Today's Saint of the Day is the patron of musicians! 🎺
November 22, 2024
Dear John,
Â
Peace and good to you! I want to always start by saying: We are so appreciative of our donors. There is no Franciscan Media without you. This is the 10th day of our Rebuilding God’s Church, $125K match campaign today. This campaign will run through Easter of next year. We have 149 days left!  Click here to make a donation.
Â
The vision for Rebuilding God’s Church (RGC) is that it would be an online evangelization pathway—a pilgrimage of sorts. RGC includes the following four themes: Rediscovering God, Healing Our Relationships with God and Others, Listening to God, and Following God. These are universal themes (or moments) of adult evangelization.
Â
Our Minute Meditation today reminds us that love nourishes our souls. This truth relates to the first theme of our Rebuilding God’s Church initiative: Rediscovering God. We need to rediscover God’s love before we can move along our faith journey. I say “rediscover” because God’s love has always been there for us. We either don’t believe that or know that, or we aren’t looking for examples of it in our daily lives. Imagine if someone needed to know this truth, and by visiting our website, they would be connected to a collection of resources that help them rediscover God’s love. This is what we want to do at Franciscan Media.
Â
If you would like to speak to me directly to find out more about this campaign and how to become a major supporter, please contact me at mhalbach@franciscanmedia.org.
Â
May God bless you and continue to help you rebuild your faith upon the foundation of his great love for you!
With profound gratitude,Â
Deacon Matthew Halbach, PhD President & Publisher,
Although Cecilia is one of the most famous of the Roman martyrs, the familiar stories about her are apparently not founded on authentic material. There is no trace of honor being paid her in early times. A fragmentary inscription of the late fourth century refers to a church named after her, and her feast was celebrated at least in 545.
Â
According to legend, Cecilia was a young Christian of high rank betrothed to a Roman named Valerian. Through her influence, Valerian was converted, and was martyred along with his brother. The legend about Cecilia’s death says that after being struck three times on the neck with a sword, she lived for three days, and asked the pope to convert her home into a church.
Â
Since the time of the Renaissance she has usually been portrayed with a viola or a small organ.
Â
Reflection
Like any good Christian, Cecilia sang in her heart, and sometimes with her voice. She has become a symbol of the Church’s conviction that good music is an integral part of the liturgy, of greater value to the Church than any other art.
It’s when we do God’s work that our heart finds its true home. It’s when we help feed the hunger of others, share our resources with those in need, and replace our selfishness for the selflessness modeled by Jesus that we begin to recognize the true faith we seek. It is no accident that Jesus connects God’s work with faith in him. The way one best proclaims his or her faith is by good works, for actions really can speak louder than words.
Â
To think of our own nourishment and satisfaction in terms of care for others and doing God’s work reshapes our understanding of the most basic Christian prayer: the Our Father. To be given our daily bread, to be nourished by the Lord, is to recognize the daily opportunities to see the needs of others and respond.
In episode two of Franciscan Media’s Off the Page podcast, Father Murray Bodo, OFM, discusses how the notion of journey has been a major theme in his writing and poetry. He talks about the power of contemplating the present moment on our own journeys and seeing the depth and beauty of how the past has brought us to this moment. This helps attune us to divine goodness and gift in our lives, moving us to gratitude and a sense of wonder for God’s presence.
Â
Pray
Help me slow and see, really see, how goodness and beauty permeate the world: in creation, in story, in journey. And if I can’t see, strengthen me to wait in faith until a sense of connectedness and gratitude begin to emerge.
Â
Act
Pause on the hour throughout the day and consider the present moment and what brought you to this place. Maybe it is a joyful moment that deepens your sense of gratitude. Or maybe it is a messy moment that stirs you to bring the complexity to God in prayer.
Â
Today's Pause+Pray was written by Stephen Copeland. Learn more here!
This newsletter is not free to produce! Please consider making a donation to help us in our efforts to share God's love in the spirit of St. Francis.
