Reflection Starter from St. Katharine Drexel

"Often in my desire to work for others I find my hands tied, something hinders my charitable designs, some hostile influence renders me powerless. My prayers seem to avail nothing, my kind acts are rejected, I seem to do wrong things when I am trying to do my best. In such cases I must not grieve. I am only treading in my Master's steps." - Saint Katharine Drexel, whose memory the Church celebrates today (3 March)

On Astrology From the Catholic Church's Perspective, Redemptive Suffering, and Other Catholic-related Topics

A number of articles/posts have recently been published on a variety of Catholic-related subjects worth considering.

To access some of these, please visit:

U.S. Catholic: Diet culture complicates Lenten fasting (February 2021)

Crossroads Initiative: Podcast: Tranquility amidst Turmoil & the Serenity Prayer

National Catholic Register: Blogs: Angelo Stagnaro: Astrology From the Catholic Church's Perspective (21 FEB 21)

Catholic Missionary Disciples: Diagnosing Catholics With Silver Bullet Syndrome

Our Sunday Visitor: Be friends with the radicals: Dorothy Day and what it means to love our neighbors (11 JAN 21)

Aleteia: Philip Kosloski: This doctor only asked for an "Our Father" as payment (28 JAN 21)

Magis Center: What Friendship Has Taught Me about Redemptive Suffering (21 JAN 21)

New Advent: Will we be "sing a little louder" Catholics or "voices for the voiceless" in the coming years? (28 JAN 21)

The Cathedrals: "Echoes From The Burning Bush"

As we continue to live this week, I offer this version of The Cathedrals presenting "Echoes From The Burning Bush":

Thank You, Lord

Thank you, Lord, for the blessing of the beatific vision You have planned for us.

Br. Simon Teller, O.P., on the Beatific Vision

"The beatific vision is like a baby who has a beard. 

"This isn't my own original idea. It belongs to Saint Thomas Aquinas (see De veritate q. 13, a. 1, ad 1), who used it to argue against the claim that in heaven we'll somehow lose our humanity.  If we spend time thinking about it, the beatific vision - the strange and glorious union with God that we will enjoy in heaven - can seem like something unnatural to us. 

"But Aquinas is very much opposed to the idea of the beatific vision violating human nature. He sees heaven as a place where people become more, not less, human."

In a recent commentary, Brother Simon Teller, O.P., reflected on how the life that we live in this world "is like a stage of infancy" and on how "when we join the ranks of the blessed in the heavenly kingdom, we will discover that the life of heaven is truly what we were made for."

To access Br. Simon's complete post, please visit: 

Dominicana: Guardians of Light (2 OCT 20)

Reflection Starter from Fulton Sheen

"Criticism of others is thus an oblique form of self-commendation. We think we make the picture hang straight on our wall by telling our neighbors that all his pictures are crooked." - Ven. Fulton J. Sheen

Music In Our Schools Month

The month of March is being observed as Music in Our Schools Month, an observance initiated by the National Association for Music Education to raise awareness of the importance of music education for all children and to remind citizens of the importance of all children having access to music in school. This observance is also designed to be an opportunity for music teachers to bring their music programs to the attention of the school and the community and to display the benefits that school music brings to students of all ages.

The Music in Our Schools Month theme for 2021 is “Music: The Sound of My Heart.” According to the National Association for Music Education, the impact of music education on the lives of students during this particular school year, unlike any other, is “evident in how the social-emotional benefits have carried them through the pandemic and brought joy in their communities.”

For more information related to Music in Our Schools Month, please visit:

National Association for Music Education: Music In Our Schools Month

Background information:

National Association for Music Education

Birthday Blessings, Michelle!!!

Birthday greetings to niece Michelle Gonzalez Duggan, whose birthday is today!!! May this day, and the upcoming year, be filled with the Lord's choicest blessings!!

Boston Common: "That Old Quartet of Mine"

It's time for some more barbershop harmony. Here is a presentation of "That Old Quartet of Mine" by Boston Common:

YouTube: The Boston Common - That Old Quartet of Mine

Bishop Tobin on Not Being Able to Click Our Way to Holiness

"It occurred to me recently how often I push a button, flip a switch, or click an icon to navigate everyday life. It's become very automatic, mindless even, to push, flip or click - to turn off the alarm, open and close lights, adjust the heat, turn on the TV, surf channels, awaken the computer, engage the smart phone, browse the internet, check emails, brew coffee, pop the toaster, use the microwave, open the garage doors, and start the car. And that's all before 9:00 a.m. It's a pattern that lasts throughout the day."

In a recent commentary, Bishop Thomas J. Tobin, of the Diocese of Providence (RI), reflected on technology use in contemporary life making a number of tasks easier vis-à-vis the determined and concentrated effort required, using the grace given to us by God, to achieve holiness.

To access Bishop Tobin's complete essay, please visit: 

The Imitation of Christ: You Can't Click Your Way To Holiness (25 FEB 21)

Thank You, Lord

Thank you, Lord, for the blessing of good storytellers.

Reflection Starter from Abigail Adams

"We have too many high sounding words and too few actions that correspond with them." - Abigail Adams