Mary
Day 13: Family
Editor’s note: Erin Brown, DCSC volunteer in ministry with the Father McKenna Center, discusses the Holy Family in all their extraordinary qualities and more-relatably ordinary ways. As Catholics, Joseph and Mary and Jesus are the family we look up to. Although they are the extraordinary Holy Family, they were also just an ordinary family. In…
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Mary’s Choice
Editor’s Note: DC Service Corps member, Kevin Ruano, reflects on Mary’s ability to abandon reason and trust in the love of the Creator. This is the irrational season when love blooms bright and wild. Had Mary been filled with reason there’d have been no room for the child. —Madeleine L’Engle, “After the Annunciation” Contemplating L’Engle’s…
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Hail Mary, Full of Grace
Editor’s note: In this post, missioner Cindy Mizes shares her admiration and devotion to Mary, the Mother of God. This blog is part of a devotional reflection that Cindy is giving to St. Joseph’s Teacher’s College today in honor of the Feast of the Annunciation. Through her prayers and intercession, Mary can help strengthen and…
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Comfort and Joy: Learning to Comfort a Child
Editor’s Note: As part of our “Comfort and Joy” Advent/Christmas blog series, FMS friend and donor Anusia Dickow shares her experiences of babysitting and how they led to a deeper realization. I was babysitting my baby cousin a few weeks ago. She was only six months old, and this was the first time mom and dad were…
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Comfort and Joy: Faith through Beauty
Editor’s Note: As part of our “Comfort and Joy” Advent/Christmas blog series, Michael Carlson, a former Communications Associate at Franciscan Mission Service, shares how he draws comfort through the times faith challenges him. Faith rarely makes me comfortable at all. I’m amused when people accuse religion, like Karl Marx did, of being an opiate, a fantasy distraction from reality.…
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Comfort and Joy: Following Mary’s Example
Editor’s Note: As part of our “Comfort and Joy” Advent/Christmas blog series, Nonprofit Servant Leadership Program Coordinator Mercedes Matthews shares how the example of Mary’s unwavering love and faith leads us closer to Christ. Upon hearing the theme of comfort and joy, my mind, perhaps like yours, quickly began humming “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen.” Or more…
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It is in giving that we receive
Editor’s Note: Current office associate Melissa Montrowl is a veteran volunteer at Lourdes. Her recent blog post on the Feast Day of Our Lady of Lourdes illuminates the impact the pilgrimage site has made. We all know what it feels like to be in the swirling vortex of chaos and busyness known as life. For…
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Millennial Lenten Reflections: The greatest gift
Editor’s Note: The following is part of Millennial Lenten Reflections, a blog series in collaboration with Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good. Short reflections on the day’s readings, written by young adults from FMS and other organizations, will be posted everyday throughout Lent. For the past few years, I’ve felt especially lucky to have been born…
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Millennial Lenten Reflections: Actions speak louder than words
Editor’s Note: The following is part of Millennial Lenten Reflections, a blog series in collaboration with Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good. Short reflections on the day’s readings, written by young adults from FMS and other organizations, will be posted everyday throughout Lent. Actions speak louder than words, they say. But aren’t some words helpful? Today…
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Millennial Lenten Reflections: Confronting Fear
Editor’s Note: The following is part of Millennial Lenten Reflections, a blog series in collaboration with Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good. Short reflections on the day’s readings, written by young adults from FMS and other organizations, will be posted everyday throughout Lent. Fear is an emotion I know well. I feel afraid daily living as…
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Feast day of Our Lady of Lourdes
“Would you do me the kindness of coming here?” This is the invitation that Mary extended to Bernadette in the Grotto at Lourdes in 1858, asking her to meet there for 15 days. This invitation is offered to every person, even 157 years later because Lourdes isn’t about an apparition, it’s not about a girl…
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Mission Monday: I’m Happy Here!
In today’s post, we share the joy, wonder, and happiness expressed by current lay missioner Hady Mendez at the beauty of mission service. I’m happy here in Bolivia. And even as I write these words, I’m knocking on wood because I don’t want to somehow jinx myself. I’ll admit it. I didn’t expect to be…
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Poor and Free: Saying “Yes” to Love
Franciscan Mission Service presents: “Poor and Free: A Spiritual Yes to Less” every Friday in Lent Series contributions: Shane Claiborne: Part I, Part II, and Part III Gigi Gruenke: “Invest in God’s Dream” Jack Jezreel: “The Simple Math of Voluntary Simplicity” Amy Echeverria: “Saying ‘Yes’ to Love” Sr. Marie Lucey (OSF): “Faith Keeps Hope Alive” Marie Dennis: “Beyond Detachment” Fr. Martin…
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Encountering God in Children
Domestic Volunteers Naomi Amsberry and Anna Robinson have spent their Wednesday afternoons at an after-school program for immigrant families. Today they share how they’ve found God in the midst of D.C.’s lower-income youth. “For the last several months, I have been volunteering at an after school program with Mary House for children ages pre-K through…
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Feast Of The Assumption: May We All Be Tabernacles
Photo from flickr user Mr. Ducke On August 15, the Catholic church celebrates the Feast of the Assumption, a day recognizing the Virgin Mary’s completion of her early life and “was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory” (Munificentissimus Deus, Pope Pius XII, 1950). As we reflect on her transition into heaven, we remember that…
Read MorePrayers for Christmas: Food and Health
We hear the Canticle of Mary, the Magnificat, in today’s Gospel from Luke: “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;my spirit rejoices in God my savior.for he has looked upon his lowly servant.From this day all generations will call me blessed:the Almighty has done great things for me,and holy is his Name.He has mercy on…
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Prayers for Christmas: Mothers and Fathers
From flickr user Samuraijohnny “And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy.” Luke 1:43-44. The gospel for today features two mothers: Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist, and…
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Prayers for Christmas: Mary and God’s plan
Today we give thanks for Mary and her Immaculate Conception. Through her appearances, she has had a powerful impact on the lives of the people with whom we walk overseas, especially those in Latin America. Because God intended for Mary to be the mother of Jesus, God protected her at the first moment of her…
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