World Down Syndrome Day: A reflection on two loves
Topics: pro-life, human dignity, holidays
Valentine’s Day can be awkward for a lot of people. It’s unlikely the holiday will come up in Church conversations, except perhaps in the young adult group. Catholics may see little connection between their faith and the chocolate overdoses of February 14. But it is a day that takes on new dimensions when viewed through a Christian lens.
How to make a grotto cake to celebrate Our Lady of Lourdes
The Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes is coming up on February 11th. Tomorrow, we’ll post some ways to celebrate this great feast of Our Lady, but today I wanted to share with you one of our favorite family activities for the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes—baking a grotto cake!
Topics: parenting, holidays, traditions, DIY, feast days, activities
On February 2—forty days after Christmas—the Church celebrates the feast of the Presentation of the Lord, calling to mind the Holy Family’s observance of the Mosaic Law (see Leviticus 12:1–8). Mary comes to the Temple forty days after giving birth to Jesus, and she and Joseph offer for her purification a sacrifice of two turtledoves, the offering prescribed for the poor. In addition, Mary and Joseph present and dedicate Jesus to God, as he is Mary’s firstborn Son (see Exodus 13:2–16).
Topics: family life, holidays, traditions, DIY, feast days
Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. on uniting justice and love
[We] bow together in grief before the shameful murder of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a unique apostle of the non-violent drive for justice.1
Today we echo the Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox and Jewish leaders who together honored Rev. King after his death in 1968, exhorting Americans to take up his mantle as “apostles of justice.” But especially given today’s tense political climate, we should also remember his refusal to sever justice from love. If King was an “apostle of justice,” it’s because he was all the more an “apostle of love.”
Topics: Culture, discipleship, leadership, virtue, inspiration, holidays