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Something about Our Lady of Guadalupe just speaks to me. The choice to appear to an Indigenous Mexican man rather than a Spanish colonist. The way this factors into the initial disbelief when Juan Diego shares what he has seen— the subtext of the Blessed Virgin wouldn't appear to someone like you. The fact she appears as Indigenous and pregnant, identifying herself with the oppressed. "Am I not here, I who am your mother?"

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no, you are not "running from God". He's in front of you

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- ingrid goff-maidoff

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When someone posts "I don't usually ask for prayers" "I don't usually ask for help" etc. Especially encourage them, especially share their requests for prayers/help. So that they might be comforted and strengthened, and that in the future, they will not hesitate to ask for help. They will not forget the goodness you have done to them.

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Take 5 for Faith - Monday, 7 July 2025

When in doubt

Some people seem to be born with the gift of deep faith. They appear to have an intuitive grasp of the spiritual side of life and to know God is always with them. The rest of us must endure long periods of doubt and uncertainty that are only occasionally interrupted by brief moments of spiritual clarity. Saint John of the Cross advises us to “Live in faith and hope, though it be in darkness, for in this darkness God protects the soul.” Ask yourself, “Where am I on the continuum between faith and doubt?” Is it possible that the Lord is with you and you don’t know it? Ask God to shine his light into your darkness.

Today's readings: Genesis 28:10-22a; Matthew 9:18-26 (383).

“Truly, the Lord is in this spot, although I did not know it!”

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Lady in the library (Woman reading, title unknown), 1889 work by the Norwegian artist

Asta Nørregaard (1853-1933).

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"Your life as a Christian should make non-believers question their disbelief in God."

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

This is truly what I strive for more than anything

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The Girl With a Cat - Robert Julius Beyschlag ( German, 1838-1903)

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A Fish Sale on a Cornish Beach (1885), by Stanhope Alexander Forbes (1857–1947)

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"If I don't pray in the morning before I go out into the world, I'm no good to anyone I meet."

- E--, Secular Ursuline

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"The Heart of Compassion"

Compassionate God,

Your generous presence

is always attuned to hurting ones.

Your listening ear is bent

toward the cries of the wounded.

Your heart of love

fills with tears for the suffering.

-- Joyce Rupp

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Look at this creature. Behold this small man. In the face of it all* he does what he can. And every night, in spite of his scars, with all of his might he sings to the stars.

*Anodonthyla theoi is Critically Endangered due to habitat loss

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God loves you.