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Dear Friends,
A late Ash Wednesday means Lent doesn’t start until March this year. In the meantime, however, may we continue to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness (Mt 6:33), knowing that this life, for all its joys, is not where our complete and lasting happiness is found.
And on February 11, the World Day of the Sick and the Memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes, may all who are suffering find consolation and strength through our prayers, and the prayers of the Blessed Mother.
In Jesus and Mary, |
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Rev. Sebastian White, O.P. Editor-in-Chief |
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Become a MAGNIFICAT ambassador. Share the following link with family and friends: www.magnificat.com/trial. It offers special trial subscriptions to our printed or digital edition. |
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SAINT WHO?Saints Who Had Family Challenges |
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This month’s saints became holy through their trust in God’s help in the midst of the difficulties of family life. |
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…and these great features |
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 | Holy Places by Anthony Esolen
The Basilica of Bom Jesus in Goa, India, reflects the union of Portuguese and Indian culture there in the 16th century. |
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|  | She Pondered These Things in Her Heart by Kathryn Swegart
Our children and grandchildren can teach us to look at God’s works with a renewed sense of wonder. |
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 | Great Conversion Stories by John Janaro
Hokosawa Gracia, a 16th-century Japanese noblewoman, secretly became Catholic before perishing in the violence of the “Warring States” period. |
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|  | Our Life in Christ by Father Richard Veras
We must learn to listen to Jesus just as he listens to his Father, and indeed to us—to our heart’s yearning for him. |
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 | Credible Witnesses by Heather King
Servant of God Takashi Nagai, a radiologist, converted from atheism to Catholicism and would survive the bombing of Nagasaki. |
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|  | The Hidden Gift by Kimberly Shankman
In the Presentation, God shows himself to eyes of faith through seemingly ordinary things. |
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 | A Father’s Blessing by Jordan Kowalkowski
A father learns to hear the voices of infants and toddlers at Mass as praise of the Lord rather than a distraction. |
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|  | Jubilee 2025: Pilgrims of Hope by Father James Sullivan, O.P.
The colonnade of Saint Peter’s Square in the Vatican shows pilgrims to Rome God’s loving embrace through the Church. |
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Mass of St. Gregory, Adriaen Isenbrandt (ca. 1490-1551), Paul Getty Museum, New York. |
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LECTIO DIVINAA Prayerful Reading of Sacred Scripture |
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“Blessed are you who are poor, for the kingdom of God is yours.”
The Gospel for the Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Sunday, February 16, 2025) Luke 6:17, 20-26 |
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| Cover Commentary
Christ healing the paralytic at the Pool of Bethesda
Murillo painted this scene for the church of a confraternity he belonged to dedicated to helping the poor and sick. |
| | Christ healing the paralytic at the Pool of Bethesda (1660–1670), Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (1617–1682), National Gallery, London. |
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Art Commentary
The Presentation in the Temple
The artist uses the Church’s vast tradition of visual symbolism to teach viewers the meaning of the Presentation. |
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The Presentation in the Temple (1460–1475), Master of the Life of the Virgin, National Gallery, London. |
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Also from MAGNIFICAT...for the Jubilee Year of Hope |
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| Our Father Our Prayer of Hope |
| By Fathers Andrew Hofer, O.P., and Philip Nolan, O.P. |
| A personal retreat featuring art, Scripture, and meditation to celebrate the Jubilee Year of Hope prayerfully |
|  | Take a profound journey into the heart of the universal prayer given to us by the Lord himself. |
| $19.95 | Hardcover | 8 x 9.75 in. | 144 pages |
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| Prayer Intentions
Following the example of the Apostles gathered around Mary after the Resurrection, let us pray together united in faith. |
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