, 'Look what God has already done. Trust in what God can do in the future.'”— James Martin, SJ, twitter.com
“Gospel: Jesus says that others are complaining about him: 'Look, he is a glutton and a drunkard!' As my NT professor once told us, people were critiquing Jesus for 'living it up.' Jesus was a joyful man who delighted in the company of other men and women. His way is about joy!”— James Martin, SJ, twitter.com
“Every stranger that knocks at our door is an opportunity to meet Jesus Christ.”— Pope Francis, twitter.com
“But even if the Holy Family fleeing into Egypt did not meet the current definition of refugees (and they do), modern-day refugee families still deserve our care and protection, because each refugee possesses infinite dignity and worth. They are our sisters and brothers.”— James Martin, SJ, twitter.com
“Gospel: Jesus was born into a real family. He was divine, his mother conceived without sin, and Joseph a saint, but the rest of his family--aunts and uncles and cousins--were probably ordinary people. So Jesus understands family life. Therefore, he understands your own struggles.”— James Martin, SJ, twitter.com
“Like the Magi, believers are led by faith to seek God in the most hidden places, knowing that the Lord waits for them there.”— Pope Francis, twitter.com
“Gospel: Today Jesus 'withdraws' with the disciples, to move away from the crowds. At other times Jesus 'withdraws' to pray by himself. All of us, even extroverts, need time for solitude and private prayer. You and I need to connect with God, who often speaks to us in silence.”— James Martin, SJ, twitter.com
“I think we are well advised to keep on nodding terms with the people we used to be, whether we find them attractive company or not. Otherwise they turn up unannounced and surprise us, come hammering on the mind's door at 4 a.m. of a bad night and demand to know who deserted them, who betrayed them,…”— Joan Didion, amazon.com
“Why want, and yearn, and struggle, when the Now contains all one could ever wish for, and more?”— Thomas Kelly, dwellingplaceindy.org
“Gospel: Jesus is critiqued for eating with 'sinners and tax collectors,' as well as forgiving sins, speaking with women and healing the sick on the Sabbath. But for Jesus nothing should get in the way of proclaiming the Good News--which is the proclamation God's love for everyone.”— James Martin, SJ, twitter.com
“Gospel: Today Jesus says to those who wish to encounter him, 'Come and see!' Where is he inviting us to see him today? In the faces of those who are the most despised and rejected, in the faces of migrants and refugees and all forgotten ones. Come and see him there. He's waiting.”— James Martin, SJ, twitter.com
“Gospel: Jesus plucks the heads of grain for his disciples to eat. He does this in direct contradiction of the law. Why? Because sometimes there are higher values than law. Jesus knows that legalisms cannot get in the way of love or human flourishing. He says this over and over.”— James Martin, SJ, twitter.com
“As I sat in the hotel room, what once appeared as solid curtain fabric, solid chairs, solid tables, a solid headboard – all began to weave together into one vibrating energy field. The vibrating energy from each object in the room – each thing I saw – blended into the energy field of the next object…”— Melody Beattie, amazon.com
“You don’t have to be religious to be spiritual, or to hunger for a more fulfilled life. But it takes some work to move past the trappings of everyday life, of our insistent preoccupations, self-absorption and ambitions. I don’t know anyone who gets there with an epiphany, like a bolt of lightning. T…”— Lloyd I Sederer, psychologytoday.com
“I learned from Whitman that the poem is a temple--or a green field--a place to enter, and in which to feel.”— Mary Oliver, goodreads.com
“In the beginning I was so young and such a stranger to myself I hardly existed. I had to go out into the world and see it and hear it and react to it, before I knew at all who I was, what I was, what I wanted to be.”— Mary Oliver, goodreads.com
“When you're caught up in fearful thoughts, turn to prayer to allow the loving energy of the Universe to guide your thoughts from littleness and doubt back to love.”— Gabby Bernstein, twitter.com
“Prayer is your guide back to love. There is nothing more powerful than releasing the need to control and relying on a power greater than you to restore your thoughts and energy.”— Gabby Bernstein, twitter.com
“You know that prayer can get you into places you can't; prayer changes things. Even better, prayer changes people, and people change things. So go ahead and pray.”— Iyanla Vanzant, twitter.com