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On this last day of the month of the Sacred Heart, I wanted to write about a particular commitment I made for this year:

I decided I wanted to renew my 33-day consecration to the most Chaste Heart (ending on his feast day), renew my 33-day consecration to the Immaculate Heart (ending on the feast of Our Lady of Fatima), and lastly, do a 33-day consecration to the Sacred Heart ending on the feast of the Sacred Heart all in one year, one after the other.

I cannot recommend this enough. I know it was an inspiration from the Holy Spirit, not my idea.

2023 has been the most difficult year I've ever had so far, for reasons I won't get into. A lot of frustration, setbacks, and confusion. A year of growing pains, to sum it up. I'm telling you, devotion to these Three Hearts has been what's gotten me through. Whatever happens, I know I can turn to these Hearts and even if the burden isn't taken away, I am given all the graces I need to persevere. I am comforted uniquely by each Heart. The Heart of a father in St. Joseph, the Heart of a Mother in Our Lady, and the Heart of our Brother in Christ Jesus. They are here for us. They want us to be part of their little family, if we will only accept their free invitation.

Go to Joseph. Go to Mary. Go to Jesus. Give yourselves to their hearts burning with love unique to you. They will give you not just Heaven in return, but make you part of the family, so that you are never alone. You will live with your heart already in Heaven, and you will learn to walk in their footsteps until the rest of you catches up and you can run into their arms.

JMJ. ❤️🩵🤍

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"All ye who seek a comfort sure In trouble and distress, Whatever sorrows vex the mind, Or guilt the soul oppress,

Jesus, who gave Himself for you Upon the cross to die, Opens to you His sacred heart; O to that heart draw nigh."

We are in the last days of the month of the Sacred Heart, my friends. Let us remember to console Him with our good works and little sacrifices for our Beloved who paid the ultimate Sacrifice for us. ❤️‍🔥

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"Every saint has a past and every sinner has a future." ~ St. Augustine

“But now, thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel: ‘Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine’.” ― ISAIAH 43:1 NKJV

The Chosen S01E01

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Why do women veil in church?

As a kid, I would observe it among the older women attending Mass. I didn't like it. I thought it was some weird, dated thing and so I had no interest. After all, it would mess up my hair!

It wasn't until I started the Latin Mass more regularly that I grew more open to it, but I still wasn't into the veiling thing. What was the point of it anyway? 

Finally, a friend went ahead and bought one for me, as a way to gently nudge me to try it. A delicate, white infinity veil (white at the time 😅). I'd never worn one before. How was I supposed to wear it? But for my friend's sake, I did give it a try. And (in my vanity, ironically) once I realized how pretty I felt in it, I thought, "Hmm, maybe this veiling thing isn't so bad." And so, from then on, I started veiling. But I still didn't get why.

Yet the more I went to this Latin Mass I'd discovered, the more I bonded with the community at my church, the more I saw the beautiful piety of the other women veiling… There was a gradual change in me. I intuitively began to understand it's not about how we look, it's not about us at all. We come to church for God. 

I tried to ask around, I even watched videos, looking for explanation for veiling that made sense to me. I knew that it was right, yet if you asked me, I couldn't explain why.

But now, after a long time, I get it. Here's a way to explain it that helped me the most:

Old fashioned etiquette decreed that men take their hats off as a sign of respect, whether it be when entering someone's house, greeting a boss, in the presence of a lady, or entering a Christian church. Why? Because hats identified social standing throughout history. It was a sign of deference. 

This is especially important when entering a Catholic church, God's house, where He is present on the altar. Men remove their hats to show that they submit their God-given authority to Him Who holds the highest authority. 

So then why do women do the opposite and cover their hair?? 

Ladies, we know that how our hair looks is very important! I can't tell you how much time I've spent getting my hair ready for work, church, dances, whatever the occasion! "Hair is a woman's glory." Women are one of God's most beautiful creations. It's written on our hearts by Him to want to be beautiful. But at church, it's all about God, remember? And so, a woman covering her hair is relatively the same thing as a man removing his hat. It's a sign of deference to God when in His house, covering our hair so as not to be a distraction when we're all gathered to lift our eyes to God and glorify Him alone. 

One last note: This isn't actually just some out-dated tradition. It's biblical. St. Paul writes about women veiling in prayer. (1 Corinthians 11:7-9)

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Forever in awe.

An amazingly beautiful location.

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St. Peter: *can't find St. John in a crowded room*

St. Peter, cupping hands over his mouth and hollering: "So Peter set out with the other disciple to go to the tomb. They ran together--"

St. John, bursting from the crowd panting: "--But the other disciple, running faster than Peter, reached the tomb first!"

St. Peter: "There he is."

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Why do Catholics love Mary so much? Why not just Jesus?

If Jesus Christ is our Brother, and Mary is His mother, than she is also our mother. The Fourth Commandment is "honor thy father and mother," (Exodus 20:12). One can only conclude we are called to not only honor our biological mother, but also our spiritual mother Mary, as both the mother of Jesus and our mother, since we are brothers and sisters in Christ.

But here's also another way to think of it: We as the followers of Jesus are the spiritual Body of Christ, and He is the Head. And where was His body formed? In the womb of His virgin mother! So if we are the Body of Christ, then, again, she is our spiritual mother.

"But then why did Jesus never preach on honoring Mary?" one might add.

Yet, consider this: Nailed to a cross, the pain it takes to speak is unimaginable, as one has to push down on the nails to lift one's body up to even draw breath to speak. If Our Lord's only intention in His words "Behold thy son!" and "Behold thy mother!" (John 19:26-27) was to ensure His mother was provided for...why not just say it in one breath as something like "Take care of my mother!" unless there was a deeper meaning to His words, unless they weren't only meant for John to hear, but for all of us as we read his Gospel? If Jesus came down to earth to share His Heavenly Father with us...it only makes sense that in His infinite goodness He'd want to share His mother with us as well! Not as a goddess to worship but a mother to honor and seek comfort from just as He did on earth.

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"The grief of Mary was so great that, divided among all men, it would suffice to cause their immediate death." ~ St. Bernadine

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desire beyond desire, searching beyond searching

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Why aren't our churches being designed like this anymore?

Saint-Étienne-du-Mont. x